When a big company, like Coca-Cola or Proctor and Gamble, decides to market a new product, the company seeks the views of the "average American" and designs its product and marketing strategies to have the widest popular appeal. A random survey is not reliable enough when millions, or billions, of dollars hang on the success of accurately reading the minds of the American populous. That's why large companies often look to The Roper Organization.
Based in New York City, The Roper Organization spends more time deciding from whom they will solicit opinions than they do asking the questions on their nation wide Limobus survey. Their demographics go far beyond the random selections based on age and gender. Roper's sample populations contain the precise percentages of each ethnic group, political affiliation and education level as is reflected in the most recent census data. From a relatively small sample, The Roper Organization can determine the preferences of hundreds of millions of American individuals. Also, their data base can often reveal subtle psychological factors that not only tell a marketer not if his product has appeal, but why.
In 1973, the Roper Organization instituted the Roper Reports, nation-wide opinion surveys that were issued 10 times a year and were subscribed to by over 50 organizations including leading firms in business, advertising, and professional and trade associations, and governmental agencies.