The Leading Edge's online research division, which was founded in 1999 and was formerly known as Whetstone, has relaunched with a new name, a broader offering and new mobile phone survey technology. The Digital Edge, like Whetstone, will continue to provide online and mobile research services to TLE but will focus more on external clients, says managing director Andrew Povolny. Social media marketing expert Jenni Beattie has also recently joined Povolny and his team of researchers and developers (see ‘Career moves').

Prior to the launch in October, the company spent six months developing its proprietary survey application on all major web-enabled handsets including Apple's iPhone. It has recently conducted a number of mobile phone survey trials, which Povolny says demonstrate it is possible to involve ‘hard to reach' consumers in unconventional environments where computers aren't traditionally found (as, when surveyed, 40 per cent of respondent were out and about.) The trials also found that 50 per cent of survey participants responded within an hour. Alarmingly one of Digital Edge's recent surveys of those with web-enabled mobile phones (recruited from the company's proprietary online panel, youropinion.com.au) found that 40 per cent admit to sending text messages while driving a car.

 

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