• by Masha Geller , January 9, 2002

I don’t often endorse products, and I almost never – jaded grouch that I’ve become – get very excited when someone enthusiastically shows me their new creation, but the stars must have been lined up just right this afternoon when I met with eMarketer.

This NY-based research firm is well trusted and well known for taking confusing and conflicting research reports and making sense of them for the rest of us. Somewhere in the middle of talking about the market downturn and the plethora of numbers they still crunch everyday, they mentioned – very matter-of-factly – a database they’ve recently developed and offered to show it to me.

What I saw was a dream-come-true for any advertising professional who likes and/or needs numbers, research reports or any other data in their daily lives.

I’m talking about eMarketer’s new eStat Database, which contains about 16,000 charts, graphs, and stats from almost every researcher who’s ever written a report on almost any e-business topic.

Simply stated, if you desperately need to know what Forrester’s estimate of Online Ad Spending in Europe in 1999 was compared to Zenith Media’s by 8:30 tonight – this is the place to turn. Not to mention that you can download the graph into your presentation on the spot.

eMarketer says that they’ve already sold a few hundred subscriptions and the feedback from ad agencies and media people has been very positive.

Just to be clear – this is not an ad for the tool. I was simply very impressed with it, and if it wasn’t for the cost ($129/month or $1,299/year, which may be tough to swing for small shops) I would recommend it to everyone, not just bigger shops, as a research tool well worth a look.