Company

COMCON was started in 1991 to meet the requirements of a dynamically growing market. Within a short period of time, COMCON became the leading media & market research company in Russia.

Joining ESOMAR  (European Society of Market Research) strengthened COMCON’s international contacts and led to the fruitful exchange of experience with colleagues abroad.

In April-May of 1992, the first multimedia research of TV, radio and press was conducted.

This project, conducted together with the French research company Mediametrie was a powerful stimulus in the development of industrial media measurements in our country.

In October of 1992, COMCON started independent multimedia monitoring in Moscow and St Petersburg on the basis of face-to-face interviews.

The results of this survey became the most authoritative source of ratings and data, which formed the basis of a media profile that accurately reflected trends in media measurement in Russia.

The introduction of the advanced computer system of telephone interviewing in Moscow (CATI - Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) in spring of 1993 at COMCON took the quality of research in Moscow to a new level.

At the same time two projects on daily monitoring of TV and radio audiences in Moscow were started, using DAR methodology (Day-After-Recall). COMCON helped introduce notions that have today become commonplace, such as Rating, Share, Reach, Frequency, AQH, CPT, which are used in everyday practice of advertising agencies media.

In January – March of 1994, in the framework of the TACIS program, COMCON’s leading specialists received training in western Research Institutes: Intomart (The Netherlands), Market Behavior Ltd, Pulse Train Technology, PA Consulting Group (UK).

Regular training of COMCON’s employees has become an integral part of COMCON’s business. It led to the formation of a highly professional and dedicated team of marketologists.

According to the estimation of the experts of the Russian market, COMCON has become a good school for a number of executives and senior managers of major advertising and research agencies.

In November of 1994, COMCON conducted the first complex market research in Russia on consumption, lifestyle and media preferences among teenagers aged 4 - 15. Since 1998 this survey (New Generation) has been conducted twice a year.

In 1994, COMCON won a tender to conduct Target Group Index (TGI) and was licensed by BMRB International to produce and sell it in Russia. It is a large-scale survey of goods and services consumption, as well as lifestyle and media preferences, readership and viewership. This product was successfully adapted to Russian conditions.

In November of 1995, the first results of the global project R-TGI (Russian Target Group Index) were presented in the Russian Chamber of Commerce. The survey at that point was based on the annual interviews of 25,000 people in 45 Russian cities.

In a short period of time, the Russian Target Group Index has become a reliable source of unique information about the status of the Russian consumer market of more than 3,500 FMSG brands and durables.

Market segmentation on different bases, target group definition and their portrait, selection of the most effective media vehicles - these are some of the R-TGI possibilities available to professional marketologists and accounts.

In January of 1996, in response to the demands of a dynamically growing TV and advertising market, COMCON started its TV diary panel, delivering data on TV channels and TV program viewership to clients on a weekly basis. COMCON’s ratings were considered to be the most reliable and unbiased source for media planning till the panel’s closure in the crisis of 1998.

At the present time, COMCON delivers control TV ratings and conducts both Quantitative and Qualitative analysis of the regular TV audiences.

In spring of 1997, with the support of the leading commercial radio stations, COMCON launched a new type of radio research which is musical format testing. Along with the usage of COMCON’s daily radio monitoring, musical tests have become an integral part of marketing and programming services work.

In the late 90s COMCON was developing market research intensely, new methodologies were introduced, large-scale projects were completed for major Russian and international companies.

An efficient combination of a strict scientific approach and effective management when completing complex and large-scale research projects make COMCON a leading media&market research company in Russia.

In 1997, the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Entrepreneurship Development and the editorial staff of Marketing Russia magazine conducted surveys among advertisers and advertising agencies regarding the best research agency in Russia. COMCON was recognized as the top research agency in Russia by the following parameters: accuracy, reliability, objectivity. COMCON was also named first in terms of awareness.

In 1999 COMCON becomes an official partner of Research International in Russia, which shows that the company’s reputation and experience are acknowledged internationally. Ten years after, as a result of merger between Research International and TNS partner relations were over because of the network of RI associated members were closed. COMCON is proud to declare of its invaluable experience participating in global projects, studying many Western research methodologies, and implementing international quality standards.

Today, the company uses its expertise to create new projects for its clients, benefit from new methodologies, as well as search new prospects for development.

The introduction and application of advanced international methodologies in Qualitative and Quantitative research and data analysis allows COMCON to maintain its leadership among research agencies in Russia.