ESOMAR 37

Q1. What experience does your company have in providing online samples for market research? How long have you been providing this service? Do you also provide similar services for other uses such as direct marketing? If so, what proportion of your work is for market research?

Macromill Southeast Asia, Inc. (henceforth MMSEA) is a Macromill Group Company, one of the leading Market Research Companies in Japan.

With an aim to become one of the top Online Research Providers in Southeast Asia, MMSEA started its journey with the acquisition of W&S Holding Co., Ltd. (W&S) a Market Research Company providing services in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam since 2011. W&S became a part of the Macromill Group in 2019, and was renamed as Macromill Southeast Asia, Inc.

Our Services are related only to Market Research, hence our Panels/Samples are used 100% for market research purposes and not shared with third parties for any marketing activities.

Q2. Do you have staff with responsibility for developing and monitoring the performance of the sampling algorithms and related automated functions who also have knowledge and experience in this area? What sort of training in sampling techniques do you provide to your frontline staff?

MMSEA has a Global Team of engineers and experts with immense experience in the Market Research Industry.

The response status of each panel is monitored by our engineers who are actively engaged in making daily improvements to ensure that responses are done accurately. Distribution and collection of Surveys is controlled by our System to minimalize any human error, and collection status is managed by a dedicated team specializing in Online Research operation. Training is provided to the staff on the latest practices on need basis.

The entire Operation is overseen and supported by Industry Experts from the Group Company.

Q3. What other services do you offer? Do you cover sample-only, or do you offer a broad range of data collection and analysis services?

Apart from Samples, MMSEA provides end to end Market Research Services covering Online and Offline Research and Data Analysis.

Online: Full Service from Survey designing to Reporting

Offline: Focus Group Interview, Depth Interview, Home Use Testing

※ Online interviews also possible with simultaneous interpretation

Q4. Using the broad classifications above, from what sources of online sample do you derive participants?

MMSEA Online Samples are 100% actively managed panels.

We strategically develop our panels using search engine marketing, social networks, banners, co-registration, website, and text ads. We actively deploy both online and offline campaigns.

Our panel registration sites are as follows:

Thailand: https://yimresearch.net
Indonesia: https://nusaresearch.net
Vietnam: https://vinaresearch.net

Q5. Which of these sources are proprietary or exclusive and what is the percent share of each in the total sample provided to a buyer? (Assume proprietary to mean that the sample provider owns the asset. Assume exclusive to mean that the sample provider has an exclusive agreement to manage/provide access to sample originally collected by another entity.)

MMSEA Panels are 100% Proprietary.

Q6. What recruitment channels are you using for each of the sources you have described? Is the recruitment process ‘open to all’ or by invitation only? Are you using probabilistic methods? Are you using affiliate networks and referral programs and in what proportions? How does your use of these channels vary by geography?

MMSEA acquires panel members through several methods.

Currently our members are registered Organically through "natural search inflows" and references.

The recruitment process is open to all.

Q7. What form of validation do you use in recruitment to ensure that participants are real, unique, and are who they say they are? Describe this both in terms of the practical steps you take within your own organization and the technologies you are using. Please try to be as specific and quantify as much as you can.

The basic steps for validation are as follows:

- New registrants provide username, email address and mobile number.
- Verification done either through SMS or Email (Double opt-in)
- Proceed to registration ※Mandatory ID Card submission
※ Rewards cannot be exchanged without an ID Card verification.

In addition,

- Trap questions are integrated in each Survey to minimize errors.
- Status of each member is evaluated through their response based on our Quality Standard.
- Membership eligibility or taking part in future Surveys is determined by our Quality Team.

Q8. What brand (domain) and/or app are you using with proprietary sources? Summarize, by source, the proportion of sample accessing surveys by mobile app, email or other specified means.

We use the following domains in the respective countries of operation:

Thailand: https://yimresearch.net
Indonesia: https://nusaresearch.net
Vietnam: https://vinaresearch.net
※ Apps available

Q9. Which model(s) do you offer to deliver sample? Managed service, self-serve, or API integration?

We offer Managed Services and API Integration.

Q10. If offering intercepts, or providing access to more than one source, what level of transparency do you offer over the composition of your sample (sample sources, sample providers included in the blend). Do you let buyers control which sources of sample to include in their projects, and if so how? Do you have any integration mechanisms with third-party sources offered?

MMSEA provides 100% of the samples from our Proprietary Panel.

Q11. Of the sample sources you have available, how would you describe the suitability of each for different research applications? For example, is there sample suitable for product testing or other recruit/recall situations where the buyer may need to go back again to the same sample? Is the sample suitable for shorter or longer questionnaires? For mobile-only or desktop only questionnaires? Is it suitable to recruit for communities? For online focus groups?

MMSEA panel members are registered from the general population, hence they are suited for any kind of General Consumer Survey.

A unique ID is assigned to each member making it possible to send Surveys to the same member again.

It is possible for the members to respond either by PC or smartphone. If there's no specification of device, members can choose the device at their convenience depending on the length of the Survey and any other factor.

Q12. Briefly describe your overall process from invitation to survey completion. What steps do you take to achieve a sample that “looks like” the target population? What demographic quota controls, if any, do you recommend?

Surveys are sent randomly to panel members who match the demographic criteria, such as gender, age, and region as specified by the Client. Allocation will be appropriately tailored to each project's requirements. The members receive an email invitation for taking part in the survey.

Non-demographic attributes such as information on car ownership, B2B etc. can also be collected if required.

Q13. What profiling information do you hold on at least 80% of your panel members plus any intercepts known to you through prior contact? How does this differ by the sources you offer? How often is each of those data points updated? Can you supply these data points as appends to the data set? Do you collect this profiling information directly or is it supplied by a third party?

All members need to register the following information through our Panel registration site:

- Personal Demographics: Date of Birth, Gender, Marital Status
- Contact Information: Address, Mobile Number, Email
- Occupation related: Employment status, Occupation, Work Detail, Monthly Income
- Internet usage: Time and frequency
- Assets ownership: Mobile phone, Vehicles, Entertainment Devices, Computers

Panels are regularly requested to update their information through emails and introduction page before surveys. Status of members with incomplete data will be changed to inactive, until they complete their profiles accurately.

All information pertaining to panel members are collected directly by MMSEA.

In addition, Voluntary Surveys on various topics are sent regularly to collect more data from panels.

Q14. What information do you need about a project in order to provide an estimate of feasibility? What, if anything, do you do to give upper or lower boundaries around these estimates?

We need the following information to provide the estimate of feasibility:

- Target Condition (Age, Gender, Residence Area)
- Number of Completes
- Incidence Rate
- Length of Interview
- Field work timeline
- Quota details
- Device type

Q15. What do you do if the project proves impossible for you to complete in field? Do you inform the sample buyer as to who you would use to complete the project? In such circumstances, how do you maintain and certify third party sources/sub-contractors?

In case we are unable to complete a Project using our panel, we will consult with the Client to relax the terms and conditions or extend the actual survey period.

Q16. Do you employ a survey router or any yield management techniques? If yes, please describe how you go about allocating participants to surveys. How are potential participants asked to participate in a study? Please specify how this is done for each of the sources you offer.

We do not use Survey router in order to ensure the generality of respondents. Surveys are sent to panel members who match the demographics and survey screening criteria.

Q17. Do you set limits on the amount of time a participant can be in the router before they qualify for a survey?

Not applicable as we do not use Survey router.

Q18. What information about a project is given to potential participants before they choose whether to take the survey or not? How does this differ by the sources you offer?

We provide the following information to members in advance:

- Survey Title
- Length of Survey
- Rewards
- Terms and Conditions
- Advance notice in case of any sensitive content.

We do not provide any advance information that may affect the results of the survey.

Q19. Do you allow participants to choose a survey from a selection of available surveys? If so, what are they told about each survey that helps them to make that choice?

Panel members can choose from the Surveys that are sent to them as per their attributes.

The following information are available as reference:

- Survey Title
- Length of Survey
- Rewards
- Terms and Conditions
- Advance notice in case of any sensitive content.

Q20. What ability do you have to increase (or decrease) incentives being offered to potential participants (or sub-groups of participants) during the course of a survey? If so, can this be flagged at the participant level in the dataset?

We do not change the incentives/rewards once the survey is in process.

Q21. Do you measure participant satisfaction at the individual project level? If so, can you provide normative data for similar projects (by length, by type, by subject, by target group)?

Participant satisfaction is not measured for projects, however, general satisfaction surveys are sent to the members from time to time.

In case of any dissatisfaction or questions, members can contact us through the Phone or Enquiry Form.

Q22. Do you provide a debrief report about a project after it has completed? If yes, can you provide an example?

We do not provide any specific report, however, the following information is provided:

- Completes
- Screen-out
- Quota Full
- Error
- Incidence Rate
- Length of Interview

Q23. How often can the same individual participate in a survey? How does this vary across your sample sources? What is the mean and maximum amount of time a person may have already been taking surveys before they entered this survey? How do you manage this?

The same individual can only participate in a Survey once.

Currently, we do not have any restriction on the number of Surveys a member can participate in during a given period of time.

Q24. What data do you maintain on individual participants such as recent participation history, date(s) of entry, source/channel, etc.? Are you able to supply buyers with a project analysis of such individual level data? Are you able to append such data points to your participant records?

We maintain the following information:

- Participation history
- Rewards earned
- Response devices

However, such information (apart from Response device) cannot be shared with the Client.

Q25. Please describe your procedures for confirmation of participant identity at the project level. Please describe these procedures as they are implemented at the point of entry to a survey or router.

Each member has a unique ID making it possible for us to identify all our members. The verification is done based on this ID number with the information registered.

It is not possible for the same ID to answer to a Survey multiple times.

Fraudulent responses are prevented by restricting responses from non-existent IDs.

Q26. How do you manage source consistency and blend at the project level? With regard to trackers, how do you ensure that the nature and composition of sample sources remain the same over time? Do you have reports on blends and sources that can be provided to buyers? Can source be appended to the participant data records?

Surveys are sent randomly to members who match all the criteria such as gender, age, etc. which allows us to blend the response data without bias.

All our members are recruited without any specific characteristics, hence we are able to maintain generality in terms of nature and composition for tracker surveys.

Q27. Please describe your participant/member quality tracking, along with any health metrics you maintain on members/participants, and how those metrics are used to invite, track, quarantine, and block people from entering the platform, router, or a survey. What processes do you have in place to compare profiled and known data to in-survey responses?

Surveys hosted by MMSEA undergo strict quality checks and members whose responses do not meet our Quality Standards are blocked from sending any further Surveys.

Bad respondents detected in Surveys conducted by Clients are re-checked and blocked depending on the evaluation by our Quality Team.

Q28. For work where you program, host, and deliver the survey data, what processes do you have in place to reduce or eliminate undesired in-survey behaviours, such as (a) random responding, (b) Illogical or inconsistent responding, (c) overuse of item non- response (e.g., “Don’t Know”) (d) inaccurate or inconsistent responding, (e) incomplete responding, or (f) too rapid survey completion?

All Surveys hosted by MMSEA are subject to a set of Quality Standards and the responses are checked in detail. Short answers, bad open-ended answers, too rapid survey completion, illogical responses, and some other types of suspicious responses are automatically detected by our Survey System.

For surveys conducted by Clients, as mentioned in #27, the status of members pointed out for bad responses and checked and blocked as per the evaluation by our Quality Team.

Q29. Please provide the link to your participant privacy notice (sometimes referred to as a privacy policy) as well as a summary of the key concepts it addresses. (Note: If your company uses different privacy notices for different products or services, please provide an example relevant to the products or services covered in your response to this question)

The privacy policy we follow is publicly available on our website. The links for the respective countries are as follows:

Thailand: https://yimresearch.net/public/news/index/secure-policy
Indonesia: https://nusaresearch.net/public/news/index/secure-policy
Vietnam: https://vinaresearch.net/public/news/index/secure-policy

Q30. How do you comply with key data protection laws and regulations that apply in the various jurisdictions in which you operate? How do you address requirements regarding consent or other legal bases for the processing personal data? How do you address requirements for data breach response, cross-border transfer, and data retention? Have you appointed a data protection officer?

Data Protection Laws and Regulations in all countries of operation are checked by the Macromill Group Legal Team, and we are fully compliant to all the provisions of PDP Law in Indonesia, PDPA in Thailand and PDPD in Vietnam.

Any breaches or related matters are handled by our Legal Team in cooperation with Law Firms of the respective country.

Cross border data transfer regulations of the concerned countries have also been confirmed and are adhered to.

We do not have a dedicated data protection officer, but the CEO has direct responsibility for maintaining all related Policies.

Q31. How can participants provide, manage and revise consent for the processing of their personal data? What support channels do you provide for participants? In your response, please address the sample sources you wholly own, as well as those owned by other parties to whom you provide access.

Members can manage all personal data through their accounts.

Members can contact us for any matters through the Inquiry Form or Phone number mentioned in the homepage.

In Surveys where certain Personal Information is necessary to be shared, only members who have given their prior consent will be allowed to answer.

Q32. How do you track and comply with other applicable laws and regulations, such as those that might impact the incentives paid to participants?

All applicable laws and regulations in each country of operation are confirmed by the Legal Team of Macromill Group to ensure that they are adhered to, and any cases of concern are dealt in cooperation with the Law Firms of the concerned countries.

Q33. What is your approach to collecting and processing the personal data of children and young people? Do you adhere to standards and guidelines provided by ESOMAR or GRBN member associations? How do you comply with applicable data protection laws and regulations?

MMSEA adheres to all the Standards and Guidelines mentioned in ESOMAR/GRBN Guideline on Research and Data Analytics with Children, Young People, and Other Vulnerable Individuals.

Q34. Do you implement “data protection by design” (sometimes referred to as “privacy by design”) in your systems and processes? If so, please describe how.

We have framed policies and systems to ensure that very few authorized members of our team have direct access to personal information. We do not handle any personal information in normal operations and regular projects.

Q35. What are the key elements of your information security compliance program? Please specify the framework(s) or auditing procedure(s) you comply with or certify to. Does your program include an asset-based risk assessment and internal audit process?

Macromill Inc., the parent company of Macromill Southeast Asia Inc. has obtained the "Privacy Mark" which is compliant with Japan Industrial Standards (JIS Q 15001: [Personal Information Protection Management System - Requirements).
https://privacymark.org/about/outline_and_purpose.html

In principle, our Information Security is in accordance with such standards, however, we also make sure to comply with the laws and regulations of each country.

Q36. Do you certify to or comply with a quality framework such as ISO 20252?

We are not ISO 20252 certified, but we closely align with this framework.

Q37. Which of the following are you able to provide to buyers, in aggregate and by country and source? Please include a link or attach a file of a sample report for each of the metrics you use.

01. Average qualifying or completion rate, trended by month.
- Yes

02. Percent of paid completes rejected per month/project, trended by month.
- Yes

03. Percent of members/accounts removed/quarantined, trended by month.
- Yes

04. Percent of paid completes from 0-3 months tenure, trended by month.
- Yes

05. Percent of paid completes from smartphones, trended by month.
- Yes

06. Percent of paid completes from owned/branded member relationships versus intercept participants, trended by month.
- Not applicable since we only have owned members.

07. Average number of dispositions (survey attempts, screenouts, and completes) per member, trended by month (potentially by cohort)
- No

08. Average number of paid completes per member, trended by month (potentially by cohort)
- No

09. Active unique participants in the last 30 days.
- Yes

10. Active unique 18-24 male participants in the last 30 days.
- Yes

11. Maximum feasibility in a specific country with nat rep quotas, seven days in field, 100% incidence, 10-minute interview.
- Yes

12. Percent of quotas that reached full quota at time of delivery, trended by month
- Yes

37 Questions to help buyers of online sample

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