Harris Interactive and Top Box Associates Announce Strategic Alliance

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Feb 16, 2011, 04:27 ET

NEW YORK and WILTON, Conn., Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Creating a high-quality, economical new product forecasting solution, Harris Interactive (Nasdaq: HPOL), one of the world's leading custom market research firms, and Top Box Associates, a global consulting firm specializing in new product forecasting and analytics, today announced a strategic alliance that offers clients a flexible and cost-effective new product forecasting solution. The new offering combines Harris Interactive's global reach and understanding of consumer and brand behavior and Top Box Associates' expertise in forecasting new products, line extensions and relaunched products.

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This new alliance will provide users of new product forecasting services the support they need as they seek to launch successful products in today's risky business environment: accurate sales forecasts, quick turnaround, flawless execution, good value, and fact-based guidance.

"This partnership directly addresses an industry need for more insight and improved customization with overall cost efficiency," says Jonathan Siegel, Senior Vice President of Market Strategy and Product & Service Innovation at Harris Interactive. "This partnership delivers the service and customization of a boutique store with the varied selection and price of a big box retailer. This alliance means our clients – starting today – can turn to Harris Interactive for all of their new product and innovation needs, from ideation to launch management, in all the major and emerging markets around the globe."

"We believe our clients will see immediate and important benefits from this alliance," says Top Box Associates' founder and President, Ken Sobel. "Not only will they be able to take advantage of the team's clear strengths in research execution and sophisticated forecasting, but we intend to focus on better launch planning. This alliance allows our clients to leverage the expertise of specialists who have participated in thousands of new product launches across many geographies and business sectors. That expertise means we work with our clients to help assure that the magnitude of the efforts they make in support of their new products will be in balance with the size of the new business opportunities they face. This is a key success factor for new product launches – and one that is too often overlooked."

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us - and our clients - stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

About Top Box Associates LLC

Top Box Associates is dedicated to improving the decisions its clients make about which new products to launch and how to best support the products they do launch. It specializes in forecasting the sales of new products, line extensions, and relaunches prior to in-market introduction with validated proprietary forecasting tools. This helps manufacturers and service providers avoid the financial risks of rolling out new products that are unlikely to achieve sufficient sales. Operating worldwide, Top Box Associates offers expertise to help assure clients that their marketing and promotional support budgets are properly aligned to the size of the business opportunities they face, thereby maximizing the profitability of new product programs. For additional details, please visit www.topboxassociates.com.