Scarborough Research
| Company type | Collaborative enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Market research |
| Predecessor | Birch Radio |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States (over 100 local markets, national) |
| Products | Local and national consumer behavior insights, newspaper audience measurement, Hispanic consumer insights, sports marketing intelligence, customized analytics |
| Parent | The Nielsen Company and Arbitron (joint ownership) |
Scarborough is a market research organization based in the United States that focuses on consumer behavior insights at both local and national levels. The company analyzes shopping habits, media consumption, and lifestyle patterns across more than 100 U.S. regions. Its main office is located in New York City.
Company
Scarborough functions as a collaborative enterprise between The Nielsen Company and Arbitron. Initially established as a subsidiary of VNU, it combined operations with Birch Radio in 1987. In 1992, VNU transferred half ownership of Scarborough to Arbitron, and later, in 2007, VNU rebranded itself as the Nielsen Company.
The primary offerings include:
- Market-specific research spanning over 100 local areas
- Studies that integrate data from multiple markets
- Consumer research on a national scale
- Audience measurement for newspapers across print, digital, and hybrid platforms nationwide
- Insights focused on Hispanic consumers
- Customized analytics employing internet panels, segmentation techniques, branding analysis, and follow-up studies
- Consolidation of select Top-Tier Local Market Studies into comprehensive databases
- Marketing intelligence related to sports enthusiasts, teams, and leagues
- Specialized research targeting children, adolescents, and parents
- Tailored reports, presentations, and detailed analyses
Methods
Scarborough utilizes a tri-part survey approach that gathers information from more than 210,000 participants each year. Its clientele spans sectors such as print media, digital platforms, radio broadcasting, cable television, out-of-home advertising, advertising agencies, and sports marketing. The company’s Top-Tier Local Market Studies, newspaper audience ratings, multiple market analyses, and national surveys hold accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC).
Prior to the fourth quarter of 2015, Scarborough’s interviewers were unable to remove individuals from their contact lists due to privacy restrictions—a practice that led to some grievances; however, this policy was later updated.
Scarborough Sports Marketing
The sports division within Scarborough specializes in evaluating the purchasing behaviors of sports fans on behalf of teams, leagues, marketers, and media entities. This branch provides data essential for corporate sponsorships, fan engagement strategies, merchandising efforts, promotional activities, competitive benchmarking, ticket sales optimization, marketing planning, media sales support, and scheduling decisions. Its research encompasses both local and nationwide U.S. markets.
Sports categories measured
- Level of enthusiasm or interest by sport or league
- Attendance at sporting events categorized by league, sport, or team
- Quantity of games attended over the previous 12 months by league or sport
- Viewing habits for sports programming on television, radio, and cable by league, sport/team/event
- Current ownership or interest in season tickets for local sports franchises
- Purchases of sports apparel featuring team or league branding
- Willingness to spend on tickets segmented by league
- Online engagement related to sports logo merchandise, fantasy sports participation, ticket buying behavior, score updates, and official major league team websites