On what would have been Dale Kulp’s 66th birthday, we wanted to take a moment to remember a man who not only is responsible for the founding and creation of Marketing Systems Group but made innumerable contributions to the statistical sampling and survey research fields. Dale’s career was already flush with accomplishment before he founded Marketing Systems Group in 1987. He previously had worked for industry stalwarts Chilton, Bruskin and ICR (Now SSRS). With MSG, he envisioned the development of a PC based in-house RDD sample generation system (GENESYS) that would become the cornerstone product of the company.
Aside from being the driving force behind the industry’s first in house sampling system, Dale was integral in the development of list-assisted RDD sampling methodology at a commercial level, which revolutionized the process for reaching probability-based samples of households. Through his many technical notes and various publications he remained vigilant about addressing the operational issues challenging the viability of this methodology, particularly those resulting from the unfolding changes in the US telephony.
Dale also started several Omnibus telephone surveys that not only continue to thrive 20 years after their launch; they have in at least one situation created their company. Centris Marketing Science was created by Dale along with Paul Rappaport after realizing the value of the census block level data that the Omnibus survey collected.
Realizing that MSG should not be a one-trick pony, Dale continued to pursue other product lines that would benefit the survey research industry. He assembled a team that included current MSG President Jerry Oberkofler and Vice President Reggie Blackman to develop the first automated screening process: GENESYS-ID. Utilizing the technology and philosophy of GENESYS ID and applying it the survey research industry, PRO-T-S was born. PRO-T-S was the first predictive dialer built exclusively for the research industry. In 2004, Dale brought the ARCS Panel Management software under the MSG umbrella. ARCS is now one of the leading software packages in the sensory and pharmaceutical industries as well as a recruitment tool for large civic organizations.
Since Dale’s passing in late 2009, MSG has grown substantially but has remained attached to the vision, products and protocols that Dale Kulp laid out back in 1987. Not only do the MSG folks wish Dale a Happy Birthday but we thank him for his vision, contribution and foresight.