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SmithGeiger Privacy Notice

 

Last Updated: [1/28/2022]

At SmithGeiger, LLC (“SmithGeiger”, “we”, “us”, and “our”), we work with a variety of clients (each a “Research Client”) to deliver unparalleled research and insights that build audiences, inspire consumers, and evolve brands. This Privacy Notice is designed to help you understand how we collect, use, and share your personal information and to help you understand and exercise your privacy rights.

1……… SCOPE

2……… PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

3……… HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

4……… HOW WE DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION

5……… YOUR PRIVACY CHOICES AND RIGHTS

6……… SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION

7……… INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

8……… RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

9……… SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

10……. SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE FOR NEVADA RESIDENTS

11……. CHILDREN’S INFORMATION

12……. OTHER PROVISIONS

13……. CONTACT US

1. SCOPE

This Privacy Notice applies to personal information processed by us, including through our websites, research services, and other online or offline offerings. To make this Privacy Notice easier to read, our websites, research services, and other offerings are collectively called the “Services.”

Please note that SmithGeiger may provide additional privacy notices and/or consent forms to individuals at the time their personal information is collected. For example, we may provide a specific privacy notice and/or consent form to individuals that agree to participate in a research study or project that we carry out on behalf of a Research Client (each a “Research Participant”). This privacy notice and/or consent form may describe our privacy practices in connection with conducting the research study or project. Such notice and/or consent form may supplement this Privacy Notice or apply in lieu of this Privacy Notice.

2. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The categories of personal information we collect depend on how you interact with us, our Services, and the requirements of applicable law. We collect information that you provide to us, information we obtain automatically when you use our Services, and information from other sources such as third-party services and organizations, as described below.

  1. Information You Provide to Us Directly

We may collect the following personal information that you provide to us.

  • Account Creation. We may collect information when you create an account, such as name, email address, professional details, and a
  • Information Collected from Research Participants. If you are a Research Participant, we may collect personal information from you such as your responses to Research Client specific questions, professional details, salary information, demographic information, ethnicity, information about interests or beliefs, and other relevant information that we may collect in connection with a research study or project. In addition, you may provide or we may otherwise collect audio and/or video recordings of you including video-recorded focus groups or interviews.

In some cases, we may collect financial information from you, such as direct deposit or other banking information, to compensate you for your participation in our research studies or projects.

  • Your Communications with Us. We may collect personal information, such as email address, phone number, or mailing address when you request information about our Services, register for our newsletter, request customer or technical support, apply for a job, or otherwise communicate with us.
  • Surveys. In addition to surveys we carry out on behalf of Research Clients, we may contact you to participate in surveys related to SmithGeiger. If you decide to participate, you may be asked to provide certain information which may include personal information.
  • Interactive Features. We and others who use our Services may collect personal information that you submit or make available through our interactive features (e.g., communities, forums, blogs, and social media pages). Any information you provide using the public sharing features of the Services will be considered “public,” unless otherwise required by applicable law, and is not subject to the privacy protections referenced herein.
  • Sweepstakes or Contests. We may collect personal information you provide for any sweepstakes or contests that we offer. In some jurisdictions, we are required to publicly share information of sweepstakes and contest winners.
  • Conferences, Trade Shows, and Other Events. We may collect personal information from individuals when we attend conferences, trade shows, and other events.
  • Business Development and Strategic Partnerships. We may collect personal information from individuals and third parties to assess and pursue potential business opportunities.
  • Job Applications. We may post job openings and opportunities on our Services. You may reply to one of these postings by submitting your application, CV, cover letter, and/or other information to us.
  1. Information Collected Automatically

We may collect personal information automatically when you use our Services:

  • Automatic Data Collection. We may collect certain information automatically when you use our Services, such as your Internet protocol (IP) address, user settings, MAC address, cookie identifiers, mobile carrier, mobile advertising and other unique identifiers, browser or device information, location information (including approximate location derived from IP address), and Internet service provider. We may also automatically collect information regarding your use of our Services, such as pages that you visit before, during and after using our Services, information about the links you click, the types of content you interact with, the frequency and duration of your activities, and other information about how you use our Services.
  • Cookies, Pixel Tags/Web Beacons, and Other Technologies. We, as well as third parties that provide content, advertising, or other functionality on our Services, may use cookies, pixel tags, local storage, and other technologies (“Technologies”) to automatically collect information through your use of our Services.
  • Cookies. Cookies are small text files placed in device browsers that store preferences and facilitate and enhance your experience.
  • Pixel Tags/Web Beacons. A pixel tag (also known as a web beacon) is a piece of code embedded in our Services that collects information about engagement on our Services. The use of a pixel tag allows us to record, for example, that a user has visited a particular web page or clicked on a particular advertisement. We may also include web beacons in e-mails to understand whether messages have been opened, acted on, or forwarded.

Our uses of these Technologies fall into the following general categories:

  • Operationally Necessary. This includes Technologies that allow you access to our Services, applications, and tools that are required to identify irregular website behavior, prevent fraudulent activity and improve security or that allow you to make use of our functionality;
  • Performance-Related. We may use Technologies to assess the performance of our Services, including as part of our analytic practices to help us understand how individuals use our Services (see Analytics below);
  • Functionality-Related. We may use Technologies that allow us to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing or using our Services. This may include identifying you when you sign into our Services or keeping track of your specified preferences, interests, or past items viewed;
  • Advertising- or Targeting-Related. We may use first party or third-party Technologies to deliver content, including ads relevant to your interests, on our Services or on third-party websites.
  • See “Your Privacy Choices and Rights” below to understand your choices regarding these Technologies.
  • Analytics. We may use Technologies and other third-party tools to process analytics information on our Services. Some of our analytics partners include:
  • Google Analytics. For more information, please visit Google Analytics’ Privacy Policy. To learn more about how to opt-out of Google Analytics’ use of your information, please click here.
  1. Information Collected from Other Sources

We may obtain information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations. Examples of the third-party sources we may collect personal information from include:

  • Third-Party Applications. If you access our Services through a third-party application, such as an app store, a third-party login service, or a social networking site, we may collect information about you from that third-party application that you have made available via your privacy settings.
  • Research Organizations. We may engage organizations to help us find and work with Research Participants (each a “Research Organization”). In such cases, Research Organizations will provide us with personal information of the Research Participants that they have successfully recruited to work with us. This personal information may include, but is not limited to, Research Participant contact details and any of the information referenced above in the section titled “Information We Collect from Research Participants.”

We will process this Research Participant personal information in accordance with this Privacy Notice and any other applicable privacy notice or consent form, but our use of Research Participant personal information made available by a Research Organization may also be subject to restrictions contained in the agreement that we have with the Research Organization.

The Research Participant’s personal information will also be subject to the Research Organization’s privacy policy. We are not responsible for the Research Organization’s processing of your personal information.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use your information for a variety of business purposes, including to provide our Services, for administrative purposes, and to market our products and Services, as described below.

  1. Provide Our Services

We use your information to fulfil our contract with you and provide you with our Services, such as:

  • Processing your information in connection with the research or project we have been engaged to carry out, such as demographic research and for correlation purposes;
  • Managing your information and accounts;
  • Providing access to certain areas, functionalities, and features of our Services;
  • Processing your financial information and other payment methods to fulfill contractual obligations, such as for compensation for survey participation or other forms of participant research;
  • Answering requests for customer or technical support;
  • Sending you SMS messages for purposes of authentication;
  • Communicating with you about your account, activities on our Services, and policy changes;
  • Processing applications if you apply for a job we post on our Services; and
  • Allowing you to register for events.
  1. Administrative Purposes

We use your information for various administrative purposes, such as:

  • Pursuing our legitimate interests such as direct marketing, promotions, research and development (including marketing research), network and information security, and fraud prevention;
  • Detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity;
  • Measuring interest and engagement in our Services;
  • Improving, upgrading or enhancing our Services;
  • Developing new products and Services;
  • Ensuring internal quality control and safety;
  • Authenticating and verifying individual identities, including requests to exercise your rights under this policy;
  • Debugging to identify and repair errors with our Services;
  • Auditing relating to interactions, transactions and other compliance activities;
  • Enforcing our agreements and policies; and
  • Complying with our legal obligations.
  1. Marketing and Advertising our Products and Services

We may use personal information to tailor and provide you with content and advertisements. We may provide you with these materials as permitted by applicable law.

Some of the ways we may market to you include email campaigns, text messages, custom audiences advertising, and “interest-based” or “personalized advertising,” including through cross-device tracking.

If you have any questions about our marketing practices, you may contact us at any time as set forth in “Contact Us” below.

  1. Other Purposes

We also use your information for other purposes as requested by you or as permitted by applicable law.

  • Consent. We may use personal information for other purposes that are clearly disclosed to you at the time you provide personal information or with your consent.
  • De-identified and Aggregated Information. We may use personal information and other information about you to create de-identified and/or aggregated information, such as de-identified demographic information, de-identified location information, information about the device from which you access our Services, or other analyses we create. De-identified and/or aggregated information is not personal information, and we may use and disclose such information in a number of ways, including research, internal analysis, analytics, and any other legally permissible purposes.

4. HOW WE DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION

We disclose your information to third parties for a variety of business purposes, including to provide our Services, to protect us or others, or in the event of a major business transaction such as a merger, sale, or asset transfer, as described below.

  1. Disclosures to Provide our Services

The categories of third parties with whom we may share your information are described below.

  • Service Providers. We may share personal information with our third-party service providers and professional advisors who use that information to help us provide our Services. This includes third parties that provide us with IT support, hosting, payment processing, client service, banking and legal services, insurance, and related services.
  • Research Clients. If you are a Research Participant, we may share the information that we collect or otherwise generate about you with our Research Client subject to any restrictions that may apply to our use of such information. Your personal information will also be subject to the Research Client’s privacy policy. We are not responsible for the Research Client’s processing of your personal information.
  • Research Organizations. If you are a Research Participant, we may share the information that we collect or otherwise generate about you with the Research Organization that you work with subject to any restrictions that may apply to our use of such information. Your personal information will also be subject to the Research Organization’s privacy policy. We are not responsible for the Research Organization’s processing of your personal information.
  • Business Partners. We may share your personal information with business partners to provide you with a product or service you have requested. We may also share your personal information to business partners with whom we jointly offer products or services.
  • Affiliates. We may share your personal information with our SmithGeiger affiliates.
  • Advertising Partners. We may share your personal information with third-party advertising partners. These third-party advertising partners may set Technologies and other tracking tools on our Services to collect information regarding your activities and your device (e.g., your IP address, cookie identifiers, page(s) visited, location, time of day). These advertising partners may use this information (and similar information collected from other services) for purposes of delivering personalized advertisements to you when you visit digital properties within their networks. This practice is commonly referred to as “interest-based advertising” or “personalized advertising.”
  1. Disclosures to Protect Us or Others

We may access, preserve, and disclose any information we store associated with you to external parties if we, in good faith, believe doing so is required or appropriate to: comply with law enforcement or national security requests and legal process, such as a court order or subpoena; protect your, our, or others’ rights, property, or safety; enforce our policies or contracts; collect amounts owed to us; or assist with an investigation or prosecution of suspected or actual illegal activity.

  1. Disclosure in the Event of Merger, Sale, or Other Asset Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing due diligence, reorganization, bankruptcy, receivership, purchase or sale of assets, or transition of service to another provider, your information may be sold or transferred as part of such a transaction, as permitted by law and/or contract.

5. YOUR PRIVACY CHOICES AND RIGHTS

Your Privacy Choices. The privacy choices you may have about your personal information are determined by applicable law and are described below.

  • Email Communications. If you receive an unwanted email from us, you can use the unsubscribe link found at the bottom of the email to opt out of receiving future emails. Note that you will continue to receive transaction-related emails regarding products or Services you have requested. We may also send you certain non-promotional communications regarding us and our Services, and you will not be able to opt out of those communications (e.g., communications regarding our Services or updates to our Terms or this Privacy Notice).
  • Text Messages. You may opt out of receiving text messages from us by following the instructions in the text message you have received from us or by otherwise contacting us.
  • “Do Not Track.” Do Not Track (“DNT”) is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers. Please note that we do not respond to or honor DNT signals or similar mechanisms transmitted by web browsers.
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Advertising. You may stop or restrict the placement of Technologies on your device or remove them by adjusting your preferences as your browser or device permits. However, if you adjust your preferences, our Services may not work properly. Please note that cookie-based opt-outs are not effective on mobile applications. However, you may opt-out of personalized advertisements on some mobile applications by following the instructions for Android, iOS and others.

The online advertising industry also provides websites from which you may opt out of receiving targeted ads from data partners and other advertising partners that participate in self-regulatory programs. You can access these and learn more about targeted advertising and consumer choice and privacy by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative, the Digital Advertising Alliance, the European Digital Advertising Alliance, and the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada.

Please note you must separately opt out in each browser and on each device.

Your Privacy Rights. In accordance with applicable law, you may have the right to:

  • Access Personal Information about you, including: (i) confirming whether we are processing your personal information; (ii) obtaining access to or a copy of your personal information; and (iii) receiving an electronic copy of personal information that you have provided to us, or asking us to send that information to another company (the “right of data portability”);
  • Request Correction of your personal information where it is inaccurate or incomplete. In some cases, we may provide self-service tools that enable you to update your personal information;
  • Request Deletion of your personal information;
  • Request Restriction of or Object to our processing of your personal information; and
  • Withdraw your Consent to our processing of your personal information.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us as set forth in “Contact Us” below. We will process such requests in accordance with applicable laws.

6. SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION

We take steps to ensure that your information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Notice. Unfortunately, no system is 100% secure, and we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you provide to us. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we do not accept liability for unauthorized disclosure.

By using our Services or providing personal information to us, you agree that we may communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of our Services. If we learn of a security system’s breach, we may attempt to notify you electronically by posting a notice on our Services, by mail or by sending an email to you.

7. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

All information processed by us may be transferred, processed, and stored anywhere in the world, including, but not limited to, the United States or other countries, which may have data protection laws that are different from the laws where you live. We endeavor to safeguard your information consistent with the requirements of applicable laws.

8. RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We store the personal information we collect as described in this Privacy Notice for as long as you use our Services or as necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected, provide our Services, resolve disputes, establish legal defenses, conduct audits, pursue legitimate business purposes, enforce our agreements, and comply with applicable laws.

9. SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

This Supplemental California Privacy Notice only applies to our processing of personal information that is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). The CCPA provides California residents with the right to know what categories of personal information SmithGeiger has collected about them and whether SmithGeiger disclosed that personal information for a business purpose (e.g., to a service provider) in the preceding 12 months. California residents can find this information below:

Category of Personal Information Collected by SmithGeiger Categories of Third Parties Personal Information is Disclosed to for a Business Purpose
Identifiers ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)

·       Advertising Partners
Personal information categories listed in Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e) ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)
Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law

 

 ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)
Commercial information

 

 ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)
Internet or other electronic network activity ·       Service Providers

·       Advertising Partners
Geolocation data ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)
Sensory data ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)
Professional or employment-related information ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)
Inferences drawn from other personal information to create a profile about a consumer ·       Service Providers

·       Research Clients (Research Participants only)

·       Research Organizations (Research Participants only)

·       Advertising Partners

 

The categories of sources from which we collect personal information and our business and commercial purposes for using personal information are set forth above.

 

Additional Privacy Rights for California Residents

 

“Sales” of Personal Information under the CCPA. For purposes of the CCPA, SmithGeiger does not “sell” personal information, nor do we have actual knowledge of any “sale” of personal information of minors under 16 years of age.

 

Non-Discrimination. California residents have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment by us for the exercise of their rights conferred by the CCPA.

 

Authorized Agent. Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. To designate an authorized agent, please contact us as set forth below.

 

Verification. When you make a request, we will ask you to provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative, which may include confirming the email address associated with any personal information we have about you.

 

If you are a California resident and would like to exercise any of your rights under the CCPA, please contact us as set forth below. We will process such requests in accordance with applicable laws.

 

10. SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE FOR NEVADA RESIDENTS

If you are a resident of Nevada, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of certain personal information to third parties who intend to license or sell that personal information. Please note that we do not currently sell your personal information as sales are defined in Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A. If you have any questions, please contact us as set forth below.

11. CHILDREN’S INFORMATION

Protecting children’s privacy online is very important to us. Although our Services are designed for a general audience, we take additional steps to obtain the parent’s verifiable consent before collecting any information from a child.

 

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has uploaded personal information to our site without your consent, you may contact us as described in “Contact Us” below. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information in violation of applicable law, we will delete any personal information we have collected, unless we have a legal obligation to keep it, and terminate the child’s account if applicable.

 

12. OTHER PROVISIONS

Third-Party Websites/Applications. The Services may contain links to other websites/applications and other websites/applications may reference or link to our Services. These third-party services are not controlled by us. We encourage our users to read the privacy policies of each website and application with which they interact. We do not endorse, screen, or approve, and are not responsible for, the privacy practices or content of such other websites or applications. Providing personal information to third-party websites or applications is at your own risk.

Supervisory Authority. If you are located in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe our processing of your personal information violates applicable law.

Changes to our Privacy Notice. We may revise this Privacy Notice from time to time in our sole discretion. If there are any material changes to this Privacy Notice, we will notify you as required by applicable law. You understand and agree that you will be deemed to have accepted the updated Privacy Notice if you continue to use our Services after the new Privacy Notice takes effect.

13.  CONTACT US

SmithGeiger is the controller of personal information that is processed under this Privacy Notice.

 

If you have any questions about our privacy practices or this Privacy Notice, or to exercise your rights as detailed in this Privacy Notice, please contact us at:

 

SmithGeiger, LLC

31365 Oak Crest Dr. Suite 150

Westlake Village, CA 91361

United States of America

 

privacy@smithgeiger.com

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She is an Emmy Award-winning producer who has played key roles in transforming newsrooms over the past 20 years.

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Michelle served as Director of Digital and Content at KTVU Channel 2 News, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she led the complete re-design of the station’s website and mobile apps. She crafted the social media strategy for KTVU’s main brand and talent, while also leading the all-platform initiatives for the FOX Television Stations.

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Michelle has produced live broadcast events, held Executive Producer and Managing Editor posts, and produced a series of stories that changed law in California.

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She helped create a newsroom modernization and workflow re-design at KNTV, when the NBC-owned station moved into a state-of-the-art, all-digital facility in Silicon Valley in 2004.

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Michelle graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, she enjoys yoga, cooking, and traveling the world.

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Bill Seitzler

VP Media Strategies

Google  Google

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Providing clients with an expertise in station management, promotion, production, new media, marketing and news strategies, Bill joined SmithGeiger in 2006 after working 20 years at local television stations across the country.

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Before serving as News Director for television stations KXAN – NBC Austin, KJRH – NBC Tulsa, WHEC – NBC Rochester, KAMC – ABC Lubbock, Bill was a television and radio sportscaster for 10 years. As News Director, Bill led newsrooms that won multiple Emmy, Regional Murrow and Associated Press Awards for various newscast excellences.

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Bill used his passion for weather to develop innovative “Weather Lab” sets and presentations now used in many local television newsrooms. With a background in Storm Chasing and Marathon Severe Weather Coverage, Bill continues to channel his passion to develop innovative weather coverage ideas for SmithGeiger clients.

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Bill lives in Austin, Texas and serves on Texas Tech University’s School of Mass Communication’s Advisory Committee.

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Dan Reines

SVP Research

Google

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Dan Reines provides research analysis and strategic consulting to a broad range of SmithGeiger clients, from entertainment and media organizations to nonprofit and public organizations and trade groups. Recent project have included exensive work with CNBC, NBC, THe People's Choice Awards, Fox Sports, Google, Participant Media, AT&T U-verse and the Center For Disease Control (CDC).

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Dan has an extensive background in print journalism, having written and edited for national and local newspapers, magazines, and web publications for nearly two decades, and his writing on investing and PR has appeared in two textbooks.

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He has an MBA with a marketing emphasis from Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, and a BA in Mass Communications from the University of California at Berkeley.

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Jason Hyde

SVP Research

Google

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With over twenty years of client-side experience in the market research field, Jason has a proven track record of creating and socializing actionable research about traditional and digital media consumers, directly affecting key business metrics, ratings, and revenue.

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Jason has extensive experience testing nonfiction and lifestyle TV series, promotions and ad campaigns, website content and usability, brand health, and new product features and pricing at several top media companies.

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In his most recent position as VP at Discovery Communications, he led the research team for their flagship brand. In this role, he tested and influenced the development, production, and marketing of some of Cable’s highest-rated series, including Gold Rush, Bering Sea Gold, Moonshiners, Frozen Planet, Amish Mafia, Fast ‘N’ Loud, Deadliest Catch, Shark Week, and Naked and Afraid.

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Prior to Discovery, Jason was responsible for the research functions for Scripps Networks’ home category media brands, HGTV and DIY Network, where he helped develop and market several hit series, including Design Star, House Hunters, Holmes on Homes, and Property Brothers.

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During his tenure at The Weather Channel and weather.com, Jason played a key role in introducing program pilot testing to the network, leading to the launch of TWC’s successful long-form series Storm Stories and It Could Happen Tomorrow. He also integrated market research into all of TWC’s interactive ventures, including weather.com and the fledging TWC Mobile businesses.

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Jason has also held research positions at Turner Broadcasting and Atlanta’s Fox affiliate, WAGA-TV. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Media Communications.

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Andrew Finlayson

VP Digital Media Strategies and Innovation

Google  Google

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Andrew Finlayson serves as the senior consultant regarding leading digital media issues spanning social media, news apps, streaming video and mobile news consumption.

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He joined SmithGeiger after completing the John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University where he studied emerging media technologies and concepts with a special emphasis on mobile, social, and location based news concepts.

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Andrew has served as Director of Online Content and Business Development for the Fox Television Stations and has been a news director in Nashville for Meredith’s WSMV, where he led the newsroom to number one ratings in four out of five newscasts.

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As the news director at Cox’s San Francisco/Oakland KTVU, he led the station to the market leader in all dayparts and was honored by the Project for Excellence in Journalism for the highest quality local newscast in the country.

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John Culliton

SVP Media Strategies

Google

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John Culliton, through his 20 years of experience as a major market TV general manager, news director, and a new media entrepreneur, brings a multi-dimensional expertise to SmithGeiger clients.

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He served as VP and GM of KCBS in Los Angeles, the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, and one of the nation’s most noted TV stations, WCCO in Minneapolis. He received national attention for being bold, colorful, and successful—balancing the entertainment qualities of television with relevant, award-winning content.

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In addition, he led broadcasters into new media at the turn of the century—co-founding the nation’s largest Internet Company for broadcasters, Internet Broadcasting (IB) based in Minneapolis and New York. IB co-owns, manages, and operates websites for the NBC owned stations, Hearst-Argyle Television, Post-Newsweek stations, McGraw-Hill, Cox Broadcasting, Lin Broadcasting.

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Simultaneously, John co-founded Digital Cyclone—an online and mobile weather company which developed a weather forecasting and radar which pinpoints exact latitude/longitude locations. The company sold in 2007 to GPS navigation company, Garmin.

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In his current role with SmithGeiger, Culliton consults across many platforms-working closely with major media executives to enhance audience growth. Culliton has been with SmithGeiger since May of 2005.

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Mark Briggs

VP Digital Media Strategies and Innovation

Google  Google

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Mark Briggs has spent his career focused on digital strategy, business development, workplace transformation, audience and revenue building, teaching and collaboration. He has started two companies, worked in senior management for three others and written three books.

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Having served as SmithGeiger’s primary statistician for over 10 years, Tim is also responsible for conducting multivariate data analysis focusing on customer segmentations, key drivers, Principal Components Analysis among other analytical techniques to uncover deeper-level storylines within the data structures.

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Most recently Briggs has served as the director of digital media and innovation for KING 5 in Seattle from 2010-2017 and served as a Ford Fellow in Entrepreneurial Journalism at The Poynter Institute from 2010-2012. Previously, he co-founded Serra Media, a Seattle-based technology company, and spent nine years running newspaper websites in Everett and Tacoma, Wash.

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Briggs is the author of Entrepreneurial Journalism, a book about the rise of journalism startups and how to start your own journalism business. It was published by CQPress and released in October 2011.Briggs is also the author of Journalism 2.0: How to survive and thrive in the digital age which was published by J-Lab and the Knight Citizen News Network in 2007 and downloaded as a PDF more than 200,000 times in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

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That book lead to Journalism Next, which was published by CQPress in December 2009. A second edition was published in Nov. 2012 and a third edition hit the shelves (and Kindles) in 2015 and is available at Amazon.com. (A French translation was also released in late 2013.)

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As part of his mission to help journalists transform in the digital age and leverage the power of digital/social/mobile media, Mark has served as a speaker, trainer and consultant for various projects around the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. He spoke at SXSW Interactive in Austin in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In May 2010 he was named one of 20 Journalists to Follow by Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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Tim Talley

VP Operations and Data Analytics

Google

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Tim is responsible for research methodologies, data hygiene, reporting deliverables and the custom data analytic functions at SmithGeiger. Tim leads a team of data analysts who build cutting-edge, powerful reporting tools allowing SmithGeiger clients to visualize their survey results in a streamlined and intuitive format.

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Having served as SmithGeiger’s primary statistician for over 10 years, Tim is also responsible for conducting multivariate data analysis focusing on customer segmentations, key drivers, Principal Components Analysis among other analytical techniques to uncover deeper-level storylines within the data structures.

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Prior to joining SmithGeiger, Tim was a research manager at BizRate.com where he was involved in analyzing the trends and key satisfaction metrics for more than 2,000 online retailers and providing client management to several key accounts. He also mined relational databases for use in consumer segmentation modeling and actively supported BizRate.com’s sales team by helping to provide research solutions to specific marketing-related problems.

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Before working at Bizrate.com, Tim was a project director at Maritz Marketing Research, a large custom marketing research firm based in St. Louis. Tim directed all aspects of project management from sampling, fielding, tabulation and data analysis for projects in a variety of industries including hi-tech firms, financial institutions, public utilities, gasoline companies, and newspaper syndicates.

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Chris Lang

Partner and EVP Research

Google

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Chris has worked with SmithGeiger for over a decade and specializes in a host of strategic areas, including marketing, pricing, promotions, distribution, and development. He serves a range of media and entertainment clients across the broadcast, cable, satellite, technology, and digital arenas, including ABC, NBC, Warner Bros., Disney, Sony, Universal Studios, T-Mobile, CTAM, NFL Network, TV Land, DTS, and many local TV stations.

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Prior to joining SmithGeiger, Mr. Lang served as Director of Consulting for BizRate.com (working closely with clients such as Nokia and Buy.com) and before that as Senior Research Consultant for Frank N. Magid Associates in Los Angeles.

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Chris began his career in media as a writer for KFOR-TV, the NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City, OK. He holds an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA where graduated as a member of the Anderson Business Honor Society. He graduated with honors from Northwestern University, majoring in Communication Studies and Economics.

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Barbara Breest

CFO

Google

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Barbara oversees all financial, accounting and HR functions and has been an integral part of the SmithGeiger team since 2001. Prior to SmithGeiger, she was Vice President of Finance for Creative Domain, a firm focused on marketing for the movie industry. Creative Domain specialized in the production of trailers and TV commercials and served all major studios including Sony, Walt Disney, DreamWorks, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Universal.

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Barbara is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California, a member of the AICPA and the California Society of CPA’s. She has a business degree from the University of Michigan.

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Chris Archer

Partner and EVP Media Strategies

Google  Google

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Chris Archer joined SmithGeiger in 2010 after serving key newsroom roles for almost 20 years.

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As News Director, Chris led the unprecedented combination of the CBS, NBC, and Independent television stations as part of the Hawaii Shared Services Agreement in late 2009 – a model that would then be used in various other markets around the country. In just 60 days, he redeployed the news staff and all-platform workflow to seamlessly produce more than 40 hours of content per week from one newsroom.

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Before his success in Hawaii, Chris spent nearly a decade at KRON-TV in San Francisco, starting during its NBC era. With the internet in its infancy, he helped the station transition away from its long-time NBC affiliation by creating, producing, and then managing San Francisco’s first 9 p.m. newscast, and pioneering several early digital initiatives. Chris then led his team through one of the industry’s first video journalist deployments, training his large staff to work in what has become a model for other newsrooms across the country.

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When not traveling for work, Chris loves spending time with his two daughters in his native San Francisco Bay Area. Chris graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.

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Seth Geiger

President and Co-Founder

Google

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Dr. Seth Geiger directs the development of strategic research partnerships and oversees research innovation and product engineering. He has consulted with clients across the broadcast, cable, satellite, digital platforms, syndicated television, telecom and web industries, including: ABC, AT&T Broadband, CNN, DIRECTV, Discovery Networks, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NBC, Raycom, Scripps Networks, Sinclair, TiVo, Visa, Warner Bros., among others.

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Prior to forming SmithGeiger, Dr. Geiger served as Vice President of Professional and E-Commerce Services for BizRate.com, the leading supplier of e-commerce research and intelligence, and the largest B2C shopping marketplace on the web. Dr. Geiger set strategy, built research partnerships and oversaw the development of real-time, integrated web-based research reporting tools.

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Before joining BizRate.com, Dr. Geiger worked for Frank N. Magid Associates, where he established the company’s strategic research direction and designed research initiatives in new media and television convergence. Dr. Geiger joined Magid from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. His academic research is recognized internationally in the fields of media processing, research design and mass media effects.

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Dr. Geiger holds a Ph.D. and Master's degree in Communication Research from Stanford University and a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from Cornell University.

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Dave Smith

CEO and Founder



Google

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David Smith directs the development of strategic consulting partnerships, oversees all consulting relationships, and is responsible for marketing and cultivating client relationships. During his 20-year consulting career, he has consulted with ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, UPN, WB, Lifetime, USA Networks, A&E, Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal, Microsoft, MSNBC, CNBC, Hearst, COX, AOL and many other clients.   

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Prior to forming SmithGeiger, Mr. Smith opened the Entertainment Practice in Los Angeles and New York for Frank N. Magid Associates. As President of Entertainment, Mr. Smith presided over the largest growth in the firm’s long history and served as a senior consultant to virtually all of the major studios and production companies in the industry. He consulted on all facets of his clients' business, including: brand identity, format development, talent evaluation and performance, distribution, marketing, and promotion. Before creating the Entertainment Division, Mr. Smith held key management positions in Magid's television station practice, consulting with prominent broadcasters around the world.

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Mr. Smith began his career in media as a journalist, reporting and anchoring in television stations across the country. Later he served as an Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where he received undergraduate and graduate degrees.

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Depth Of Experience

We have conducted over 4000 proprietary studies and have had a seat at the table at every major transition from broadcast, to digital, to mobile, to today’s continuing evolution of multi-screen and multi-platform technology, including OTT and virtual reality. We set the benchmark for understanding, evaluating, and delivering actionable recommendations in this highly complex digital landscape. Our forward thinking provides roadmaps for our clients to choreograph their programs and messaging across all social networks, transform disruption into opportunity, and develop new and innovative revenue streams. We do not limit our services to research. We are instrumental in helping our clients apply the insights and learnings surfaced in the data. The media landscape continues to evolve at an exponential rate. In order to help our clients anticipate trends and adapt at the speed of digital, we offer ongoing consulting services. Our teams support both on-air and digital initiatives, and we choreograph efforts across all screens and social media platforms. We consult with over 100 stations in the US, a host of media companies and provide research based guidance for all aspects of brand, product, and program development.

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Deliverables:

We never leave our clients with an indecipherable data dump. While we do deliver comprehensive data and analyses, we decode that information and provide insights and actionable recommendations designed to meet our client’s core objectives. We interpret the date and provide clear roadmaps for success. Additionally, we deliver our raw data (in addition to any data formats requested) in the form of our proprietary Flash Reports. These reports enable our clients to access any cut of the data with a single click. We obviate the need for any additional time and expense that other firms require to process those additional data cuts.

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Timelines:

We have a reputation within the industry of delivering the fastest turn-around times on even the most complex segmentation studies.

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Methodology:

Unlike many more traditional research firms, we are not wed or limited to any specific methodology. We deliver a broad and innovative range of quantitative and qualitative services and will deploy whatever service or combination of services best meets our client’s marketing objectives. These include online and mobile surveys, digital panels, online and in-person dial tests, focus groups, affinity sessions, proprietary digital ethnographies, eye tracking, Emotient Analytics (facial Coding), on site and in-store interviews.

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Innovation:

We move at the speed of digital and are market leaders in innovating research technology and methodologies. Our Virtual Tag Along® sets the benchmark for digital ethnographies, and our current work with Stanford University, ShareRocket, and Vertical Knowledge enable us to deliver 1) Moment-to-Moment immersive digital monitoring, 2) real-time social equity scores, and 3) a digital monitoring system capturing sentiment, content, interactions, transactional behavior and trends with real time reporting and dashboards.

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Sampling Methods:

By design, we rely on a number of different sample sources in order to meet the needs of each project and offer a deeper sample base than most.

  • All members of our panels are recruited exclusively using double opt-in permission-based techniques and have expressed interest in participating in online market research.
  • We DO NOT use unsolicited email or spam in our recruiting.
  • Using multiple suppliers ensures that we minimize any bias that might occur when utilizing a single source for sample.
  • In the process of fielding the study, panel respondents are checked against each other, thus preventing the respondents from taking the survey more than once.

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Quality Control:

The emphasis we place on quality control is unmatched in the industry. We monitor and clean the data several different ways:

  • Look for patterns in the data (i.e. straightliner analysis and inconsistent answers)
  • Review the open-ended questions to verify that the respondents are giving cogent, valid responses
  • We also verify based on length (time spent) of interview (speed trap)
  • Scrub out by locality based on zip code and/or IP address coming from “out of the region”
  • Many of our surveys also include “attention” questions which ask the respondent to answer a particular way in order to make sure they are paying attention.