TechTarget and GMI include Asia in new online IT panels

TechTarget has for quite a while been amongst the most interesting of B2B media companies emerging in the US. Where it leads, others around the world will sooner or later follow. Or so it seems to us.

Thanks to my friends at Outsell for pointing me towards the interesting news that TechTarget has joined forces with Global Market Insite (sic). They will be jointly developing enhanced online IT panels which, they say will "enable market researchers to gain virtually instant insights into the buying trends and decision-making process for purchases [of IT goodes and services] from a wide range of respondents' perspectives".

From the get-go, this is a genuinely global initiative with capabilities in "the USA, the UK, China, Japan, India, France, Germany and more", the companies say.

Many B2B media firms play lip service to value-added service, consultancy and research. It is, in our view, typical of the approach that TechTarget has been taking that they have been able to put some meat on the bones of the idea.

Outsell's take on this: "The time for B2B panels has come of age with new announcements from B2B media companies partnering with online panel management firms. Some of the major online firms including GMI, Toluna and Greenfield Online have all announced partnerships in the B2B space. We expect to see continued activity with B2B media properties partnering with online panel companies to help build very specific B2B online panels in relevant vertical markets".

At BSG, we will watch with great interest to see how this plays out in Asia.