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Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis Of Presentation And Consolidation

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated upon consolidation. The Company consolidates investments where it has a controlling financial interest. The usual condition for controlling financial interest is ownership of a majority of the voting interest and, therefore, as a general rule, ownership, directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the outstanding voting shares is a condition indicating consolidation. For investments in variable interest entities, the Company would consolidate when it is determined to be the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity. The Company does not have any variable interest entities.

Use Of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and assumptions are inherent in the analysis and the measurement of deferred tax assets, the identification and quantification of income tax liabilities due to uncertain tax positions, valuation of marketable securities, recoverability of intangible assets, other long-lived assets and goodwill, accruals related to outstanding litigation, and the determination of the allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and assumptions that it believes are reasonable. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

The Company evaluates the fair value of certain assets and liabilities using the fair value hierarchy. Fair value is an exit price representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. As a basis for considering such assumptions, the Company applies the three-tier value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1 — observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets;

Level 2 — inputs other than the quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly;

Level 3 — unobservable inputs of which there is little or no market data, which require the Company to develop its own assumptions.

Cash equivalents, investments, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other assets, accounts payable, accrued expenses, deferred revenue, deferred rent and capital lease obligations reported in the consolidated balance sheets equal or approximate their respective fair values.

Assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis include fixed assets, intangible assets and goodwill. The Company recognizes these items at fair value when they are considered to be impaired. During the three years ended December 31, 2011, there were no fair value adjustments for assets and liabilities measured on a non-recurring basis.

Cash And Cash Equivalents And Investments

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Investments

Cash and cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase. Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of bank deposit accounts.

Investments, which consisted principally of auction rate securities as of December 31, 2010, were stated at fair value. These securities were accounted for as available-for-sale securities. Unrealized holding gains and losses for available-for-sale securities were excluded from earnings and reported as a net amount in a separate component of stockholders' equity until they were realized. Interest and dividends on securities classified as available-for-sale are included in interest income. The Company used the specific identification method to compute realized gains and losses on its investments. The Company recorded a realized gain of $0.2 million on the sale of all of its available-for-sale securities in 2011.

Interest income on investments was $0.1 million, $0.3 million and $0.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and are non-interest bearing. The Company generally grants uncollateralized credit terms to its customers and maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts to reserve for potentially uncollectible receivables. Allowances are based on management's judgment, which considers historical experience and specific knowledge of accounts where collectability may not be probable. The Company makes provisions based on historical bad debt experience, a specific review of all significant outstanding invoices and an assessment of general economic conditions. If the financial condition of a customer deteriorates, resulting in an impairment of its ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required.

 

The following is a summary of activities in the allowance for doubtful accounts for the fiscal years indicated:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2011     2010     2009  
     (In thousands)  

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

      

Beginning Balance

   $ (725   $ (510   $ (479

Additions

     (220     (167     (290

Reductions, (recoveries) and write-offs

     42        (48     259   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ending Balance

   $ (903   $ (725   $ (510
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Property And Equipment

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, ranging from three to five years. Assets under capital leases are recorded at their net present value at the inception of the lease and are included in the appropriate asset category. Assets under capital leases and leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the related lease terms or their useful lives. Replacements and major improvements are capitalized; maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Amortization of assets under capital leases is included within the expense category in which the asset is deployed.

Business Combinations

Business Combinations

The Company recognizes all of the assets acquired, liabilities assumed, contractual contingencies, and contingent consideration at their fair value on the acquisition date. Acquisition-related costs are recognized separately from the acquisition and expensed as incurred. Generally, restructuring costs incurred in periods subsequent to the acquisition date are expensed when incurred. Subsequent changes to the purchase price (i.e., working capital adjustments) or other fair value adjustments determined during the measurement period are recorded as an adjustment to goodwill. All subsequent changes to an income tax valuation allowance or uncertain tax position that relate to the acquired company and existed at the acquisition date that occur both within the measurement period and as a result of facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date are recognized as an adjustment to goodwill. All other changes in income tax valuation allowances are recognized as a reduction or increase to income tax expense or as a direct adjustment to additional paid-in capital as required. Acquired in-process research and development is capitalized as an intangible asset and amortized over its estimated useful life.

Goodwill And Intangible Assets

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed when a business is acquired. The allocation of the purchase price to intangible assets and goodwill involves the extensive use of management's estimates and assumptions, and the result of the allocation process can have a significant impact on future operating results. The allocation of the purchase price to intangible assets is done at fair value. The Company estimates the fair value of identifiable intangible assets acquired using various valuation methods, including the excess earnings and relief from royalty methods.

Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their useful lives while goodwill is not amortized but is evaluated for potential impairment at least annually by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value including goodwill recorded by the reporting unit. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, impairment is measured by comparing the implied fair value of the goodwill to its carrying value, and any impairment determined is recorded in the current period. All of the Company's goodwill is associated with one reporting unit. Accordingly, on an annual basis the Company performs the impairment assessment for goodwill at the enterprise level. The Company completed its annual impairment analysis as of October 1st for each of 2011, 2010 and 2009 and determined that there was no impairment of goodwill.

Intangible assets with finite lives are amortized using the straight-line method over the following useful lives:

 

     Useful
Lives
(Years)
 

Acquired methodologies/technology

     3 to 10   

Customer relationships

     3 to 12   

Panel

     7   

Intellectual property

     7 to 13   

Trade names

     2 to 10   
Impairment Of Long-Lived Assets

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company's long-lived assets primarily consist of property and equipment and intangible assets. The Company evaluates the recoverability of its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. If an indication of impairment is present, the Company compares the estimated undiscounted future cash flows to be generated by the asset to its carrying amount. Recoverability measurement and estimation of undiscounted cash flows are grouped at the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset group, the Company records an impairment loss equal to the excess of the asset group's carrying amount over its fair value. The fair value is determined based on valuation techniques such as a comparison to fair values of similar assets or using a discounted cash flow analysis. Although the Company believes that the carrying values of its long-lived assets are appropriately stated, changes in strategy or market conditions or significant technological developments could significantly impact these judgments and require adjustments to recorded asset balances. There were no impairment charges recognized during the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Lease Accounting

Lease Accounting

The Company leases its facilities and accounts for those leases as operating leases. For facility leases that contain rent escalations or rent concession provisions, the Company records the total rent payable during the lease term on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. The Company records the difference between the rent paid and the straight-line rent as a deferred rent liability. Leasehold improvements funded by landlord incentives or allowances are recorded as leasehold improvement assets and a deferred rent liability which is amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the term of the lease.

The Company records capital leases as an asset and an obligation at an amount equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments as determined at the beginning of the lease term. Amortization of capitalized leased assets is computed on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease and is included in depreciation and amortization expense.

Foreign Currency

Foreign Currency

The functional currency of the Company's foreign subsidiaries is the local currency. All assets and liabilities are translated at the current exchange rate as of the end of the period, and revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates in effect during the period. The gain or loss resulting from the process of translating foreign currency financial statements into U.S. dollars is reflected as foreign currency cumulative translation adjustment and reported as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive income.

 

The Company incurred foreign currency transaction losses of $0.4 million, $0.3 million, and $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The losses are the result of transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the Company's foreign subsidiaries.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The following summary sets forth the components of accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax, in stockholders' equity:

 

     December 31,  
     2011      2010  
     (In thousands)  

Foreign currency cumulative translation adjustment

   $ 617       $ 1,727   

Unrealized (loss) gain on marketable securities

     —           439   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Ending Balance

   $ 617       $ 2,166   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
Operating Segment Information

Operating Segment Information

The Company has concluded that it has one operating segment based on the fact that its Chief Executive Officer, who is also its chief operating decision maker, continues to evaluate performance and make operating decisions based on consolidated financial data. Additionally, there are no managers who are held accountable by the chief operating decision maker, or anyone else, for an operating measure of profit or loss for any operating unit below the consolidated unit level.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenues when the following fundamental criteria are met: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery has occurred or the services have been rendered, (iii) the fee is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collection of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured.

The Company generates revenues by providing access to the Company's online database or delivering information obtained from the database, usually in the form of periodic reports. Revenues are typically recognized on a straight-line basis over the period in which access to data or reports is provided, which generally ranges from three to twenty four months.

Revenues are also generated through survey services under contracts ranging in term from two months to one year. Survey services consist of survey and questionnaire design with subsequent data collection, analysis and reporting. At the outset of an arrangement, total arrangement consideration is allocated between the development of the survey questionnaire and subsequent data collection, analysis and reporting services based on relative selling price. Revenue allocated to the survey questionnaire is recognized when it is delivered and revenue allocated to the data collection, analysis and reporting services is recognized on a straight-line basis over the estimated data collection period once the survey or questionnaire design has been delivered. Any change in the estimated data collection period results in an adjustment to revenues recognized in future periods.

Certain of the Company's arrangements contain multiple elements, consisting of the various services the Company offers. Multiple element arrangements typically consist of either subscriptions to multiple online product solutions or a subscription to the Company's online database combined with customized services. Historically, the Company had determined there was not objective and reliable evidence of fair value for any of its services and, therefore, accounted for all elements in multiple element arrangements as a single unit of accounting. Access to data under the subscription element is generally provided shortly after the execution of the contract. However, the initial delivery of customized services generally occurs subsequent to the commencement of the subscription element. For these historical arrangements, the Company recognizes the entire arrangement fee over the performance period of the last deliverable. As a result, the total arrangement fee is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period beginning with the commencement of the last element delivered.

Effective January 1, 2011, the Company adopted the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2009-13, Multiple Deliverable Revenue Arrangements, which requires the Company to allocate arrangement consideration at the inception of an arrangement to all deliverables, if they represent a separate unit of accounting, based on their relative selling prices. In addition, this guidance eliminated the use of the residual method for allocating arrangement consideration. This guidance is applicable to the Company for all arrangements entered into subsequent to December 31, 2010 and for any existing arrangements that are materially modified after December 31, 2010.

For these types of arrangements, the guidance establishes a hierarchy to determine the selling price to be used for allocating arrangement consideration to deliverables: (i) vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value ("VSOE"), (ii) third-party evidence of selling price ("TPE") if VSOE is not available, or (iii) an estimated selling price ("ESP") if neither VSOE nor TPE are available. VSOE generally exists only when the Company sells the deliverable separately and is the price actually charged by the Company for that deliverable on a stand-alone basis. ESP reflects the Company's estimate of what the selling price of a deliverable would be if it was sold regularly on a stand-alone basis.

The Company has concluded it does not have VSOE, for these types of arrangements, and TPE is generally not available because the Company's service offerings are highly differentiated and the Company is unable to obtain reliable information on the products and pricing practices of the Company's competitors. As such, ESP is used to allocate the total arrangement consideration at the arrangement inception based on each element's relative selling price.

The Company's process for determining ESP involves management's judgments based on multiple factors that may vary depending upon the unique facts and circumstances related to each product suite and deliverable. The Company determines ESP by considering several external and internal factors including, but not limited to, current pricing practices, pricing concentrations (such as industry, channel, customer class or geography), internal costs and market penetration of a product or service. The total arrangement consideration is allocated to each of the elements based on the relative selling price. If the ESP is determined as a range of selling prices, the mid-point of the range is used in the relative-selling-price method. Once the total arrangement consideration has been allocated to each deliverable based on the relative allocation of the arrangement fee, the Company commences revenue recognition for each deliverable on a stand-alone basis as the data or service is delivered.

The impact of adopting this new revenue recognition guidance, including arrangements that were materially modified, during the year ended December 31, 2011 is that the Company recognized approximately $6.2 million in revenue and expenses of approximately $1.4 million that otherwise would have been recognized in future periods under the previous revenue recognition guidance. Based on the amounts involved, the timing of when this revenue would have been recognized under the previous revenue recognition rules, and the current backlog of arrangements, the Company believes the adoption of this accounting guidance will not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011. ESP will be analyzed on an annual basis or more frequently if management deems it likely that changes in the estimated selling prices have occurred.

Generally, contracts are non-refundable and non-cancelable. In the event a portion of a contract is refundable, revenue recognition is delayed until the refund provisions lapse. A limited number of customers have the right to cancel their contracts by providing a written notice of cancellation. In the event that a customer cancels its contract, the customer is not entitled to a refund for prior services, and will be charged for costs incurred plus services performed up to the cancellation date.

Advance payments are recorded as deferred revenues until services are delivered or obligations are met and revenue can be recognized. Deferred revenues represent the excess of amounts invoiced over amounts recognized as revenues.

 

On July 1, 2010, the Company completed its acquisition of Nexius, resulting in additional revenue sources, including software licenses, professional services (including software customization, implementation, training and consulting services), and maintenance and technical support contracts. The Company's arrangements generally contain multiple elements, consisting of the various service offerings. The Company recognizes software license arrangements that include significant modification and customization of the software in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 985-605, Software Recognition, and ASC 605-35, Revenue Recognition-Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts, typically using the completed-contract method. Prior to March 31, 2011, the Company had not established VSOE of fair value for the multiple deliverables and therefore accounted for all elements in these arrangements as a single unit of accounting, recognizing the entire arrangement fee as revenue on a straight line basis over the service period of the last delivered element. During the period of performance, billings and costs (to the extent they are recoverable) are accumulated on the balance sheet, but no profit or income is recorded before user acceptance of the software license. To the extent estimated costs are expected to exceed revenue, the Company accrues for costs immediately. During the quarter ended June 30, 2011 the Company established VSOE of fair value for post contract support ("PCS") services for a group of certain Nexius customers. The establishment of VSOE of fair value followed an alignment of the Company's pricing practices for these services. As a result of establishing VSOE, the Company, for the year ended December 31, 2011, recorded revenue and related costs of revenue of $2.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively, of which $0.9 million and $0.3 million, respectively, had been previously deferred.

Costs Of Revenues

Costs of Revenues

Cost of revenues consists primarily of expenses related to the operating network infrastructure and the recruitment, maintenance and support of consumer panels. Expenses associated with these areas include the salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits and related expenses of network operations, survey operations, custom analytics and technical support departments, and are expensed as they are incurred. Cost of revenues consists primarily of expenses related to the operating network infrastructure and the recruitment, maintenance and support of consumer panels. Expenses associated with these areas include the salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits and related expenses of network operations, survey operations, custom analytics and technical support departments. Cost of revenues also includes data collection costs for the products and operational costs associated with the Company's data centers, including depreciation expense associated with computer equipment that supports its panel and systems, and allocated overhead, which is comprised of rent and depreciation expense generated by general purpose equipment and software.

Deferred contract costs represents incremental direct costs paid to a third party and the internal costs of employees directly related to the delivery of an item that cannot be accounted for separately from the undelivered items for certain of the Company's significantly customized software sales or other long-term in nature projects. These costs are recognized as cost of revenues ratably over the same period that deferred revenue is recognized as revenues. The Company analyzes the recoverability of these costs each reporting period.

Selling And Marketing

Selling and Marketing

Selling and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits, commissions and bonuses paid to the direct sales force and industry analysts, as well as costs related to online and offline advertising, product management, seminars, promotional materials, public relations, other sales and marketing programs, and allocated overhead, including rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation. All selling and marketing costs are expensed as they are incurred.

Research And Development

Research and Development

Research and development expenses include new product development costs, consisting primarily of salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits and related costs for personnel associated with research and development activities, and allocated overhead, including rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation.

General And Administrative

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, stock-based compensation, benefits and related expenses for executive management, finance, accounting, human capital, legal, information technology and other administrative functions, as well as professional fees, overhead, including allocated rent and other facilities related costs, and depreciation and expenses incurred for other general corporate purposes.

Concentration Of Credit Risk

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company maintains cash deposits with financial institutions that at times exceed applicable insurance limits. The Company reduces this risk by maintaining such deposits with high quality financial institutions that management believes are creditworthy . With respect to accounts receivable, credit risk is mitigated by the Company's ongoing credit evaluation of its customers' financial condition.

For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, one customer, Microsoft Corporation, accounted for approximately 10%, 11% and 12%, respectively, of total revenues. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, no one customer accounted for more than 10% of accounts receivable.

Advertising Costs

Advertising Costs

All advertising costs are expensed as incurred. Advertising expense, which is included in sales and marketing expense, totaled $0.1 million, $0.2 million and $0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company estimates the fair value of share-based awards on the date of grant. The fair value of stock options with only service conditions is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value of market-based stock options and restricted stock units is determined using a Monte Carlo simulation embedded in a lattice model. The fair value of restricted stock awards is based on the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant. The determination of the fair value of the Company's stock option awards and restricted stock awards is based on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the Company's common stock price, expected stock price volatility over the expected life of awards, and actual and projected exercise behavior. Additionally, the Company has estimated forfeitures for share-based awards at the dates of grant based on historical experience, adjusted for future expectation. The forfeiture estimate is revised as necessary if actual forfeitures differ from these estimates.

The Company issues restricted stock awards where restrictions lapse upon the passage of time (service vesting), achieving performance targets, or some combination of these restrictions. For those restricted stock awards with only service conditions, the Company recognizes compensation cost on a straight-line basis over the explicit service period. For awards with both performance and service conditions, the Company starts recognizing compensation cost over the remaining service period, when it is probable the performance condition will be met. For stock awards that contain performance or market vesting conditions, the Company excludes these awards from diluted earnings per share computations until the contingency is met as of the end of that reporting period.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Deferred income taxes are provided for temporary differences in recognizing certain income, expense and credit items for financial reporting purposes and tax reporting purposes. Such deferred income taxes primarily relate to the difference between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to the future years in which deferred tax assets or liabilities are expected to be settled or realized.

 

The Company records a valuation allowance when it determines, based on available positive and negative evidence, that it is more-likely-than-not that some portion or all of its deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company determines the realizability of its deferred tax assets primarily based on the reversal of existing taxable temporary differences and projections of future taxable income (exclusive of reversing temporary differences and carryforwards). In evaluating such projections, the Company considers its history of profitability, the competitive environment, the overall outlook for the online marketing industry and general economic conditions. In addition, the Company considers the timeframe over which it would take to utilize the deferred tax assets prior to their expiration.

For certain tax positions, the Company uses a more-likely-than-not threshold based on the technical merits of the tax position taken. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured at the largest amount of tax benefits determined on a cumulative probability basis, which are more-likely-than-not to be realized upon ultimate settlement in the financial statements. The Company's policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share

Basic net (loss) income per common share excludes dilution for potential common stock issuances and is computed by dividing net (loss) income by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted net (loss) income per common share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. Diluted earnings per share assumes the exercise of stock options and warrants using the treasury stock method.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators used in computing basic and diluted net (loss) income per common share:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2011     2010     2009  
     (In thousands, except share data)  

Calculation of basic and diluted net income per share:

      

Net (loss) income

   $ (15,790 ) $      (1,576 ) $      3,969   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net (loss) income per common share:

      

Basic

     (0.49     (0.05     0.13   

Diluted

     (0.49     (0.05     0.13   

Weighted-average shares outstanding-common stock, basic

     32,289,877        31,070,018        30,014,085   

Dilutive effect of

      

Options to purchase common stock

     —          —          915,025   

Unvested restricted stock units

     —          —          32,930   

Warrants to purchase common stock

     —          —          8,602   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares outstanding-common stock, diluted

     32,289,877        31,070,018        30,970,642   

The dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock units of 627,147802,665 and 81,629 were not included in the computation of diluted net (loss) income per common share for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, as their effect would be anti-dilutive. In addition, the dilutive effect of the shares of common stock warrants were not included in the computation of diluted net (loss) income per common share for each of the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, as their effect would be anti-dilutive.