Claude E. Robinson (1900–1961) was an American pioneer in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

research and opinion survey research techniques. Along with

George Gallup George Horace Gallup (November 18, 1901 – July 26, 1984) was an American pioneer of survey sampling techniques and inventor of the Gallup poll, a successful statistical method of survey sampling for measuring public opinion. Life and career ...

, he was instrumental in developing many scientific

sampling techniques In statistics, quality assurance, and survey methodology, sampling is the selection of a subset (a statistical sample) of individuals from within a statistical population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. Statisticians attem ...

that were later used in

Gallup poll Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its ...

s and other

public opinion Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. Etymology The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...

research surveys.

Life

Claude Robinson was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

in 1900, the son of a teacher. He left high school to join the Army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

but later returned to Oregon to work his way through the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

where he won the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

key. He received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

. In 1929, while still a student at Columbia, Robinson filed for

Patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling disclo ...

#1961170, an invention for recording the tuning of individual radio sets for what he imagined would be a ratings industry. This invention would record what a radio was tuned to, when it was turned on, and the length of time turned on. Further, the object of the invention would provide for scientifically measuring broadcast listener response over a selected period of time. Robinson sold his patent to

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

. Eventually,

A.C. Nielsen The Nielsen Corporation, self-referentially known as The Nielsen Company, and formerly known as ACNielsen or AC Nielsen, is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City, United States. Regional headquarters for ...

developed the AudiMeter, or PeopleMeter, on which the Nielsen rating system was founded. The A.C. Nielsen Company continues to measure and compile statistics on television audiences and their viewing habits. In 1932, Robinson published 'Straw Votes, a Study of Political Prediction', a pioneering book on scientific

polling Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Figurative head counts * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling places o ...

that was based on his doctoral dissertation. Robinson was the Associate Director of the American Institute of Public Opinion, later called

s. In 1938, he organized

Opinion Research Corporation Opinion Research Corporation is a demographic, health, and market research company based in Princeton, New Jersey, US. It was founded in 1938 by Claude Robinson and George Gallup, although Gallup left the firm in 1939. Opinion Research Corp was ...

(ORC—now known a
ENGINE Insights
that provides survey and

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Ma ...

services for public and private enterprises. In 1948, with George Gallup, he founded Gallup and Robinson, Inc., an

advertising research Advertising research is a systematic process of marketing research conducted to improve the efficiency of advertising. Advertising research is a detailed study conducted to know how customers respond to a particular ad or advertising campaign. His ...

company. In 1945, the National Association of Public Relations Council presented Robinson with an award. He was considered to have made the greatest contribution during that year, through public relations, to the national welfare. In 1960, Robinson served as the chief pollster for Vice-President

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

's unsuccessful presidential campaign against Senator

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. A few days after the election Kennedy and Nixon met in Florida. When Kennedy asked Nixon to rate Robinson's performance as his pollster, Nixon told Kennedy that Robinson's "polls in individual states were almost miraculously accurate." (Nixon, p. 483) Claude E. Robinson died on August 7, 1961, from hepatitis following a cancer operation.

Study of American capitalism

Claude E. Robinson made important contributions to the study of American

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

. He chaired the

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

panel — Center for the Study and Teaching of Principles of American Capitalism. He also served as a trustee of the Committee for Economic Development and the

Foundation for Economic Education The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Founded in 1948 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a member of the State Policy Network. FEE offers pub ...

. His book "Understanding Profits" was published posthumously in 1961.

Books

''Straw Votes: A Study of Political Prediction'', by Claude E. Robinson, Robert E. Chaddock, Columbia University Council for Research in the Social Sciences; Columbia University Press, 1932. 210 ''Understanding Profits'' (Library of American Capitalism) by Claude E. Robinson (Author), Publisher: Van Nostrand (1961)

References

*
Bird, William L, Jr. (1999) Better Living: Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935–1955, Northwestern University PressEisinger, Robert Martin (2003), The Evolution of Presidential Polling, Cambridge University Press
* Field, Mervin D. (1961) ''In Memoriam: Claude E. Robinson'', Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol 25, Page 669

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081028202314/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/acnielsen/acnielsen.htm Museum of Broadcast Communications, "A.C. Nielsen Company: U.S. Media Market Research Firm"*

External links

Gallup & Robinson, Inc.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Claude E. American statisticians 1900 births 1961 deaths Scientists from Portland, Oregon University of Oregon alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American mathematicians Mathematicians from Oregon Foundation for Economic Education