George Terhanian Appointed to Advertising Research Foundation Board of Directors

WILTON, Conn., June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Toluna, one of the world's leading online research panel and survey technology providers, announces the three-year appointment of Dr. George Terhanian to the Board of Directors of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), an organization dedicated to furthering the scientific practice of advertising and marketing through research.  Terhanian, who is Toluna's North America President and Group Chief Strategy Officer, will continue to serve as co-chairman of the ARF's Online Research Quality Initiative.

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"I am delighted to join the ARF's Board of Directors," says Terhanian.  "ARF member companies include many of the world's largest and most sophisticated advertisers and marketers, all of whom look to the ARF for guidance and advice to inform and improve decision making.  I look forward to contributing to the fund of knowledge that is available to them."

"George is a welcomed addition to the ARF Board of Directors.  He brings deep research insight, general management and global research supplier experience to our board composed of advertisers, retailers, media, agencies and research suppliers," said Steve Coffey, Chairman of the Advertising Research Foundation and Chief Research Officer of The NPD Group, Inc.

"George's expertise across all types of research is unique in our industry," says Frederic-Charles Petit, CEO of Toluna.  "The work he has done to understand and eliminate any biases associated with online data collection, in particular, is truly groundbreaking.  I am confident that his contribution to the ARF will be no less important.  Toluna clients have already benefitted from his expertise."

Additional Board of Directors members include Steve Coffey (Board Chairman), Chief Research Officer, the NPD Group, Inc.; Colleen Fahey Rush (Board Secretary), Chief Research Officer, MTV Networks.  Newly appointed members include Artie Bulgrin, Senior Vice President, Research & Analytics, ESPN; and Ravi Parmeswar, Managing Director, Consumer Insights Group, Citi.  A full list of members can be found by clicking here http://www.thearf.org/assets/board. 

About Toluna

Toluna enables organizations to generate valuable customer insight by combining its online market research panel and industry leading technology.  Toluna provides companies the ability to answer questions of their target audience quickly and efficiently and leverages a unique approach to respondent recruitment and engagement with its online 'community' and proprietary Real-Time Sampling® methodology. Toluna guarantees that the data clients receive is of the highest quality.

Further, Toluna provides the industry's leading online market research technology suite, enabling hundreds of market research organizations and agencies worldwide to create surveys, manage panels and build online communities. Toluna's products include PanelPortal™, AutomateSurvey™, BrandSpector™ and QuickSurveys™.

Toluna has offices in the US, Canada, UK, France (headquarters), The Netherlands, Romania, Germany, India, Australia, Japan and China.

About the ARF

Founded in 1936 by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the ARF is dedicated to aggregating, creating and distributing research-based knowledge that will help members make better advertising decisions. ARF members include more than 400 advertisers, advertising agencies, associations, research firms, and media companies.

The ARF is the only organization that brings all members of the industry to the same table for strategic collaboration. In 2011, the ARF celebrates its 75th Anniversary as the industry's authoritative source of advertising knowledge.

About George Terhanian

George Terhanian joined Toluna in September 2010 and serves as President of Toluna, North America and the company's Chief Strategy and Products Officer.  Prior to joining Toluna, Dr. Terhanian was President, Global Solutions, for Harris Interactive.  In that role, he oversaw several areas, including Brand and Communications Consulting, Stakeholder Relationship Consulting, Reputation Management, Marketing Sciences, Qualitative Research, Youth & Education Research, the Harris Poll, and the company's internal Center for Innovation.  Prior to serving as President, Global Solutions, Dr. Terhanian served as President of Harris Interactive Europe and Global Internet Research.  Dr. Terhanian received a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Haverford College.  He is a trustee of the National Council on Public Polls and an Advertising Research Foundation Board Member.  Dr. Terhanian's methodological expertise lies in the design and analysis of multi-mode studies, and selection bias modeling.

CONTACT: Janice Caston, +1-203-846-5741, [email protected]

SOURCE Toluna