U.S. Market Research Associations merge.

The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR) and the Marketing Research Association (MRA) announced the merger of their memberships.

Answering an overwhelmingly growing concern of industry members that there are too many associations partitioning the services needed and increasing the cost of companies to receive the professional support they need, CMOR and MRA have decided to merge.

“We believe that by combining the missions and deliverables of our two organizations, we have created one organization that will meet almost all the profession’s needs,” stated Jon Last, MRA’s President and Golf Digest Publications representative.

CMOR was created in 1992 by four collaborating associations (AMA, ARF, CASRO and MRA) to be the organization that served all of the industry’s needs in the areas of Government Affairs and Respondent Cooperation. “Putting the full weight of MRA the profession’s strongest U.S. research association behind CMOR is consistent with our vision of a strong defender and promoter of the profession,” commented Tom Zortech one of CMOR’s founding members and Treasurer.

MRA is the U.S.’s second oldest research association representing over 3,000 corporate and individual members in the US and around the world, representing clients, full-service companies and data collection companies. “The profession is evolving rapidly in some areas and this merger will enable the profession to respond quickly and intelligently to the challenges that face us,” was the perspective of Lawrence Brownell, MRA’s CEO.

The new combined organization promises open involvement to other profession representatives on key industry efforts through the CMOR leadership structure which will maintain some autonomy in advancing the Government Affairs and Respondent Cooperation/quality issues of the profession. “Whether a client company of researcher this move is a great response to the desire of professions’ members who believe that productivity and cost savings can be realized by the associations coming together, I am particularly proud of the Compliance Guide, a $2,000 offering becoming a free primary benefit to members of the new combined organization,” stated Diane Kosobud of IPSOS, Co-Chair of the CMOR Board of Directors.

The full merger of memberships will occur on December 31, 2008.