KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS HIRES CPG EXPERT FOR PROMOTION, RETAIL RESEARCH UNIT

KN/PDI – specialists in consumer behavior, in-store research – expands Client Service group

June 3, 2008; Menlo Park, CA: Knowledge Networks (KN) announced today that Kurt A. Palmquist – a highly experienced researcher in packaged goods and healthcare – will be joining its Knowledge Networks/PDI strategic business unit as Vice President, Client Service.

KN/PDI provides a broad portfolio of research solutions – including consumer ROI measurement, shopper insights, and in-store testing – that allow marketers and researchers to:

• quickly assess the effectiveness of tactical brand changes, using controlled store tests and analysis of promotions and price adjustments
• quantify the consumer acceptance of new products
• measure the behavioral ROI of a variety of promotion events, including couponing
• define the long-term effects of promotions on shopping behavior

KN/PDI maintains the National Shopper LabSM database, consisting of grocery and drug store purchases from 12 million loyalty card holders – 3 million CVS shoppers, and 9 million who purchase at grocery retailers working with KN/PDI.

"Kurt is a valuable addition to the Knowledge Networks/PDI team. His broad experience with custom and syndicated research makes him and extremely valuable business partner with our CPG clients," said Neal Heffernan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Knowledge Networks/PDI. "Kurt is dedicated to delivering research that will help CPG companies execute more effectively in the marketplace, and he brings excellent experience in key areas for us, including new product launch, consumer promotion, shopper insights and category management."

Before joining Knowledge Networks, Palmquist was Vice President of New Business Development for the CPG, retail and healthcare industries at Parker Marketing Research. He also was Vice President of Ipsos ASI, a provider of advertising pre-testing services, and he held executive positions in account management and new business development for Information Resources. Palmquist started his career on the client side in a variety of sales positions with Nabisco and Pfizer/Warner Lambert.

Palmquist received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Knowledge Networks specializes in solving complex, high-impact problems, providing extraordinary quality and service to leaders in business, government and academia. We work closely with clients to create healthy consumer-brand connections, effective marketing and advertising, sound public policies, and accurate social science research. We have established respected practices in media, marketing, advertising, and government & academic studies. KN excels in study design, analytics, and custom panel creation; we deliver affordable, statistically valid online research through KnowledgePanel® – the only available probability selected, nationally representative Internet panel.