UMR

Advertising
We provide independent assessments of advertising campaigns using print, billboard and television executions.  Advertisements have ranged from specific corporate or political campaigns designed to win support on a particular issue through to product, service or corporate image advertising.

Airlines
We conduct ongoing tracking of airline favourability and have undertaken detailed research on airline ownership issues.

Aged Care
We have conducted studies amongst elderly people about their preferred living environments and what services or facilities they consider most essential. UMR has conducted detailed market studies relating to retirement village complexes that include nursing hostels and a nursing home in addition to apartments tailored towards the specific needs of the elderly.

Agriculture
We undertook the market research that underpinned the largest corporate merger in New Zealand’s history. We have undertaken several studies on primary industry issues for the meat, dairy and animal health sectors.

Banking
We have conducted studies for major banks on attitudes to a merger of two banks, corporate image, issues management and employee attitudes. UMR has also done research on lending products, stockbroking services and managed investments, particularly for high net worth individuals. See also Financial Services

Beverage
We have worked on studies for the beer industry on branding and image. We also worked on the industry’s successful campaign against beer excise.

Broadcasting
We have conducted research into public attitudes and expectations of television broadcasting and levels of interest in television programs and personalities. In New Zealand we have done extensive work for both major television networks over many years.

Casinos
We have conducted ongoing customer satisfaction studies and issues management projects for casinos in a number of capital cities in Australia and New Zealand.

Community
Community consultation is a core area of our business and we have significant expertise researching community attitudes to commercial or government developments that may affect their local area.

Projects include community attitude studies towards new or expanded manufacturing or mining operations; new or extended motorways, tunnels and bridges and the vehicle emission stacks associated with tunnels; new transport services; building of new suburbs; and deepening of ports.

Education
Education is a topic that comes up in many aspects of our research. It is one of the fundamental considerations that drives how people feel about their neighbourhood, their country and their own future. We understand community expectations and satisfaction with both school and tertiary education.  We regularly test education policies or proposed policies for a range of clients.

Energy
We have conducted research into energy issues for a number of corporates and industry associations.  This has covered a wide range of topics including attitudes to different fuels for generating electricity, the greenhouse gas debate, energy supply for industry, alternative energy pricing models and attitudes to privatization and deregulation of the energy industry.

Environment
Much of our corporate and community work involves research into perceived environmental impacts relating to the projects under consideration – how worried people are about them and how these concerns can be managed.  Our political work often explores the delicate balance between the need for jobs and a strong economy vs preserving a pleasant and liveable environment.  We have also undertaken specific environmental projects, such as recycling of plastic shopping bags and forestry. 

Health
Health is invariably a major issue in state elections and is another key driver of the national mood.  We have tested many health policies and proposed policies as well as diagnostic research that looks in depth at public perceptions of the health system’s shortcomings and areas that need urgent attention.

Financial Services
The financial services sector is one of UMR’s major areas of expertise. 
We have worked for retail banks, investment banks, credit unions and insurance companies. We have also been the principal research agencies for one of the world’s major credit card companies for more than 12 years, conducting nearly all their product, customer and merchant relations, brand, promotions and advertising research. Also see Banking.

Government
While we do tendered work for state government departments, we are also called in by ministers or senior bureaucrats to research issues that are particularly sensitive at the time.  Often this involves directly briefing state premiers.

Indigenous Research
UMR is one very few research companies who has a specialist indigenous researcher who covers aboriginals in Australia and Maoris and Islanders in New Zealand. Many of the topics covered include education, indigenous media and sexual orientation.

Industry Associations
We work for a number of industry associations, exploring public opinion on matters crucial to their constituents.

Infrastructure
Infrastructure is one of our core areas of business. This is because infrastructure projects are crucial to the communities around them, involve many millions of dollars of investment and are usually subject to government approval.  UMR commonly researches both consumer patronage and the political acceptability of proposed projects. Examples include the Eastern Distributor, EastLink Victoria (Mitcham Frankston Freeway) and Fox Studios.

We have also conducted broad attitudinal research into topics such as private investment in infrastructure and use of public debt to fund infrastructure development.

Insurance
UMR has extensive experience particularly in the accident insurance area. We were also involved in a large hostile takeover of an insurance company.

Local government
We have worked for local councils around Australia – including major city councils in Sydney and Brisbane.  Our research includes resident satisfaction studies with council performance as a whole and specific services such as waste collection, road maintenance and processing of development applications.  We have also assisted councils with management of major projects, including council mergers in central Sydney and gauging public attitudes towards proposed major public or private developments that will have a big impact on a specific LGA.  UMR has also played a key role in several major mayoral election campaigns. 

Media
We have worked for a range of print and electronic media clients providing research on public perceptions of their products as well as specific news topics.  Also see Broadcasting.

Public relations
We have worked alongside many of Australia’s leading public relations companies providing objective and detailed findings on which they develop strategic communications and lobbying campaigns.

Resources
We have worked for a number of major mining and resource processing companies to explore community attitudes to their existing operations, proposed expansions or new facilities.

Retail Shareholders
We have worked on a number of takeovers and mergers, assessing the reactions of retail shareholders, their propensity to vote for or against the transaction and the effectiveness of communications messages in influencing their opinion and behaviour.

Small Business
UMR often researches the attitudes of small business owners as part of a larger study. We occasionally conduct studies specifically targeting this audience, such as attitudes to credit card processing facilities and how they adapted to the GST.

Social Marketing
We have been involved in several successful campaigns in designed to change public behaviour patterns in the areas of energy conservation.

Sports
We have undertaken research for national sports organisations in New Zealand to inform their commercial strategies and improve their services in the professionally demanding world of competitive sport. We have also worked with clients in Australia to maximise the commercial benefits from large sport sponsorships such as the 2000 Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Telecommunications
We conduct ongoing favourability tracking of New Zealand telecommunications companies and undertake corporate image and issues management research for major telecommunications companies. In Australia we have conducted research into attitudes to telecommunications companies with a focus on long distance and international calls.

Transport
UMR has extensive experience across the transport sector. We have researched many of the major motorways and tunnels in NSW and Victoria at feasibility and operational stages.  We have worked on a number of rail and light rail projects, including some Very Fast Train proposals. In addition, many of our broader projects include some evaluation of local transport.

Unions
We have undertaken a wide range of research for unions on members’ services and future positioning including a nationwide study on attitudes towards Australia’s centralised industrial relations system.

Utilities
Essential service infrastructure such as water and electricity have features directly and indirectly in many UMR studies.  Topics have included privatisation of power services, community attitudes to current services, how demand could be controlled because of environmental factors or supply shortages, attitudes to desalination and water recycling, and neighbourhood attitudes to the expansion of electricity transmission lines.

Voluntary sector
We have undertaken projects for international relief and aid agencies on donor member motivation. We have also conducted reputation research amongst members of the donating public and volunteers for a major Australian charity in a crisis situation.

Selected Client List

• Airport Motorways
• Alcoa
• Australian Bankers Association
• Australian Coal Association
• Australian Council for Infrastructure Development
• Australian Labor Party
• Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association
• Barrick Gold
• Boral
• Brisbane City Council
• City of Sydney Council
• eBay
• Government of Queensland
• Government of New South Wales
• Government of Northern Territory
• Government of South Australia
• Government of Victoria
• Government of Western Australia
• Gunns Limited
• Lend Lease
• Lowy Institute for International Policy
• Imparja TV
• Integral Energy
• Interlink Roads
• Leighton Holdings (and subsidiaries)
• Macquarie Bank
• MIM (now part of Xstrata)
• National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI)
• NRMA
• NSW Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability
• Papua New Guinea Tourism
• Petrac
• Port of Melbourne
• Property Council of Australia
• Red Cross
• SAI Global
• SkyCity Casino
• South Australia Forestry Corporation
• Spin Communications
• St Luke’s Hospital
• St Vincent’s Hospital
• Statewide Roads
• Sydney Water
• Telstra
• Visa International
• Victorian Department of Infrastructure
• WA Health Department
• Westpac Banking Corporation
• Westlink M7
• Woodside
• Woolworths