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Claims and Facts:
Geo Product claims:
E-Tech relies predominantly on the genealogical method to determine ethnicity and this introduces significant type-1 (commission) and type-11 (omission) errors. For example, my last name originated in Spain but my parents are from Argentina. Geo Products researches the most recent history and patterns of names rather than just where the names originated. This helps avoid issues with tagging someone as Hispanic who may be Filipino or some other country-of-origin.
Facts:
- Rather than genealogical research, which emphasizes origins, Ethnic Technologies is constantly updating its tables of First Names and Surnames, thus relying on the most up to date onomastic and demographic trends.
- Ethnic Technologies has been researching the ethnicities of names, both their origins and their current usage, decades before Geo Products began using disguised census data through their census only product, A#*S, as a quick way to get large counts for certain “multicultural markets”.
- Geo Products chooses 100% coverage whereas Ethnic Technologies provides accurate coverage.
- Ethnic Technologies achieves up to 95% accuracy for ethnicity and matches 95% to 97% of each clean file.
- Ethnic Technologies omits 3-5% because there is insufficient data to power a correct ethnic designation.
- Geo Products counts everyone, assigning ethnicity even where there is no reliable data from which to draw. Ethnic Technologies bases all predictions on valid data.
Geo Product claims:
E-Tech relies heavily on the first name to determine language preference which is a tempting but unrealistic assumption given current trends in naming children. Geo Products language segmentation is much more accurate and looks at language usage rather than ability. For example, I’m bilingual and able to speak both languages fluently, but I ‘use’ English as my primary language in how I think, view media or make purchasing decisions.
Facts:
- A system based solely on First Names is inaccurate. Thus this is not a system E-Tech uses.
- Ethnic Technologies does use First Names to determine language preference, but in conjunction with:
- Surnames
- Neighborhood Demographics
- Full Names
- Onomastics is Ethnic Technologies’ area of expertise: Through a sophisticated methodology, based on a thorough understanding of name trends, the E-Tech software combines First Name, Surname, and geography to assign an individual one of four assimilation levels. Thus, Ethnic Technologies identifies individuals who are bilingual but prefer English.
- Additionally, we ask the author of the above paragraph: Did Ethnic Technologies misidentify you? Were you part of this survey?
Geo Product claims:
Geo Products acculturation model takes into account various key factors which play a role in someone’s acculturation such as: country-of-origin, foreign born year of entry, language usage, education level, the language usage of Hispanics in their neighborhood and Hispanic density in the neighborhoods they live in. On the other hand, E-tech [sic] bases their acculturation model on language preference. A big mistake as language is only one component of acculturation, although an important component…not the only one to look at when basing someone’s acculturation.
Facts:
- Ethnic Technologies’ Assimilation product, incorrectly described above, is not purely based on language. This is, however, one of the key factors. This product is specifically designed for those doing direct marketing campaigns, as a direct marketer’s main concern is in which language to reach out to the consumer. In this case, we are comparing apples and oranges.
Geo Product claims:
E-Tech uses census demographics to supplement its definitions whereas Geo Products uses its own updated and proven geodemographics from its AMDS product. Geo Products A#*S is a geodemographic database which is updated twice a year and tracks the ethnic consumer segments more closely. The data is available down to the block group level (neighborhood), which allows us to use this database to enhance the accuracy of our ethnicity codes.
Facts:
- Ethnic Technologies’ “Enhanced Neighborhood Analytics” (ENA), uses census demographics and other sources and has its own “definitions”. Updated census information is just one component of Ethnic Technologies’ ENA, which in conjunction with name research, gives the most accurate ethnic prediction for an individual at any given address.
- The A#*S product from which Geo Products pulls it geodemographics is a separate, stand-alone product, which provides census counts, not individuals.
- Furthermore, A#*S is updated census data. As stated above, it is based on a block group level, like the census. If the A#*S product were offering more than just the census, it would move from the census block to customer friendly geography, such as a Zip+4, FIPS, or DMA, all of which are options that E-Tech provides.
Geo Product claims:
GeoProducts are information scientists, socio-anthropoligists, and economists who are multicultural and have a multinational context that adds value to the development of models and data.
Facts:
Ethnic Technologies staff includes:
- Ethnologists
- Sociologists
- Linguists
- Information scientists
- Political scientists
…who outperform those at Geo Products.
Geo Product claims:
Each of dozens of validations have proven the superior accuracy of the Geo Products DirecTarget system over E-Tech.
Facts:
While these “validations” may have called dozens of people who agreed with Geo Products, they can’t be referring to the head to head comparisons Ethnic Technologies openly invites and routinely wins. They also can’t be referring to the many clients who, after choosing Geo Products, become so disenchanted with the results that they convert to Ethnic Technologies.
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