Tobii Technology Partners with Friedman to Expand Use of Eye Tracking in Consumer Goods Market Research

New partnership with GfK subsidiary will generate greater insight into consumer interaction with packaged goods, in-store purchase decisions through Tobii Insight.

Tobii Technology, the global market leader in eye tracking and eye control, today announced an innovative new partnership with Friedman Consumer Opinion Centers, an independent subsidiary of GfK Group, one of the largest market research groups in the world, to provide customizable eye-tracking solutions by combining Tobii Insight and Friedman data collection services to support a wide range of comprehensive studies of consumer packaged goods, on- and offline advertising, in-store purchase decisions, websites, software applications, and mobile devices of all kinds.

“We look forward to working with Tobii and its internal eye-tracking experts to help us discover new and innovative applications for eye-tracking technology to advance market research in the consumer goods industry and in website and mobile device user experience,” said Andy Barre, Senior Vice President, Friedman. “Tobii’s extremely precise eye-tracking tools provide unparalleled insight into the consumer viewing and decision process, improving the overall approach and the final result when designing effective advertising, packaging, in-store merchandising, websites and applications.”

Through this partnership, Friedman will be supported by Tobii Insight, Tobii’s comprehensive eye-tracking solution that includes technology products and expert counsel on best practices in research methodologies, approach analysis and reporting. The main goal of the partnership is to make it easy for any Friedman clients to do eye tracking, whether they need only data collection services because they already have eye tracking expertise, or they need a complete end-to-end solution, which can be provided by through the combined services of Friedman and Tobii Insight.  

“We are excited to be partnering with Friedman to help them apply eye-tracking technology to consumer studies to maximize insight into human behavior in ways never before utilized,” said Tom Englund, president of analysis solutions at Tobii Technology AB.  “This partnership marks the adoption of eye-tracking technology on the widest scale ever seen before within the consumer research community, demonstrating the dedication of both Friedman and Tobii Technology to expand the frontiers of market research.”

Under the agreement, Tobii will support Friedman in each of the research agency’s 16 Consumer Opinion Centers across the U.S. with technology tools, analysis services and training. Initially, Tobii’s 24-inch HD integrated eye tracker will be set up in five Friedman locations, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Phoenix. Tobii will train Friedman researchers to operate the eye-trackers in order to support a wide range of client needs internally. Friedman will provide data collection services to research agencies and brands in a flexible service offering in which Tobii’s analysis services are optional depending on client needs and expertise.

“We believe that the research industry has only just scratched the surface of discovering the immense value and role that eye-tracking technology can play in illuminating understanding of consumer behavior, from advertising and branding, to in-store appeal and point of sale conversion,” said Barbara Barclay, General Manager, Tobii North America. “There is still so much that can be done by organizations to more fully achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction with products and services.”

Tobii recently introduced its new Tobii Insight service, which provides comprehensive and cost effective eye-tracking research solutions to support the market research industry. The new service will lower the cost barrier to bring the benefits of eye-tracking research to a broader array of organizations that have not previously used it, and will also give market research firms a new way to offer eye tracking to customers without the upfront costs of equipment or knowledge acquisition.

About Tobii Technology

Tobii Technology is the world’s leading vendor of eye tracking and eye control, a technology that makes it possible for computers to know exactly where users are looking. Our eye tracking technology has revolutionized research in many fields and enabled communication for thousands of people with special needs. Looking forward Tobii’s mission is to bring eye tracking into broader use. Some of that future is already here. We provide market-leading eye tracking technology to industrial partners in areas such as hospitals, diagnostics, vehicle safety, gaming and computer manufacturing. Tobii continues to realize its visions, showing continuous and rapid year-to-year revenue growth, and receiving numerous awards and recognition for its accomplishments. From our head office in Stockholm, Sweden, our reach is as broad as our vision. With offices in the US, Germany, Norway, Japan and China and a worldwide network of resellers and partners, we are truly a global company.

More information: www.tobii.com

About Friedman

Friedman Consumer Opinion Centers is a data collection network that has been in business for over 35 years. Friedman specializes in all forms of market research interviewing throughout its many nationwide interviewing facilities. Friedman offers high quality data collection utilizing state-of-the-art technology and unparalleled client service. For further information, visit www.friedmanmktg.com.

About the GfK Group

The GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers, services companies and the media need to make market decisions. It delivers a comprehensive range of information and consultancy services in the three business sectors Custom Research, Retail and Technology and Media. The No. 5 market research organization worldwide operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 11,000 staff. In 2010, the GfK Group’s sales amounted to EUR 1.29 billion. For further information, visit our website: www.gfk.com. Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gfk_group.

 Media contacts:

In the U.S.:

Kristina Messner, Focused Image: +1-703-678-6023, kmessner@focusedimage.com

In Europe:

Eva Windisch, Head of Marketing, Tobii Technology: +46 70 771 67 68, eva.windisch@tobii.com