Scarborough Research

Scarborough Research
Name	Scarborough Research
Industry	Market research
Founded	1970s
Founder	Robert Scarborough
Headquarters	United States
Products	Audience measurement, consumer segmentation, local market analytics

Scarborough Research is a United States–based market research firm specializing in local and regional audience measurement, consumer behavior, and media planning support. It provided syndicated surveys, customized analytics, and geographic audience segmentation for broadcasters, advertisers, publishers, and retailers. The firm became notable for integrating telephone survey techniques with point-of-sale and broadcast-metadata inputs to produce granular market-level insights.

History

Scarborough Research was founded in the 1970s as a privately held research company focused on broadcast audience profiles in metropolitan areas. Early growth paralleled expansion in advertising across television and print, with clients that included regional broadcasters, advertising agencies, and retail chains in markets such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia. Through the 1980s and 1990s the firm expanded services to cover consumer purchase behavior, leisure activities, and brand usage, aligning with trends pursued by firms such as Nielsen Media Research, Arbitron, and ACNielsen. Strategic partnerships and licensing agreements allowed Scarborough to supply media planners working with networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, and cable operators represented by groups such as Comcast and Time Warner. In the 2000s and 2010s the company faced consolidation pressures amid acquisitions involving competitors including Kantar Group and Ipsos. Corporate transactions brought Scarborough products into broader analytics platforms used by firms such as WPP, Omnicom Group, and Publicis Groupe.

Services and Products

Scarborough offered syndicated consumer surveys, custom market studies, media audience measurement, and retail trade-area analyses. Its syndicated products provided demographic and psychographic profiles used by media buyers at agencies like GroupM and Havas, as well as brand managers at companies including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola Company. The firm produced local market reports for advertising sales teams at radio companies such as iHeartMedia and regional television groups like Gannett and Gray Television. Scarborough's retail solutions supported location planning for chains such as Wal-Mart Stores, Target Corporation, The Home Depot, and Best Buy. Additional offerings included cross-tabulated audience matrices, lifestyle segmentation overlays akin to those used by Claritas and geodemographic systems comparable to Esri products.

Methodology and Data Collection

Scarborough combined probability-based telephone interviewing with in-person intercepts, mail surveys, and later online panels to capture household-level data. Interview protocols referenced area codes and exchange geographies used by organizations such as AT&T and telephone-sample vendors like Survey Sampling International. The company augmented survey responses with commercial databases including point-of-sale data sources employed by retailers like Kroger and loyalty-program datasets similar to those maintained by Marriott International and Starbucks. Analytical methods incorporated weighting schemes and small-area estimation techniques used in studies by institutions like Pew Research Center and RAND Corporation. Scarborough also utilized geographic information system overlays and census-derived strata from United States Census Bureau data to align samples with population benchmarks.

Industry Impact and Clients

Scarborough's local-market focus influenced advertising pricing, sales-pitch materials, and station programming strategies at radio chains and television groups. Media sellers used its reports to demonstrate audience composition to national advertisers such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors, AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications, and Sprint Corporation. Advertising agencies at networks like DDB Worldwide and BBDO relied on Scarborough metrics when planning regional campaigns for brands including McDonald's, Nike, Microsoft, and Apple Inc.. Retail real-estate planners from firms such as CBRE Group and Jones Lang LaSalle used Scarborough trade-area analytics in site-selection decisions. Academic researchers at universities including Harvard University, Columbia University, and University of Pennsylvania cited analogous local consumer datasets in studies of media effects and market segmentation.

Controversies and Criticism

Critics raised concerns about survey-mode biases and declining response rates associated with telephone-only methodologies amid the rise of mobile-only households and call screening practices tied to regulations by the Federal Communications Commission. Comparisons with competitors such as Nielsen and debates involving measurement validity echoed issues in litigation and industry committees attended by organizations like the Advertising Research Foundation. Some advertisers and agencies questioned the granularity and timeliness of syndicated products compared with real-time digital analytics from platforms run by Google and Meta Platforms. Integration challenges surfaced during corporate consolidation, prompting scrutiny from antitrust-minded observers within bodies such as the Department of Justice and trade groups including the Association of National Advertisers.

Corporate Structure and Ownership

Scarborough operated as a privately held company for much of its independent existence, governed by a board that included industry veterans and former executives from media companies like CBS Corporation and Clear Channel Communications. Ownership changed over time through minority investments, licensing deals, and partial acquisitions by larger market-research conglomerates such as Nielsen Holdings–style entities and consulting firms resembling McKinsey & Company or Deloitte. These transactions often aimed to integrate Scarborough's local-market datasets into broader measurement platforms offered to clients including multinational advertising holding companies like Interpublic Group and Dentsu.

Category:Market research companies