Market Research "Internet Meme" Contest

Online Professional Network Challenges Thousands of Market Researchers to Showcase Viral Marketing Talent and Support Research Industry Causes by Creating "Meme-ingful" Digital Content

Stamford, CT (June 7, 2010) - Next Gen Market Research (NGMR), a global professional networking group for market research innovators, today launched the 1st Annual NGMR "Make Research Meme-ingful" Competition - the research industry's first-ever Internet "meme" contest.

Both a campaign and a competition, "Make Research Meme-ingful" celebrates creativity and innovation in market research by encouraging researchers to produce viral digital content highlighting key research industry issues and/or promoting important research industry causes of their choice.

A "meme" (rhymes with "team") refers to a concept and/or content - video, audio, text, graphic, etc. - that achieves "cultural significance" by being quickly and widely spread online and by word of mouth. NGMR's "Make Research Meme-ingful" competition is soliciting memes that achieve "research industry significance" in being created by and for market researchers, with the goal of spreading the word about issues that matter to market research professionals.

According to NGMR Founder Tom H. C. Anderson, the competition was established in order to demonstrate that "research professionals can be as creative, witty and tech savvy as their counterparts in marketing, PR and advertising, while also educating and raising awareness about issues and causes of importance to market researchers. NGMR is dedicated to progress, and our members are leading the way in technological and methodological innovation for the research industry. NGMR members feel that market research needs to continue to evolve, and this is a fun way to help share that message with the rest of our industry colleagues."

The contest is open to NGMR members through May 2011. Members select the topic, create the content, and submit their meme to NGMR. Because memes often involve humor and/or controversial subjects, authors have the option of remaining anonymous (their identities will be held in strict confidence).

Entries will be posted on the NGMR site and the winning meme will be determined by NGMR members via an online poll in June 2011. Memes will be judged on a mix of factors, including originality, dissemination/"buzz"/viral quotient, and industry relevance. Effective memes will ideally show up on prominent market research blogs, websites and social networks, be covered in trade publications, be shared on Twitter and by email, and may even appear in industry conference programs.

The winning meme will be showcased on the NGMR website. The winner will also be awarded $1,000 and will be featured in a special blog interview to elaborate on their meme topic, conducted by NGMR founder Tom H. C. Anderson.

For more information about rules and regulations, please visit www.tomhcanderson.com and www.nextgenmr.com.

More About "Memes"

A "meme" refers to a concept and/or content - video, audio, text, graphic, etc. - that achieves cultural significance by being quickly and widely spread online and by word of mouth. Memes can be original consumer-generated content and/or appropriated from mass media (an advertising jingle, a nightly broadcast network news clip, an iconic film scene, etc.). A meme could also be a quote, a joke, a photo, a sound byte, or even a person (e.g., "Joe the Plumber" became a major political meme in the 2008 U.S. presidential election). The point is that regardless of form, the meme is a traveler who goes far and wide. For examples of video memes, visit www.knowyourmeme.com