From the DirectorThe class of 2015 has been busy – both in and out of class. The theme for

this class might very well be ‘Beyond the Classroom.’ In the first two semesters students participated in two industry con-ferences in Atlanta, several ‘immersion’ days in Athens, and the Research Summit in Athens

in November to celebrate the 35th anni-versary of the establishment of the UGA MMR program. These events, along with the Altria sponsored seminar series, illus-trate the strong ties the program has with the market research community and con-sumer insights industry.

IIEX NORTH AMERICA 2014 The 2014 Insight Innovation Exchange North America was held June 16-18 in Atlanta. The event drew over 650 professionals from client organizations, technology innovators, market insights suppliers and start-up companies. The entire MMR class along with some of the faculty were in attendance – with the MMR’s working the registration desk, handling microphones during Q&A, and helping out where needed. A very big thanks to Lenny Murphy for including the students in this event. It was a great opportunity to attend presentations on the latest trends and to meet so many in the industry in person.

Mason

Winter 2015 MMR NewsletterCoca-Cola Center for Marketing Studies

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from Mike Courtney

A HUGE thank you to the corporate (Gold: Burke, M/A/R/C, MMR Research Associates; Silver: ESOMAR, InSites Consulting and Marketing Workshop) and alumni sponsors (Rob Arnett, Mike Courtney, Carl Fusco, and Joyce Lizzi), who made the 2014 UGA MMR Anniversary Research Summit possible.

My deepest appreciation for the countless hours of effort put in by Dr. Mason, Jamese Meyer and the steering committee of Rob Arnett, Carley Metsker, Christina Collepardi, Win Blair, James Hess, Niels Schillewaert, Stephanie Greene and our MVP Suann Griffin who literally broke body parts to get things done in time for the event.

They not only lined up 10 fantastic speakers but helped put on an event that kept the attention of over 150 attendees for a jam packed day of content PLUS two great evening events.

If you weren’t able to attend OR just want to relive it a little (who doesn’t want more of Carlos Garcia?), here is a Dropbox link to videos and presentations. Enjoy!

Dropbox with UGA MMR 2014 Speaker Video Files: www.dropbox.com/sh/gg01e7w9ytv1go9/AABnlNE_WPrse-8zJF3JDKU5a?dl=0

Again, thank you to everyone who made the trip to Athens for the 2014 UGA MMR Research Summit and helped make it a success. NOTE: If we can ever talk Dr. Mason into letting us hold another one we’ll be sure to give everyone a bit more notice to better accommodate work and travel plans.

Regarding the MMRAlumni.com website – we will be changing the role of the site to be more of a publicly viewable notice board with links to UGA/MMR related events and info. It was originally planned to be a private, members only social site for discussions but more conversations are happening on the UGA MMR LinkedIn site, and most of us seem to keep our LinkedIn contact info relatively up to date. Have a job to post for MMR eyes only? Use the LinkedIn site. Have an event or link that is MMR related but not limited to MMR eyeballs? Feel free to use either LinkedIn or the mmralumni site.

Meanwhile - we are planning to organize some informal MMR Alumni happy hour meetups at various events throughout 2015.

• The next event will be the upcoming “The Quirks Event” conference in the NYC area on Feb 23/24.

• Another will be the IIeX2015 North America conference in the ATL area, June 15-17

If you are attending either of these events OR will be in the area please ping Mike@AperioInsights.com for details on exact time and location.

Please let us know if you have ideas for future UGA MMR meetups!

Alumni Update

2 • MMR Newsletter Winter 2015

EMILY BESSEEmily graduated Summa Cum Laude from Radford University with a Bachelor in Business Administration degree in Marketing and a Bachelor of Science degree

in Media Studies concentrated in Advertising. Following graduation, Emily worked at Choice Hotels International in Rockville, MD as part of the marketing research team. Her responsibilities includ-ed, questionnaire design, online survey programming, ad tracking of promotions, analysis and interpretation of data using statistical software (i.e. SPSS, DKSA), gen-erating reports with key findings, present-ing to internal clients, and even participat-ing in a usability study for a new product.

ALLY BURTONAlly graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish.

As an undergraduate, she gained research experience in multiple research labs. These included a social psychology, clini-cal psychology, and a consumer behavior lab. Ally is the first author on a publica-tion in an undergraduate research journal and has co-authored two papers that are under review in top psychology journals. She has also co-presented a paper with her father (holder of an endowed chair in marketing), and presented her honors thesis at a national psychology conference. She has lived for short periods of time in both Italy and Spain, and has traveled to Morocco, India, and throughout much of Europe.

KATHERINE CHENEYKatie recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, including a

Sports Marketing concentration. Katie also has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a minor in Business Administration. Her family relocated sev-eral times, but settled in Fort Mill, South Carolina about ten years ago. While at Clemson University, she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and participated in variety of creative inquiry research projects. Katie is especially interested in researching the effectiveness of sponsor-ship, particularly through major league sports as a means of marketing communi-cation.

CORI DEUTSCHCori graduated Summa Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor in Corporate Strategy. During

her undergraduate years she worked for an educational technology startup business, LiveSchool, where she researched target markets, created marketing and train-ing content, and developed and analyzed marketing campaigns. While at Vanderbilt, Cori was President and an executive board member of Alpha Delta Pi, actively involved with tutoring and mentoring Nashville youth through the Vanderbilt After-School Program, and participated in the Honors Scholars Program.

CHARLES FARRCharlie graduated Summa Cum Laude from Mercer University in 2014 with

majors in Marketing and Economics and a minor in Statistics. As an undergradu-ate, Charlie pub-lished a paper that examined the impact that star ratings had on predicting sales for products.

Charlie worked for the student admissions team and was awarded the Tour Guide of the Year Award for 2012. Additionally, Charlie interned at Chick-fil-A’s corporate office during the summer of 2013 and completed two marketing research proj-ects that were both qualitative and quan-titative. Charlie also wrestled at Mercer University and earned All-American hon-ors three times, placing as high as fourth in the national tournament.

XIANGMENG (GISELLE) GEGiselle graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in 2013 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing

and a minor in Statistics. During her undergraduate years, she gained research experience through numerous market-ing research positions and class projects in UGA. In the summer of 2012, as a research assistant, Giselle had a chance to participate in an internal auditing of the National Bureau of Statistics in Baoding, China. During the project, she collected and processed primary data and oversaw reporting duties from subordinate local authorities. After graduation, Giselle was employed by a Georgia company, Athens Home Organizer, as a marketing coordi-nator. At AHO, she was responsible for survey designs, data collection, and data analysis. Giselle enjoys spending free time volunteering in local charity activities and organizations.

Class of 2015

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Winter 2015 MMR Newsletter • 3

KATHERYN KNARRKatheryn graduated Summa Cum Laude from Piedmont College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a concentration in

Marketing, and a second Bachelor of Arts degree in History. While at Piedmont, she was a four-year starter on the women’s volleyball team, a member of student gov-ernment, and the President of the Debate Team. During her senior year, Katheryn founded and served as the President of the American Marketing Association Chapter. She also gained research experience by working as a marketing research intern for Superior Research in Atlanta, and as a marketing & communications intern for the Georgia Conservancy.

CATHERINE KNOTTSBorn and raised in Cumming, Georgia, Catherine “Cat” Knotts graduated Summa Cum Laude from Clemson University in 2013 with a Bachelor

of Science degree in both Marketing and Management. After graduation, she returned to the Atlanta area to work as an account manager/technical recruiter for an information technology staffing firm before deciding to return to school to earn a Masters of Marketing Research degree. During her time at Clemson University, Cat also interned at the BI-LO Center in Greenville, SC as the marketing, group sales, and premium services intern. In this internship she was responsible for grass-roots marketing, promotional efforts, and market research in order to better reach each individual events’ target market.

ANNALISE LEVANDOSKIAnnalise graduated Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in May 2014 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing, a minor in Spanish, and an emphasis in digital marketing. While an undergrad, Annalise held mul-

tiple leadership posi-tions as a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority includ-ing Vice President of Finance and Vice President of Membership. While at UGA, she gained marketing research

experience through coursework and various projects and she is very excited to continue her education in a field that she has grown so passionate about.

REEBA MATHAIOriginally from India, Reeba received a Post Graduate diploma in Management with distinc-tion from Loyola Institute of Business Administration.

During her graduate studies, Reeba interned with ICICI Bank where she researched and documented the customer satisfaction and retention levels among the corporate clients of the bank. After gradu-ating, Reeba worked with Citibank N.A. in a relationship management role that exposed her to grass root marketing in the areas of customer experience enhancement and consumer centric sales. She chose to pursue her growing interest in marketing by transitioning into business development and accepting a position with Huston’s Mergers & Acquisitions in Atlanta. There she took on the challenges of researching business prospects, networking, negotiat-ing deals and increasing the company’s vis-ibility in the internet space. She has more than five years of cross cultural experience in the United States and India in the areas of relationship management, business development and internet marketing. After working in a variety of broad marketing capacities, Reeba found her calling in mar-keting research. Upon graduation from the MMR Program, she looks forward to combining her skills with her passion for marketing in a marketing research and analytics career.

KATELYNN MENDRALAKatelynn graduated from the University of

Georgia, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a dual major in Marketing and Management and a minor in Child and Family Development. Since her completion of

the program, she has worked in Orlando, FL and Charleston, SC in various sales capacities, advancing from intern to coor-dinator to account executive. Katelynn practiced market research within these sales roles to understand her potential and actualized clients. She also had the oppor-tunity to do various qualitative research studies with a travel consultancy, Global Escapes, prior to drafting the firm’s first marketing strategy plan.

SARAH MITCHELLSarah gradu-ated Cum Laude in May 2014 from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Marketing degree and a minor in Italian. Her degree

also holds the University Honors and International Honors distinctions. She was awarded the Faculty Excellence Award in Economics and the Delchamps Endowed Scholarship of Marketing. Sarah also stud-ied abroad in Florence, Italy, focusing on language and culture and in Oxford, England, studying literature and history. As a result of her study abroad experi-ences, Sarah has developed a real interest in how different cultures affect con-sumer behavior and branding. During her senior year, she worked for Atlas College Marketing Group, Inc. where she helped to brand new products of companies such as Sally Hansen and Spanx to students on campus through product demonstrations and social media.

ANDREW OLSONAndrew graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology degree and a Bachelor of Business

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4 • MMR Newsletter Winter 2015

FROM THE DIRECTORcontinued from 1

MMRS ACCEPT THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGEJulie Haydu (MMR ’09) and her colleagues at Directions Research challenged the MMR class to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The challenge was meet one sunny afternoon on Herty Field (see picture on page 7) and the full video can be seen at http://youtu.be/PWbt2edJfWQ.

ESOMAR B2B FORUM 2014In October, several MMRs were volunteers at ESOMAR’s first B2B Research Forum which was held in Atlanta. Topics spanned social media engagement, cross-cultural research, innovation, legal considerations, and return on customer experience – all focused on the B2B domain.

IMMERSION DAYSIn September Bruce Olson, a partner with MMR Research Associates, returned to UGA for an all-day workshop to offer students valuable, real-world advice on where new research-ers need to take the marketing research industry. In October

InSites Consulting’s Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Niels Schillewaert returned for another one-day workshop focusing on online research communities and social media.

Student Team ProjectsThis year’s students are at work on four different team projects. The Coca-Cola team is working with Marcus Cunha to investi-gate what leads to successful Super Bowl advertising. Rich Fox is working with the Anheuser-Busch team to investigate young Millennials’ usage of, and attitudes regarding, alcoholic beverages. The Eli Lilly team, with faculty advisor John Hulland, is explor-ing the future landscape for treating diabetes. Candice Hollenbeck and Jennifer Osbon are co-advisors for the Merck team which is investigating information seeking for contraceptive products by Millennials.

Brief summaries of the projects will be given at the Spring Advisory Board meeting scheduled for April 28.

Topic Speaker

Welcome/Opening Remarks Dr. Charlotte Mason

Speed, Accuracy, and a Single Version of the Truth — How Technology is Changing Research

Erin MattsChief Marketing Officer, Annalect

Superman & Avatars — the Promise of a Better World David SackmanCEO, Lieberman Research Worldwide

ESOMAR 2014 Global Market Research Report Dr. Niels SchillewaertManaging Partner, InSites Consulting

Gathering Market Data through Mobile Gameplay Joe MarksCo-Founder, Upfront Analytics

How MROCs Can Uncover Deeper Insights through Long-term Relationship Building

Lisa Courtade Executive Director - Global Market Research Excellence, Merck & Co.

Clarke De PastinoVice President Engagement, Ipsos Social Media Exchange (SMX)

Measuring Motivational Response in Complex Categories John WhitakerVice President, Market & Consumer InsightLowe’s Home Improvement

From Ricedough to GoPro — Technology Applications in Research

Ashley ShomakerPresident & CEO, U30 Group, Inc.

Trends in Acculturation — How Shifts Among Multi-Cultural, Millennial and LGBT Consumers are Changing Research

Carlos E. GarciaSenior Vice President Multicultural, GfK

Make Your Stakeholders Smarter — Moving Beyond the Dashboard and Into Configurable Insights.

Tom KellyDirector, Insights & Analytics, AOL

Cultural Forces — Reshaping Business, Repositioning Market Research

Tom LaForgeGlobal Director, Human & Cultural TrendsThe Coca Cola Company

2014 MMR Anniversary Research Summit

Winter 2015 MMR Newsletter • 5

ADVISORY BOARDThe Advisory Board is comprised of recog-nized leaders in marketing research from a broad cross-section of client and supplier firms. Board members provide strategic and curricular guidance to the program, share their experiences including new methodolo-gies and practices via the Altria Executive Seminar Series, and provide placement opportunities for students.

• Altria• Anheuser-Busch• BBDO• Bellomy Research• Burke, Inc.• CASRO• Consumer Insights• Directions Research, Inc.• dunnhumbyUSA• Eli Lilly and Company• InSites Consulting• Johnson & Johnson Vision Care• JPMorgan Chase• Kimberly-Clark• Lynx Research Consulting• M/A/R/C• McKinsey & Company• Merck & Co., Inc.• Millward Brown• MMR Research Associates, Inc.• PepsiCo• The Coca-Cola Company• The Marketing Workshop

Board Chair: Rob ArnettPast Chair: Jeff MillerChair-elect: pendingCo-Chairs of Corporate Outreach Committee: Niels Schillewaert and Lisa CourtadeCo-Chairs of Student Skills Committee: David Sackin and Leslie SchallChair of Alumni Engagement Committee: Mike CourtneyMMR Director: Charlotte MasonMMR Graduate Coordinator: Rich Fox MMR Students of the Year (ex officio): Kevin Smith (MMR ’14) and Leah Root (MMR ’13)

ADVISORY BOARD STEERING COMMITTEE

CLASS OF 2015continued from 3

Administration in Marketing degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Andrew worked as a research assistant in the psychology depart-ment, and was a tutor for business

courses while attending. He also was a test instructor for a new study group for general psychology through the tutoring department. During his time at UMD, Andrew also worked on a consulting team for Cook Building Center in Cook, Minnesota. This team was tasked with developing and subsequently developed an integrated marketing communications plan for Cook Building Center.

GLENNA (MARTI) RICHMILLERMarti graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of New Orleans with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and a concentra-

tion in Sales in May, 2014. During her undergraduate years, Marti received top honors at the Innovate UNO Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Showcase and presented her winning research at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette Academic Summit. She also received the Irwin Brown Top Graduating Marketing Senior Award, the UNO Women’s Club Outstanding Woman Graduate in the College of Business Administration Award, and UNO Student Athlete of the Year Award. Marti interned with three firms: ‘stache Media, a marketing depart-ment of SONY Music; Party Planners West, Inc., a company contracted by the National Football League to plan and exe-cute all Superbowl activities in February 2013; and the UNO Department of Athletics Marketing Department.

MICHAEL SAVERINEA native Texan, Michael graduate Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science degree.

While attending university, Michael inves-tigated the applicability of works of mili-tary strategy to modern business, interned as a research assistant for a nonprofit organization, and worked on independent research with a professor at the Naval War College. While in school he was admit-ted to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. After graduating, Michael started PMI Strategic Analysis, a research consultancy. During his time running the company, he proposed, designed, and executed a num-ber of marketing and operational research projects for a local chain of restaurants. These projects were aimed at expediting service and expanding the client’s custom-er base. In his spare time Michael enjoys playing chess and climbing mountains, and would like to try doing both simulta-neously someday.

KAITLYN STEWARTKaitlyn, though a native of Maryland, graduated Cum Laude from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing with a

minor in Psychology. She gained interna-tional experience through a study abroad semester in Florence, Italy. Throughout her undergraduate career, Kaitlyn was employed with both The SK&A Group and Erickson Living at Riderwood Village as a marketing intern. She gained research experience through these internships as well as through separate projects and courses at both Clemson University and her school in Florence.

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2014 MMR Anniversary Research Summit

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Winter 2015 MMR Newsletter • 7

1. Ashley Shomaker, U30 Group, Inc.2. Tom LaForge, The Coca-Cola

Company3. Niels Schillewaert, InSites Consulting4. Carlos Garcia, GfK (left) and Mike

Courtney, Alumni President (right) at Creature Comforts opening reception

5. Chris Miller (MMR ’91) and Betsy Sutherland (MMR ’88)

6. Joe Marks, Upfront Analytics7. Carlos Garcia, GfK8. Research Summit session9. Buffet lunch10. John Whitaker, Lowe’s Home

Improvement 11. Erin Matts, Annalect

2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

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8 • MMR Newsletter Winter 2015

Alumni Corner2012Ryan Kantor accepted a new job in Atlanta with Georgia-Pacific Professional. He also reports that some of the class of 2012 gathered in Athens over the Labor Day weekend for a mini-reunion. 2009Cole & Kristi Heyer welcomed their son, Holden Christo-pher Heyer, on August 23, 2014.

2003Latrice (Cockett) Abanyie reports a year of changes: In the summer of 2013, she celebrated 10 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and was promoted to Director of Worldwide Immuno-Oncology Market Research. She welcomed a second baby boy into her family on August 4, 2013 (just 3 days after her 5-year wedding anniversary). And she purchased her first single-family home in October of 2013. 1999Andrea (Tuer) Widener and her husband, Kurt, welcomed their son, William Grant, on September 25. William joins big sister Charlotte, age 2. Andrea is a Lead Analyst at Market Strategies International, where she has worked since 2000.

1995Jeff Jamer received the Market Researcher of the Year Award from the PMRG (Pharmaceutical Market Research Group). Criteria for the award include demonstrated lead-ership, business impact, research innovation and commit-ment to healthcare market research.

1994Wendy Rosen has recently changed roles joining Cox Communications as Senior Manager, Consumer Insights and is excited to learn about the fast changing telecom-

munications industry. She reports that there are 4 MMR grads in the team of just 7!

1992Mary Darden Tarczynski is proud to report Ditto Labs, the innovative photo analytics start up she joined in early 2014, was recently named “Research Entrepreneur of the Year” by CASRO. As image-centric social conversations continue to grow, computer vision uncovers what was previously a data blind spot for marketers. Mary continues to enjoy life with her family in Northern California and con-necting with MMR Alums at conferences and via LinkedIn.

Lisa Courtade and Merck colleague Marjorie Reedy have been recognized by RBDR as recipients of the Client Innovation Award for championing innovation in market-ing research. IPSOS OTX recognized this client team for pushing their organization, internal business partners, research agencies and the next generation of researchers to leverage innovation to deliver business insights beyond the obvious. In the words of Jill Wiltfong of IPSOS OTX, “They challenge us all to be better researchers.”

1988Betsy Sutherland joins Directions Research, Inc. with over 25 years of experience, most recently at M/A/R/C Research as Executive Vice President/General Manager

East Division. In her new role, Betsy will focus on key accounts, as well as leverage her experience to help expand business in new areas. She is responsible for building strategic partnerships, managing strategic and tactical research engagements, and helping to effectively communicate the results to clients.

Master of Marketing ResearchBen C. Ayers, DeanCharlotte Mason, Director, MMRRichard Fox, Graduate Coordinator, MMRJamese Meyer, Program Coordinator, MMR

The University of GeorgiaTerry College of Business, Brooks Hall, Athens, Georgia (706) 542-0426terry.uga.edu/mmr