Contact: Jennifer Hoffmann, Vice President, CARMA International, Inc.; Phone 212-460-5791; Email jhoffmann@carma.com
Washington, D.C., September 26, 2006 – CARMA International, Inc. announced today a partnership with Pan Arab Research Centre (PARC) in Dubai, UAE, in order to better serve clients with high-quality media monitoring and analysis in the Middle East.
"The Middle East is a growing area of interest for many clients," said CARMA President Mike Carberry. "Most have questions about what they should be monitoring, and how they can locate the right media coverage. PARC's expertise in the region and its ability to provide CARMA with full-text, original language coverage from a broad range of media was extremely attractive to us."
PARC is a well established and qualified research and information systems firm based in the Arabian Peninsula, with its head office located in Dubai. In addition, PARC operates through independent branch offices in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar as well as field stations and associates in Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Founded in 1976, PARC is a member of Gallup International and employs more than 450 full-time staff. A regional pioneer in media audience and consumer market research, the centre also conducts periodic attitudinal and tracking surveys.
CARMA chose to partner with PARC due to its high-quality, original language content and the breadth of its media monitoring capabilities. "PARC provides us with the original stories as they appear, not translations or abstracts. This is important as all CARMA research is conducted in the native language, in order to preserve tone – nothing gets lost in translation with our research," said Carberry. "We were even more impressed that PARC could provide us with this unique content at rates in line with standard U.S. content providers, making this a cost-effective option for our clients."
CARMA conducts research in any language, including languages with non-Latin characters, such as Arabic and Hebrew.
PARC monitors print, internet and broadcast media coverage in Pan-Arab regional media and 11 countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Qatar, Syria and Iraq. Media outlets are monitored in the original form in Arabic, English, French and other native languages.
PARC was introduced to CARMA through Leger Marketing, CARMA's partner in Canada. "Pan Arab Research Centre is delighted to team up with CARMA International, due to its position as the most established and respected media content analysis firm worldwide. The collaboration both acknowledges and affirms PARC's regional expertise and will help us provide better research solutions for our domestic customer base and beyond," said PARC Managing Director Sami Raffoul. "PARC understands the fundamental value of public communication and that real-time access to global news requires a real-time feedback system. The synergy of PARC and CARMA will help multinational organizations harness the power of global communication technologies."
CARMA clients can choose PARC alongside other leading content providers to create a comprehensive global media monitoring, measurement and management program through CARMA’s analytical and online services.
Founded in Washington D.C. by Albert Barr more than two decades ago, CARMA International, Inc. was a pioneer in the communications measurement industry. Today CARMA is the world leader in media research, with an unmatched global presence. This background enables CARMA to provide expertise on a local and global level, while offering clients a comprehensive, integrated and consistent approach to global media measurement. Using the most sophisticated proprietary software and the most specialized research methodologies in the industry, CARMA analysts assist PR professionals with maximizing the effectiveness of their outreach while providing strategic insights for future planning. CARMA is a privately held company headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London, New Delhi, Paris, Sydney, Santiago, Tokyo, and Toronto. CARMA can be reached at 202.842.1818 or www.carma.com.
