Marketing Research Association

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Marketing Research Association
MRA Logo
Abbreviation MRA
Formation 1957
Headquarters Glastonbury, Connecticut
Location United States
Region served Worldwide
Membership 3,000
Official languages English
Main organ Volunteer Board of Directors
Website http://www.marketingresearch.org

The Marketing Research Association (MRA) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit, membership trade association, incorporated in New York state. Members are companies that specialize in, or have departments that specialize in, market research, consumer opinion and related marketing intelligence. Individuals who are marketing research practitioners may also become members.

The association was founded in 1957. Currently located in Glastonbury, Connecticut, it has announced plans to relocate to Washington, D.C. on February 1, 2012. The Marketing Research Association's chief product is membership. It is also active in advocating industry positions on legislative and regulatory issues.

Contents

[edit] Membership

Membership principally includes access to a common code of conduct and set of best practices; industry-related news briefs and publications, including its trade-oriented magazine, Alert; invitation to MRA's annual conference and to meetings of its regional chapters; access to market research videos, online training seminars, papers and directories; access to professional certification; legislative updates; governmental advocacy; and access to an online jobs board. Annual membership dues are dependent on the applicant's company size and relationship to the marketing research industry. Some membership-only products are sold separately (i.e., not included in the annual membership fee). The organization says it has approximately 3,000 members.

[edit] Governmental Affairs

MRA's Governmental Affairs section monitors statutory and legislative issues that affect market researchers, such as consumer data privacy legislation and court rulings in each of the 50 United States and in other countries, including social media legislation, legal issues pertaining to consumer privacy for medical care and prescriptions (such as HIPAA-related rulings), anti-spam legislation, telephone surveys, political polling, and similar issues. On topics such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) and Department of Commerce's support of rules restricting access to consumer data, and various Congressional consumer privacy acts, the MRA publicly advocates (i.e., lobbies legislators and other governmental officials to adopt) positions that support the organization's goals. Opposition to these positions generally comes from consumer rights organizations and their lobbyists.

[edit] Professional Education

The University of Georgia's online course, "Principles of Marketing Research," is based on an MRA-developed curriculum entitled "Market Research Core Body of Knowledge." Scholarships for this course are provided annually by the MRA to one or more qualifying applicants. The Marketing Research Association also offers a Professional Research Certificate (PRC) administered through the organization's website. Both of these programs are open to members at additional cost.

[edit] Board of Directors

The MRA Board of Directors includes Ken Roberts, Chairman of the Board; Debby Schlesinger-Hellman, Chairman Elect; Elisa Galloway, Immediate Past President; Kevin Lonnie, Treasurer; Jill Donohue, Secretary; and David Almy, Chief Executive Officer. The Board also includes six Directors at Large: Scott Baker, Ted Donnelly, Vaughn Mordecai, Melissa Pepper, Cathy Scott and Dan Womack.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

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