The surging economies of the Asia Pacific region were in the spotlight at CASRO’s recent International Conference, held April 25-26 in San Francisco. Representatives from survey research companies across the U.S. and the world received expert advice from several presenters, who discussed the prospects, pitfalls and politics of such powers as China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Australia, as well as emerging markets like Indonesia and Malaysia.  With clients seeking to market goods and services to the growing middle class of consumers throughout Asia, research companies need to understand how to manage surveys throughout the region. Attendees of the conference received this vital education.

Among the facts and insights noted in the dynamic presentations:

- Asia is made up of more than 40 distinct markets.

- Online research is the quickest, most robust source of survey data in Asia, but is rife with challenges across the various countries, including low penetration in Indonesia and the Philippines, email blocking and “cheating” in China and “professional” panelists in Japan.

- A look at how Asians spend their time and how they access information.

- In the near future, marketers in Asia will focus more on search engines and viral e-mail to spread their message. They will also utilize online video ads and messages to mobile devices.

- Social networking sites are very popular in China, much more so than in Japan, the U.S. and Europe.

- Marketing to the “third screen” – mobile devices (cell phone, pda, or iPod) – is increasingly important to reach younger Asians than via the “first screen” (TV) and “second screen” (pc). However, the potential is currently limited due to cost, download waits, screen size, and battery life. These issues will be addressed and when they are, marketers need to be ready for the explosion.

- Survey research business commissioned in China is growing at a 20% clip.

- A breakdown of shopping venue and brand preferences of Chinese consumers; media influences on consumer purchases in China.

- Chinese women more open to online selling than men.

- A comprehensive overview of the history, current marketplace and projections in various industries in India.

- India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2050.

- The Indian Telecommunication sector has been adding 5 million subscribers each month, the highest growth rate in the world.

- 85% of Australians live in the city and the rate of urbanization in the country continues to grow.

- There are approximately 350 market research providers in Australia

- Income generated from Quantitative research in Australia is almost double that of Qualitative.

- In Korea there is a growing influence of Japanese culture, environmental concerns, health and fitness.

- Korean movies, TV and music, along with the country’s consumer brands are becoming more popular across Asia.

At a cocktail hour, dinner, lunches and breaks, attendees had ample time to exchange ideas with their peers and meet with exhibitors, many of which specialize in assisting research companies with projects in Asia.

Special Thanks to Conference Chairs and Presenters:

Terry Coen, Survey Sampling International L.L.C., Conference Co-Chair

Frank Kelly, TNS European Access Panels, Conference Co-Chair

Marcy Kou, TNS Worldpanel Asia

Madhav Mirani, UGAM Solutions

Joseph Pilotta, BIG Research

Marcus Pritchard, Nielsen Customized Research - The Nielsen Company

Mark Walton, TNS 6th Dimension Interactive Research

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