Instant Demographics

Need to know what age group might buy your company's tasty new soft drink before you make the appointment with the high-priced ad exec who's going to design that catchy radio jingle? Well, for an annual fee of $995, you can log on to www.DemographicsNow.com--a new service launched last week by SRC LLC--and access a database consisting of 1990 census data, 1999 estimates, and five-year projections.

The service will help you build reports that explain, for example, which neighborhoods in Chicago have lots of kids before you build a toy store there. The service also provides access to interactive maps for any region in the U.S. "The maps help you visualize the information," says Olivia Duane, VP of marketing at SRC.

The reports can be served up with your company's logo emblazoned on the top, and you can also request customized reports that can include your company's proprietary data for an additional fee.