TORONTO, Feb. 13, 2002 — MSN® Carpoint® .ca, the most visited car-buying site in Canada, J.D. Power and Associates and SampleNet e-Research Solutions today announced their plans to jointly develop and manage an online Automotive Panel that will produce proprietary and syndicated automotive market research using Carpoint.ca, which has more than 400,000 monthly visitors. J.D. Power and Associates intends to use the Automotive Panel for Canadian automotive research, including surveys, opinion polls and market studies.
Under the terms of the initiative, Carpoint.ca will help recruit panelists by providing access to its user database through promotional efforts such as banners, fixed links, newsletters and pop-up ads. SampleNet will provide the technology infrastructure for panel development and data capture, and will conduct selected research in the Canadian market on behalf of J.D. Power and Associates. In addition, third-party research firms will be able to access the Automotive Panel through SampleNet services provided on behalf of Carpoint.ca and J.D. Power.
“Carpoint.ca provides an ideal platform to expand our online automotive initiatives in Canada and targets survey participants in a cost-effective manner,”
said Richard Cooper, executive director of Canadian operations for J.D. Power and Associates.
“Carpoint.cas qualified user base combined with SampleNets technical expertise will significantly enhance our Canadian automotive research capabilities.”
The Automotive Panel will be co-branded to include J.D. Power and Associates and Web Perspectives, a research service provided by SampleNet. Carpoint.ca will have access to the Automotive Panel to conduct its own research and polls. Third-party market research firms, agencies and other interested parties will be able to access the panel directly through SampleNet.
“Our vast technical experience and core research services are a perfect complement to the skill sets of Carpoint.ca and J.D. Power,”
said John Visser, vice president, SampleNet e-Research Solutions.
“Its a tremendous opportunity to develop the premier source of online automotive research in Canada and drive new business in the process.”
“This initiative underscores our commitment to teaming with leaders in the automotive and service industries to reach consumers,”
said Ruth DSouza, general manager of Carpoint.ca.
“Our ability to provide credible research supported by the respected brand name of J.D. Power and Associates will provide a unique offering to J.D. Power clients and other marketing partners by effectively capturing the needs and behavior of automotive owners and consumers.”
About J.D. Power and Associates
J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firms quality and satisfaction measurements are based on actual responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates can be accessed through the Internet at http://www.jdpa.com/ .
About SampleNet e-Research Solutions
SampleNet provides market research firms with access to high-quality, nationally representative, online samples of target respondents through strategic relationships (including an alliance with MSN.CA and Carpoint.ca). SampleNets services are marketed by OpenVenue e-Research Solutions ( http://www.openvenue.com/ ), an online
“field”
company that programs, hosts and manages online research studies for over 60 Canadian and U.S. market research organizations using an integrated suite of proprietary and best-of-breed third-party research software.
About MSN.CA
MSN.CA is Canadas most visited Web network, with over 7 million visitors each month. MSN.CA hosts a suite of online services delivering news, information, entertainment and a variety of communication tools including MSN Hotmail® Web-based e-mail service — the worlds leading globally accessible free Web-based e-mail service — and MSN Search. MSN.CA also provides such high-quality interactive services as MSN Messenger Service, MSN Explorer, MSN eShop, MSN Web Communities, MSN Money and many more for the Microsoft® Windows® operating system. More information is available at http://www.msn.ca/.
About Carpoint.ca
Launched in September 2000, Toronto-based MSN Carpoint.ca is the most visited online automotive site in Canada. The fully bilingual Carpoint.ca site is an independent, all-makes, all-models resource that provides consumers with the broadest range of services to find a car they love at a price they can afford. With information from product reviews and surround videos to new- and used-car-buying services, visitors can research, compare cars, select or configure the car they want to purchase, and receive detailed information from the Carpoint network of Canadian dealers across the nation.
The technology and design of Carpoint.ca is modeled after Carpoint.com, the award-winning U.S. car-buying and ownership site, visited by more than 7 million consumers each month.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, MSN, Carpoint, Hotmail and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsofts corporate information pages.
