Greenfield Launches Online Brainstorming Service for Market Research

Greenfield Online Inc. launched MindStorm, an online brainstorming service designed to allow marketers, advertisers and product developers to conduct real-time idea generation sessions with target audiences via the Internet.

MindStorm can be used to create new product slogans, concepts and strategies, the company said, adding that it can spark ideas for advertising headlines, taglines, catch phrases, new product applications or line extensions.

Greenfield Online’s panel of 500,000 households can be mined, or marketers can use their own online customers for sessions.

“This is a great way to explore new ideas in detail without the costs and time involved with traditional idea generation techniques,” said Rudy Nadilo, president and CEO of Greenfield Online. “MindStorm offers companies an ideal environment in which they can observe and interact with real customers. Because our panel is willing and pre-qualified, researchers can be confident they will receive detailed and useful responses from customers eager to share their opinions.”

MindStorm uses a threaded response procedure–similar to an Internet-based newsgroup–which is made to let respondents to react to and build upon each other’s ideas, just like traditional-style brainstorming, but without the costs of actually gathering people in one location. Researchers can interact with the group at any point in the process and are able to use graphics, audio or video to stimulate customer responses. Pricing for the service was not disclosed.

Greenfield Online is a full-service marketing research firm that uses the Internet to provide clients with quick results..