SoCal Chapter MRA News & Events October, 2015 A

S o C a l C h a p te r M R A N e w s & Ev e n t s – O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 5A Message From The President:“May you live in interesting times.”Interesting times, indeed. This could easily be the catchphraseof the marketing research industry over the past few yearsand, possibly, even more so as we move forward. Technologyhas provided us with exciting changes, advances andopportunities. Social media continues to impact the way wethink about research and the possibilities for harnessingdifferent and more representative groups of respondents.And, regulatory challenges at home and from abroad continueto abound. It is clear that, more than ever, the marketingresearch industry and its representative organizations need tocome together with one strong, united voice. To be inclusiveand supportive of each other, and work together to protectand serve our industry.In the 2015-2016 SoCal MRA chapter year, we hope to provideimportant content, thoughtful speakers and at least a little funto our members (and non-members). We’re off to a greatstart. Our joint PAPOR “Legal Short Course” event this week atLoyola Marymount University featuring Stuart Pardau was agreat success with nearly 50 attendees on site and livestreaming. Next up will be a seminar on multicultural researchin November, followed by our annual holiday party inDecember. I hope you will have the opportunity to join us.Lynn StalonePresident, SoCal Chapter MRAUpcoming Events:Challenges inMulticultural ResearchFeat. David Burgos, TNS:Thursday, November 12 Museum of MakingMusic, Carlsbad 6:30-9:30 PM 40 for Members, 50for Non-Members and 30 for students Includes seminar, dinner,parking & open bar. See page 6 for details.Information orsponsorshipopportunities, callGinger Blazier at619-724-9727Annual Holiday Party:Tuesday, December 15 Details coming soon!Spring NetworkingMixer: February Greater Los Angeleslocation.Education Day Coming in April 2016

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S G I N G E R B L A Z I E R ! – S o C a l C h a p te rS e r v i c e A wa rd fo r vo l u n te e r c o n t r i b u t i o n s 2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5Congratulations to Ginger for receiving theChapter Service Award for the SoCal ChapterMRA. Ginger has continued to contributecountless hours to the success of chapter eventssince leaving the board as Past President a fewyears back. Last year she was instrumental inplanning and executing our Pub Crawl, as well asassisting with other events. Ginger continues tobe involved with chapter activities and planningfor 2015-2016.T H A N K YO U LO R E I M U S S E L M A N ! – L o re i l e ave s t h eS o C a l C h a p te r b o a rd a f te r 2 0 ye a rs o f s e r v i c eOur heartfelt thanks to Lorei Musselmanfor the impact she has made on the SoCalChapter over the years – most recently asTreasurer. Lorei has served on the SoCalboard in virtually every position –including 2 stints at President (whichmeans 2 rounds of President-Elect andPast President!). The good news is thatwe’ll still be seeing her at chapter eventsand conferences! As a small token ofappreciation, the chapter has sent Lorei agift card to Burke-Williams Spa so she canenjoy some well-deserved pampering.T I D E WAT E R – O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 5

We l c o m e N e w M e m b e rs !Brady DarvinKia Motors AmericaAnnett ThomCENTRA Language SolutionsMarcos MemranMorgan StanleyKevin LewisResearch NowDave OventhalStudentLuke ThalenHiner & Partners, Inc.Jenny YeonStudentJulian RamirezScientific Telephone SamplesAshley AlbrightAndrew BarossoACB Research, LLCBrian ClusterRaphael Ghieuw SienScientific Telephone SamplesKevin KorgaonkarPhoenix Marketing InternationalMaureen LadleyLadley & AssociatesJohn NienstedtCompetitive Edge RES Comm, Inc.Scott RichardsReconnect ResearchCathy TranSEMAJason WestFrank N. Magid Associates, Inc.Natalie YoungDirecTVT I D E WAT E R – O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 5

S a n D i e go P u b C ra w l a t M R A I S C C o n fe re n c e a S u c c e s s !A great time was had by all at the SoCalChapter Pub Crawl during the June MRAISC Conference in San Diego. The groupvisited 7 unique venues in the GaslampDistrict where they were treated tofabulous food and beverages at every stop.A special thanks to Ginger Blazier, alongwith volunteer herders Lori Kolde, MicheleJames, Jocelyn Thomas and EleanorMartin. Thank you, again, to our eventsponsors without whom we could not puttogether amazing events like this!T I D E WAT E R – O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 5

M E E T T H E S O C A L M E M B E R – D e b b y S c h l e s i n ge r - H e l l m a nmany other folks in theindustry. To this day, there areinsights providers who willcome up to me and tell me astory about how my momhelped them build their career,gain confidence and becomesuccessful. When that happensI am clearly very proud of myMom’s contributions to ourindustry.When was the companyfounded and where? Thecompany was founded in 1966in our home in Woodbridge,NJ. My mom was looking for away to make some extra moneyto send to my brother(spending money) while he wasin College. She started as anexecutive interviewer and thenquickly became the regionalsupervisor for a large MR firmin NYC. She managed a group ofinterviewers. At that timemuch of the work was door todoor, telephone interviews andin person executive interviewsat offices of C level folks atfortune 500 companies.Your mom was one of thepioneers in the data collectionfield – what’s your fondestwork-related memory ofher? I have so many fondmemories. My mom loved thisindustry and was passionateabout her work. One of myfavorite things about my momis that she was a mentor to soStill thinking about your mom,what is the one piece of adviceshe gave you that you still passon today? My mom was abeliever that anything ispossible as long as you think itthrough, be creative, have alittle time and money to make ithappen. She was a greatexample to her children, aswell as many others, on how tobe professional and at the sametime enjoy the work. Shealways said, “work hard andplay harder”- the Schlesingermotto!Schlesinger is a real successfrom scratch story from an inhome business to now a globalcompany. What were the bigchallenges? There are manychallenges in growing abusiness. Ours is no different.We needed to find talentedteam members, be a bit of a risktaker, think strategically how totackle the landscape of theever changing industry andtalking to others in business(both MR and other businesses)T I D E WAT E R – O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 5to learn from a their stories.Being open minded helps movethings along. Being informativeabout global nuances isdefinitely a key once you decideto venture out past the US. Wehave been fortunate to findgreat folks to join our team inthe EU which definitely helpedus grow globally.What advice/words of wisdomwould you give to people whoare considering a career inMarket Research? The MRindustry is an exciting place tobe! There are so many areas toexplore, it touches everyindustry you can imagine andyou get to see the outcomes ineveryday life. There areopportunities for advancement,in general as well as in specificareas of interest.I have personally made so manylifelong friends from working inthis industry.A few tidbits of info about me I was a premed student wantingto be a neuro surgeon- verymuch like MR, right! I washelping my mom one summerduring college and decided MRwas way more fun. I love tolisten to stories aboutbusinesses and how they gotgoing. I love to tell stories aswell! One of my favorite thingsabout my job is that I get towork side by side with mybrother.

J O I N U S O N N O V E M B E R 1 2 TH I N C A R L S B A D !Presented by David Burgos, TNSThe importance of addressing multiple and diverse cultural groups in researchcontinues to grow. David Burgos, Senior Vice President of Cultural Strategies atTNS and author of Marketing to the New Majority: Strategies for a Diverse Worlddelivers this thought-provoking presentation on overcoming the challengesassociated with the multicultural component of research, best practices and otherconsiderations. Network with colleagues, friends, & new acquaintances beforeand after the seminar. PRC credits will be awarded.November 12th, 2014 - 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.Members 40 - Students 30 - Non-Members 50(includes seminar, open bar, dinner & parking)Event Sponsors:T I D E WAT E R – O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 5

M E E T T H E S O C A L M E M B E R – M i c h a e l H a l b e rst a mHow long have you been in theMR industry? Since February13th 1978. I was 8 years oldthen.What attracted to you to thisindustry? There was nothing inparticular that led me to MarketResearch. I was between classesat Fairleigh Dickinson anddecided to go to the BergenMall to pick up my weeklycomic books. (Yes, I’ve beencollecting comic books since1961 even though I was 8 yearsold in 1978 when I started inMR) I got stopped to do asurvey at the mall andafterwards I asked the managerfor a job as an interviewer. I hadhair below my waist at the timewhich I had to tuck in my shirtwhen I was interviewing. Arandom job at the time.What do you feel have beenmajor challenges, along theway? Well, cutting my hair wasone challenge. It had been avery long time but Bill Bartlettthe owner of SuburbanAssociates said he wouldpromote me if I cut it. I did andhe did. Other challengesincluded moving to Los Angelesin 1980 to work for LRW.Leaving LRW to work at ISA in1983 and growing ISA over theyears through many changes intechnology and research. It’sbeen a great ride.Tell us about how ISA andSoapBox started and howyou’ve had such successthere. ISA opened in 1982 with30 telephone stations, with noCATI and the cost, per minute,for a telephone call was over .18! The idea for SoapBox wasone that had been discussed,internally, for a number ofyears. We felt the time wasright in early 2012 and puteverything in place to hire theright team and launch later thatyear.ISA covers many languages fortelephone data collection How many in total and what arethe most interesting ones? Wehave done projects in 67languages, to date. I find all ofthem interesting. You get tomeet people from manycultures who come to our officeto work. It’s fascinating talkingwith them and hearing abouttheir home countries, culture,food and how they came to LA.What advice/words of wisdomwould you give to people whoare considering a career inMarket Research? Listencarefully. There’s no need tospeak or have the last word.Surround yourself with peoplesmarter than you. I’m livingproof of that.Why we love Michael:He added his own Q&A T I D E WAT E R – O c t o b e r, 2 0 1 5Boxers or Briefs? Boxers! It’s aperennial question, so there’sno point in dodging it.Dogs or cats? Dogs! I love catsbut can rarely eat a whole oneby myself.You’re well-known for the styleof shirts you wear. Where doyou get all of them, and theweird socks? I get them allover. I have shops I go to in LA,San Diego, Las Vegas, Houston,NYC and Ft. Myers, as well as anumber of online sites.What other interesting jobshave you had? I was a cabdriver for three years in the NYTri-State area. You really learnhow to deal with all kinds ofpeople when you do that. I hada baby born in the back of mycab in a Shop Rite parking lot.