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| The Polling Company, Inc./WomanTrend | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Polling Company, Inc./WomanTrend |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Market research |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Pam Dittmer McCamey |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas |
| Key people | Pam Dittmer McCamey |
The Polling Company, Inc./WomanTrend
The Polling Company, Inc./WomanTrend was an independent market research firm and public opinion consultancy based in Dallas, Texas, specializing in demographic analysis of women and consumer segments. The firm produced syndicated studies, custom surveys, and media analysis for corporations, advocacy groups, and trade associations, and engaged with national media outlets and policy organizations. Its work intersected with electoral politics, consumer brands, and social research, informing decision-makers across sectors.
The organization operated at the intersection of public opinion research and consumer consulting, offering services similar to established firms such as Gallup, Pew Research Center, Nielsen, and Edison Research. It targeted audiences including Baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and professionals in sectors represented by Fortune 500 corporations. The Polling Company positioned itself among market research firms like Kantar Group, Ipsos, YouGov, and Market Strategies International while serving clients from Procter & Gamble style consumer goods to nonpartisan organizations akin to Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.
Founded in 1995 by Pam Dittmer McCamey, the firm emerged during a period of growth for private research consultancies alongside institutions such as Harvard Kennedy School affiliated projects and corporate research arms tied to University of Chicago initiatives. Its founding paralleled industry developments exemplified by Nielsen Holdings expansions and the rise of boutique firms like The Harris Poll. In the 1990s it developed partnerships with media outlets comparable to The New York Times, USA Today, and broadcast networks such as CNN and NBC News for dissemination of findings. The firm grew amid competing methodologies promoted by American Association for Public Opinion Research members and academic centers at Stanford University and University of Michigan.
The Polling Company offered syndicated reports, custom quantitative surveys, focus groups, and data segmentation services used by companies comparable to Johnson & Johnson and Walmart. Methodologies invoked telephone interviewing traditions linked to innovations by Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and later integrated online panels similar to YouGov and KnowledgePanel. Survey instruments referenced demographic categories familiar to researchers at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies and census frameworks from the United States Census Bureau. The firm reported using sampling techniques and weighting procedures debated within American Statistical Association circles and utilized software tools akin to those produced by SAS Institute and SPSS.
Notable outputs included syndicated reports on women’s purchasing behavior, political attitudes among female voters, and brand affinity measures that attracted coverage alongside analyses from The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and trade outlets like Ad Age. The company’s polling on electorate segments was cited in discussions comparing findings from Pew Research Center and academic election studies at Columbia University. Its consumer reports were referenced in industry conversations alongside Forbes rankings and market forecasts from McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group.
Clients ranged across private corporations, non-profit organizations, and media producers akin to ABC News and CBS News, as well as advocacy groups resembling National Rifle Association-style organizations and public health campaigns like those run by American Cancer Society. The firm influenced marketing strategy, advertising placements in Madison Avenue contexts, and political outreach similar to operations by Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee consultants. Its niche focus on women informed product development for consumer packaged goods leaders comparable to Unilever and Kimberly-Clark.
As with many boutique pollsters, the company faced scrutiny concerning sample sizes, weighting decisions, and transparency, echoing controversies that beset polling firms during election cycles involving institutions such as The New York Times and University of Virginia election analyses. Critics referenced debates promoted by scholars at Princeton University and professional bodies like the American Association for Public Opinion Research about methodological rigor and disclosure. Media reporting sometimes contrasted its results with those from large-scale pollsters like Gallup and Pew Research Center, prompting public discussion of comparative reliability.
The firm’s legacy lies in pioneering targeted research on women as a discrete consumer and political constituency, contributing data used by marketers, journalists, and policy analysts in contexts similar to research outputs from Annenberg Public Policy Center and Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Records indicate the company’s active operations diminished in later years as the market consolidated around global firms such as Kantar and Ipsos, and as digital sampling platforms from Google-affiliated research projects and Facebook-era analytics changed industry dynamics. Its founder’s work remains cited in trade reporting and practitioner literature on gender-based market segmentation.
Category:Market research companies Category:Public opinion research organizations