IRIS (International Research InstituteS) is the world's biggest and best-known network of independent market research institutes with partners in 36 countries. All the IRIS members can boast many years' experience of international projects, the highest quality standards, first-class project execution, and practice-oriented analyses. Vocatus is IRIS's exclusive partner institute in Germany.

In China, a great deal of importance is attached to face-to-face interviews since important topics aren't usually discussed on the phone. However, a very dense and complex social network means that so-called 'intermediaries' are required to make contact. They are known to both the market researcher as well as the interviewee, and they then establish contact between the two parties. One also has to consider the political situation, which means that certain issues or topics are taboo.

The need to consider language differences is particularly apparent in India: 22 officially recognized languages produce new and highly complex difficulties when conducting a study. Moreover, the context in which focus groups, for example, are conducted has to be adapted to the respondents' social class, or caste; this requires suitable premises and an interviewer who comes from the same caste.

International market research must above all take into account the cultural, religious and language differences between countries. For example, politeness is a very important aspect in Japan. It simply isn't part of Japanese culture to answer "no" to a direct, in-person request for an interview. The video shows other special features that have to be taken into consideration.