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Auburn Hills Research Firm Launches 'App That Pays You Back'

Auburn Hills-based Gongos Research last week launched a new mobile app called iCommunities.

The company said the app was developed to offer a new dimension in online research communities, making them a more vivid reflection of consumers' lives.

The iCommunities mobile app will be offered to the 30,000 consumers currently registered in the company's client-sponsored communities. Additionally, it will serve as a gateway for the public to participate in the company's proprietary Consumer Village online community of over 20,000 consumers.

Consumers that participate in sponsored activities through iCommunities mobile will earn points that transfer into Amazon.com gift certificates -- making it "the app that pays you back." In addition,  Gongos Research donates a 5 percent match on points earned in Consumer Village to charities including Save the Children and Plan U.S.A.

In helping Fortune 500 companies develop new products and the way they market them, iCommunities mobile offers consumers the ability to:

* Participate in discussions, flashpolls and mobile-enabled online surveys
* Connect with other like-minded consumers about topics of interest
* Capture and instantly upload images and video to the community
* Discover active discussions among members with "Shake it Up" feature

The iCommunities mobile app is available as a free download for the iPhone and iPod touch in the  iTunes App Store.

Gongos Research manages Consumer Village, a large-scale "community of communities" used for qualitative and quantitative research. Consumers participating via iCommunities mobile will automatically become a member of Consumer Village Airwaves, a sub-community of mobile users. Non-smartphone users can also join Consumer Village on the company's Web site.

Since 1991, Gongos Research has worked with leading companies including Best Buy, Hallmark Cards, Mars Snackfood, Domino's Pizza, Visa, U.S. Bank and GM. In 2007, the company was first named to the Inc. 5000 list of "The Fastest Growing Private Companies in America," and in 2008 became a Honomichl Top 50 U.S. marketing research organization.

More at www.gongos.com.

(c) 2010, WWJ Newsradio 950. All rights reserved.

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