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CASRO MRA Merger Goes to a Vote
US trade associations CASRO and the MRA are asking members to vote on their proposal to join forces. The new body would be known as the Insights Association, with a Board chaired by Cambiar's Simon Chadwick.
 The two bodies' own Boards of Directors have voted in favour of the proposal, first mooted in October last year. In a message to members at http://insights.marketingresearch.org , the associations says the combined association would be 'a consensus marketing research and analytics advocate representing our industry and profession with one voice'.
The two already work together on many issues, including putting the industry's case over regulations imposed by the FCC over issues of Do Not Track and TCPA. In the open letter, they note that 'CASRO was formed to meet the association needs of research businesses. MRA was formed primarily to meet the association needs of individual researchers. More often than not, these organizational and individual needs overlap... In this context, the missions of CASRO and MRA are synergistic and complementary but also sometimes duplicative'.
The parties say the new association would give the profession 'One Voice' for advocacy efforts in 'legal, image, value, quality and business advocacy'; an advanced Code of Standards, compiled by combining, extending and updating the two separate codes; expanded member resources linking organisational and individual membership; and would support and make good use of the MRA's vibrant local Chapters.
The proposed new name is said to 'succinctly represent who we are and what we do, as well as being simple, future-focused and evergreen'. It also represents a move 'from a research process-focused name to one reflecting the outcome of research'. More than 90 possible names were considered, the bodies say.
If approved, the Insights Association will launch with 15 voting members on its Board, with Market Strategies International CEORob Stone supporting Chadwick (pictured) as Vice Chair. Full membership is listed at http://insights.marketingresearch.org/directors .
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