Focus groups come alive on PRODIGY

Business Wire, Nov 17, 1994

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 1994--They used to sit behind a two-way mirror in conference rooms where executives eavesdropped on discussions ranging from crunchy peanut butter to passenger-side airbags.

Now, they sit at home at a keyboard as the focus group unfolds in live Chat. These real-time conversations on PRODIGY are catching the interest of advertisers, market researchers and product managers -- many of whom have already discovered the instant gratification of interactive advertising.

The PRODIGY focus group program, which costs $3,000, covers complete services including recruiting participants; scheduling sessions through e-mail; and, creating and sizing rooms to accommodate two to 100 participants. Demographics are verified and members are invited to participate without ever compromising PRODIGY's member list policy. (Prodigy does not sell, trade or barter member/mailing lists.)

"We're getting a lot of calls as marketers discover live Chat on their own and want to adopt it as a method of research," says Paul Lewis, Prodigy's research manager. "It's fast and inexpensive. Also, many people are likely to reveal more intimate details in a group if they're not face to face."

PRODIGY has the lowest price of any major commercial online service -- $9.95 for the first five hours, and $2.95 for each additional hour. The PRODIGY service now offers live Chat; Internet access; the largest and most active bulletin board network in the country; ESPNET; and hundreds of other features. All PRODIGY features are easy to use by simply pointing and clicking a mouse.

For more information on focus groups, call Paul Lewis at Prodigy at 914/448-8117; XHTG55A; Internet: Lewis(at)prodigy.com.

CONTACT: Carol Wallace

             Prodigy
             914/448-2496
             NCHN48A
             wallace(at)prodigy.com