The Media Rating Council (MRC) Board of Directors has voted in favor of granting continued accreditation of MRI’s national syndicated measurement service.

On behalf of the industry, the MRC assures that audience measurement services are valid, reliable, and effective. As part of its annual accreditation process, the MRC conducts rigorous audits of MRI’s methodology, fieldwork, analytics, and data handling systems.

A division of GfK, MRI has been accredited by MRC since 1998, affirming its commitment to the highest quality research methods. Each year, MRI conducts roughly 24,000 in-person interviews as part of the Survey of the American Consumer®, capturing in-depth information on media choices, attitudes, and consumption of over 6,500 products and services in nearly 600 categories. 

“Since its founding, MRI has been investing in excellence, and the hard work continues to pay off for our clients and the industry,” said Gregg Lindner, Regional General Manager of GfK North America. “MRI has become a symbol of quality for media planners, brand marketers, and even academic researchers, and we are proud to have the MRC recognize the reliability and consistency of our work.”

“As data sets are combined and analyzed in more complex ways, relying on trusted data sources has become more important than ever,” said Anna Welch, Managing Director of MRI. “MRI is the only measurement of its kind to win MRC approval – a clear indication that our data can serve as the foundation for sound decisions. When so much data is of uncertain reliability and value, we continue to refine the methodically sound research techniques that our clients have come to rely on.”

“We congratulate MRI on once again earning MRC accreditation,” said George W. Ivie, CEO and Executive Director of the MRC. “Since it was first accredited in 1998, MRI has consistently demonstrated an ongoing commitment to high-quality research standards and rigorous execution, the result of which is that it is now among the longest-tenured MRC accredited measurement services in the marketplace.”

To merit continued MRC accreditation, MRI

• complies with the Council’s Minimum Standards for Media Rating Research;
• provides full and complete information to the Council regarding all details of its operation;
• conducts its measurement service substantially in accordance with representations to the subscribers and the Council; and 
• submits to, and pays the cost of, thorough annual audits of accredited services by CPA firms engaged by the MRC.

About MRI

MRI’s focus on excellence has made it the leading provider of media and consumer research in the United States. Its Survey of the American Consumer® is used in the majority of US media and marketing plans and has long been the industry standard for magazine audience ratings. Through over 24,000 in-person interviews each year, MRI captures in-depth information on consumer media choices, attitudes, and consumption of products and services in nearly 600 categories. 

For the past 20 years, MRI’s national study and reporting services have been accredited by the MRC, which assures that audience measurement services are valid, reliable, and effective. As part of its annual accreditation process, the MRC conducts rigorous audits of MRI’s methodology, fieldwork, analytics, and data handling systems. MRI is the only service of its kind to maintain this exceptionally high level of quality.

MRI is a division of GfK; to learn more, follow MRI on Twitter at @GfKMRINews.