Advanced Focus, established in 2002, is a survey research and consulting company located in New York City. Through marketing research, Advanced Focus aids clients in understanding the requirements and preferences of their customers.
First and foremost, Advanced Focus is committed to maintaining the privacy and security of personal information of all research participants. We are not a telemarketing company and do not conduct sales or direct marketing, nor do we provide personal information to be used for direct contact sales or marketing purposes. Please view our company website at www.advancedfocus.com to learn more about our company, facility, recruiting, and team. Please contact Brad Solomon with any questions or concerns regarding privacy at 212-217-2000, or “privacy” ‘at’ advancedfocus.com. Please put “Privacy” as the subject.
Information Collected for Research Survey
Advanced Focus is a member of the Marketing Research Association (MRA), a professional association that sets the guidelines and standards for the research profession. As such, we adhere to the mandated MRA Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research, which includes requirements for the protection of personal information and information that can/may identify a respondent. For more information on the MRA and the Code of Ethics, please visit http://www.mra-net.org.
Personal information provided to Advanced Focus is considered confidential and is combined with information gathered from other survey participants and is shown in aggregate unless otherwise evident (or indicated) within the survey. If we indicate that personal information may be included in the research findings, we ensure that the information will be treated with the strictest of trust.
Advanced Focus will never mislead a participant regarding the nature of the research or how the information will be used. (For more on this, please see the section titled “Disclosure of Personal Information” below.)
Website Registration for Focus Group Participant Database
Only information that is voluntarily provided is collected by Advanced Focus and the information is collected for the purpose of assisting us to know when a study might be a good fit for an individual based on demographics and/or other household information. We do not place any files or programs on your computer while you are visiting our website. Some limited information, such as IP addresses and originating web sites, might be sent by individual browsers to help them understand how our web site is used.
Personal information is used only for the purpose stated (for marketing research) and is safeguarded on secure systems.
Our survey website may include hyperlinks to websites outside of the Advanced Focus domain, therefore we recommend that you read the Privacy Policy or Statement for each site visited, as data collection privacy policies may vary on hyperlinked sites not owned by Advanced Focus.
Collection and Use of Email Addresses and Other Communication
Advanced Focus has personal email addresses in its email system or data files that are acquired through various methods, including:
- Requests for information submitted to our web site voluntarily
- Emails/phone numbers sent to Advanced Focus voluntarily, or provided directly to an employee of Advanced Focus
- Research surveys completed for Advanced Focus voluntarily
- Clients who have provided email addresses/phone numbers for research purposes
The CAN Spam act of 2003, applies specifically to commercial emails sent for the purpose of sales or direct marketing. Although Advanced Focus does not fall into this category because we never participate in sales or direct marketing, we do voluntarily observe the CAN SPAM act requirements that can be applied to survey research. Advanced Focus does use email as a means of communicating to known clients and customers, and by providing this information, individuals are consenting to be reached via this method. When email is used to invite respondents to participate in surveys, the following procedures are used to ensure we do not send SPAM:
- We clearly identify ourselves and/or the client when sending an invitation, whichever is appropriate and/or allowed
- We provide contact information should there be any questions or concerns
- We provide the option to be removed from future email research invitations
- We reuse email addresses only as legitimate follow up to survey research
Disclosure of Personal Information
Under certain atypical circumstances, Advanced Focus may be required or permitted by law or court orders to collect, use, and/or disclose personal information and notice may not be required in some cases.
In the event that Advanced Focus participates in a sale, merger, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or acquisition of its company, the acquiring party would agree to be bound by the terms of the Advanced Focus Privacy Policy before any information would be transferred.
Personal information may also be disclosed when the survey instrument clearly states that the information will be disclosed or, when a participant makes a request during the survey that can only be fulfilled by disclosing information from the survey.
How Data is Processed
Only authorized Advanced Focus employees, vendors, contractors or partners carrying out authorized and legitimate business functions are allowed to access any Advanced Focus data or databases.
Vendors, contractors, or partners who have access to survey information in connection with providing services for or with Advanced Focus are required, at a minimum, to sign a Confidentiality Agreement. The Confidentiality Agreement requires them to keep the information confidential; they are not permitted to use this information for any purpose other than to carry out the services they are performing for Advanced Focus and, if they do, they are doing so without the consent or authorization of Advanced Focus.
Advanced Focus employees are also required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement in which they agree to keep all project and respondent personal information confidential. Employees who violate the Confidentiality Agreement are subject to disciplinary actions, up to and including termination of employment, when appropriate.
Security of Information
At Advanced Focus, we are committed to keeping personal data secure and take all reasonable precautions to protect personal information from loss, misuse or alteration. Data is stored on our internal network servers that are protected by firewalls and other appropriate security mechanisms. Nothing is more important than respecting and protecting the privacy of our respondents, including any and all personal information you share with our company.
Children’s Privacy
As part of our internal policies to safeguard our respondents’ personal information and in adherence to the marketing research industry’s recruiting best practices, Advanced Focus does not knowingly make direct contact with children under the age of 15 to participate in research studies. If we require survey information from children under the age of 15, we will first contact the parent or legal guardian to arrange and determine eligibility of children for the research as well as encourage the parent or legal guardian to closely monitor and participate in the survey activities. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a child whose information is stored in our Participant Database, you may at any time request to review, in its entirety, the information of your child which we maintain in that database. To do so, please send an email directly to “privacy” ‘at’ advancedfocus.com, or phone us at 212-217-2000 and ask to speak with Brad Solomon.
Participant Database
Advanced Focus offers and maintains a Participant Database for the purpose of inviting respondents to participate in research activities. Registration into this database is available through a link on the company web site. An invitation to participate in future research studies may also be distributed through other means.
Information provided by participants in the registration questionnaire is provided voluntarily and is used for the purpose of identifying eligibility for participation in future survey research. Follow up questions may be necessary to qualify a respondent for specific research studies, thus registration does not guarantee eligibility or invitation to any/all studies contacted for. Participation in the Advanced Focus Database may be discontinued at any time by sending an email to “remove ‘at’ advancedfocus.com”, or, if you prefer, please contact us at 212-217-2000. (While it is not mandatory, it is helpful to know the reason you are requesting to be removed.)
Advanced Focus reserves the right to modify and/or to update this policy and its related business practices at any time with no notice. The most recent Privacy Policy posted on the company website is considered the current one. Please view this Privacy Policy on a regular basis.