Archive for the ‘uSamp’ tag
Can Tablet, TV, and Mobile Get Along? Understanding Cross-Platform Viewing Behavior in 2013
With an estimated 219.4 million viewers, the London Olympics were the most-watched television event in U.S. History. In its broadcast of the event, NBCUniversal bet on a triple strategy of live Web streaming, live cable coverage, and tape-delay broadcast—an approach that would challenge old assumptions about when, where, and how audiences are engaged.
As a key participant in NBCUniversal’s Billion Dollar Olympics Lab research initiative, uSamp applied its consumer insights platform, to track consumers’ real-time reactions, sentiment and behavior during the Games.
Before the 2012 Olympics, broadcasters had assumed that a smaller number of viewers would watch primetime Olympic coverage if they knew the results before airing. Survey results by uSamp revealed the opposite to be true. uSamp suggested that the multiple platform strategy made it more likely that people would watch primetime coverage—not less. NBC Olympics Digital set records with engagement time, live video streams and page views, while NBCOlympics.com, its mobile site and apps, delivered unparalleled engagement, traffic and consumption.
The lessons of the 2012 Olympics illustrate how the convergence of mobile, online, and broadcast platforms is shaping behavior as consumers interact with multiple touchpoints.
What can broadcasters/marketers/consumer tech companies take away from this scenario? And how will it change in 2013?
For the full case study, please contact lauren@usamp.com.
Pioneers Of DIY Online Sampling
by Matt Dusig, Co-founder & CEO
I believe that competition is at the core of any successful tech company; pioneers lay the groundwork, new entrants build on top of that groundwork, and all parties become more fiercely committed to solving problems. Take search engines for example. Yahoo! pioneered a hugely popular early search engine for the web. Its limitation was in how quickly its database of human-powered results could keep up with the rapidly expanding web. Google saw a problem and created a better solution.
I was recently asked by Bob Lederer of the Research Business Daily Report about my thoughts on how Google Consumer Surveys (GCS) has impacted the Market Research industry. I’ll reiterate what I wrote in the first product review of GCS: “GCS’ move into the Market Research industry brings good visibility to on-demand SaaS insights.” I truly believe that competition propels innovation and everyone wins.
Email Sampling Is Dead: Long Live The Web (and mobile)!
by Matt Dusig, Co-founder & CEO
Every once in a while, I like to rock the boat. With this blog title, it seems I’ve just predicted the demise of one of the core functions of sample delivery and it’s not only a challenge to the MR industry, but to uSamp as well. This doesn’t mean we’ll stop recruiting panelists into surveys using our email sampling systems — that would mean cutting off the lifeline of the millions of panelists that come through our systems every month. But, having experienced many technological changes in my life, I have become more adept at recognizing the decline of traditional methodologies. And in this case, the next casualty of panelist recruitment and engagement will be email delivery.
Technology eclipsing itself is nothing new. Look at the terrestrial radio industry and the constant decline of listeners and advertising revenue to online and satellite streams. Over-the-air broadcast radio still works and millions still use it, but it’s on the decline and the industry is undoubtedly changing forever.
Market researchers may not being dealing with the loss of radio listeners, but they can certainly learn a lesson from their peers in the music business. The writing is on the wall: Over time, email-based sampling and recruitment will diminish in value.
When I started in sampling in 2000, email response rates were high and email marketing was a valuable way to drive web traffic for lead generation and monetization. But today, just like radio, response rates for email continue to decline.
So what’s next?
Retailers, Meet Man’s New Best Friend, Mobile [INFOGRAPHIC]
Men Are Bigger Mobile Shoppers Than Women
As the iPhone 5 enters the marketplace, uSamp decided to look at the mobile shopping habits of 1,100 men and woman, ages 18 – 75. The survey was conducted using uSamp Mobile, a platform that blends uSamp’s mobile survey technology with their targeted audience to gain consumer and business insights.
It turns out that men and woman practice much of their mobile shopping while they are out and about. According to the results, 12% of woman find themselves shopping on their mobile devices while in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. On the other hand, 25% of men most frequently shop on mobile while at the office.
The survey found that men are more likely than woman to purchase items over their mobile devices. What items are they buying?
- 27% of males purchase consumer electronics on mobile vs. 8% of females
- 23% of males purchase movie and event tickets on mobile vs. 11% of females
- 30% of males purchase digital content on mobile vs. 20% of females
- 13% of males purchase food and drinks on mobile vs. 8% of females
- 8% of males purchase office supplies on mobile vs. 4% of females
Best Practices in Panel Management: Incentives
by Adam Sowers, Specialty Panel Manager, uSamp
The other week, I found myself agreeing to take a survey – after all I am in the business, and thought for good karma, I’d pay it back. The invitation stated that I could earn some pocket change for ten minutes of my time. Twenty minutes later, I was escorted to an over-quota page. With my head in my non-clicking hand, I closed my browser. I felt duped and wanted those lost minutes of my life back. Unfortunately, there are no reward options for regaining lost time – I’ve checked.
Unpleasant experiences like this contribute to panel burn. Jaded respondents don’t want to interact with your brand if they are left feeling unsatisfied, unhappy, or worse – betrayed. Establishing accurate expectations is the first, and most obvious, step to help reduce panel burn. I would like to share with you a few additional fundamental practices that should be instituted to maximize panelist retention.
Quirks Article: Data Privacy and Social Media
by Dinaz Kachhi, Manager of Research Insights, uSamp
The following article originally appeared in Quirk’s June 2012 Newsletter.
“It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen.” – George Orwell, 1984
We may be nearly 30 years past Orwell’s apocalypse but we are closer than ever to his Big Brother predictions. While readers may have once shuddered to think that the walls of privacy might crumble to reveal private thoughts publicly, the above quote seems but a mundane observation in an age where status updates and hashtags make public what was once private – or at least confined to a tight-knit circle. Security concerns are becoming more pronounced, as more and more people engage in social networks and as data breaches force them to think and interact differently.
The topic of privacy is especially important in the world of survey research. Our industry is built on the premise of getting inside people’s minds. We pride ourselves on being able to tap in to the private and make it public for market consumption. We are not only trying to gauge perceptions but also to understand how demographics impact online interactions.
To that end, uSamp conducted a study on social media usage across three groups (U.S. and U.K. general population and Hispanics) to compare, contrast and better understand of how social media usage and willingness to share information varies across and within these groups. The studies were completed over the course of six months. The U.S. and U.K. studies were conducted with 600 respondents each and the Hispanic study was conducted with n of 650, all drawn from uSamp’s online panel. The sample was controlled for age and gender.
The results outlined variation in usage of social media platforms by these groups, along with differences in measures taken to control privacy. Additionally, there were distinct trends in the types of activities performed and willingness to share information on social networks, demonstrating different patterns for each group.
Best Practices for Panel Management: Dynamic Profiling
by Josh Brezner, Panel Development Manager, uSamp
This is the third post of our Best Practices in Panel Management series.
Many of us claim to truly “know” our panelists. And why shouldn’t we? Through member profiling, we have the ability to capture everything from basic demographics to leisure, health and business information on respondents. We know what brands they buy, what food they eat, and where they bank. But profile data is often treated as a timeless portrait of a panelist, and not as a subjective snapshot of a person with changing consumer habits. If left unchecked, this approach can have devastating implications.
Best Practices for Panel Management: Registration and Security
by Lisa Wilding-Brown, VP Panel Operations, uSamp
So You’ve Recruited Your Audience. Now What?
Here’s how to make your registration count.
You’ve identified key traffic sources: the sites where potential panelists are hanging out, enjoying themselves, consuming goods on their own time, and sharing opinions with their friends. But just because you’ve got their attention does not mean they’ll listen. The first portal of entry is perhaps the most important for both the registrant, and the company hosting the panel.
First impressions matter
From a panel management perspective, each and every engagement of a panelist should be carefully orchestrated. Whether engaged via email invitation or within the online panel environment, constant care should be exercised.
Panel builders should be mindful of the frequency of contact as additional reminders or an over-abundance of email invitations can get on the nerve of even the most dedicated panelist. Respondents should not be invited on an exceptionally frequent basis as this can cause premature attrition, and provoke bad survey behavior.
Best Practices for Panel Management: Recruitment Sourcing
by Lisa Wilding-Brown, VP Panel Operations, uSamp
Recruiting and managing an online research panel is often a challenging and complex endeavor. The respondent lifecycle poses challenges every step of the way. Methodology, management philosophy, sourcing, rewards and technology all play a key role in generating high quality online sample. These fundamentals can be further complicated by the financial investment required to develop large-scale research panels. As clients evaluate panel providers, there are many standards that should be considered to ensure success from both methodological and financial perspectives.
Panels are not bottomless wells, and like anything that lives and breathes, they need to be nurtured and fed. The following blog series will illustrate the life cycle of a panel by addressing recruitment sourcing, registration, profiling, routing, incentives, and respondent engagement. Hopefully, this detailed look will encourage an examination of our industry’s health, and inspire future discussion for improvement.
Four Years of uSamp: The Men Behind The Story
As uSamp blows out its fourth birthday candle, co-founders Matt Dusig & Gregg Lavin discuss what the number four means to them.
