Minority-Owned Business

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Panels / Communities

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Quantitative Research

<p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);">ThinkNow unlocks cross-cultural insights for brands. We leverage our 15+ years of experience and DigaYGane.com, one of the largest Hispanic and Latin American online panels, to understand and authentically engage Hispanic, Black, AANHPI, and LGBTQIA+ communities.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);">Reach diverse audiences with confidence in the U.S. and Latin America. Build smarter, culturally relevant campaigns. ThinkNow.</span></p>

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ThinkNow unlocks cross-cultural insights for brands.

Artificial Intelligence / AI-Powered Insight Platforms

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Media Audience Research

Online Quantitative Data Collection Methods

Online Research Panels

<p class="p1">Sandwiched between silver-sneakered Boomers and digitally savvy Millennials, Gen X gets lost on the consumer continuum, only to be upended again by the youth, as Gen Z becomes the next media darling. Described as the &#8220;ignored generation&#8221;, Gen Xers, born between 1960 and 1982, are often accused of contributing less to culture and society.</p>
<p class="p2">But is that true? After all, the internet was born on their watch (1983). Video game consoles like Atari emerged, paving the way for PlayStation and Xbox. And the concept of at-home movie viewing became a reality with VHS tapes, precursors to streaming (<i>you’re welcome, Netflix</i>). So, why is Gen X somewhat of a &#8220;neglected&#8221; middle child? Short answer &#8211; a lack of research.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="p3">Purchasing power</h3>
<p class="p4">The oldest Baby Boomers are starting to pass away, while the youngest are beginning to retire. On the other hand, Gen X consumers are still relatively young and control a significant portion of the economy with their purchasing power. They are highly educated, make up <a href="https://lundmarkadvertising.com/marketing-to-generation-x-advantages-of-generational-marketing/">65% of the U.S. workforce</a>, and 85% are business owners. Millennials, on the other hand, created the sharing economy and made living in a hostel cool but are generally not top earners. Marketing to Gen X, on the other hand, presents clear advantages but is still underutilized.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/24-unexpected-behaviors-of-generations-x-y-z">24 Unexpected Behaviors of Generations X, Y, + Z</a></h4>
        </div>
    
<h3>Hispanics</h3>
<p class="p4">Multicultural Gen X consumers came of age in the ‘80s and ‘90s. During that time, mainstream marketing targeted Hispanic Baby Boomers through Spanish TV programs like Univision and Telemundo. Gen X Hispanics tend to be bilingual, composed of a mix of U.S. and foreign-born individuals brought to the U.S. at a young age, enabling them to toggle between Spanish to English easily.</p>
<p class="p4">Their purchasing power, just like the rest of their generation, is among the highest compared to Millennials and Gen Z. Despite having more purchasing power, the sample industry still looks for Boomers that only speak Spanish or Gen X Latino/Hispanics (LatinX).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3 class="p6">Gen X opportunity<b><br />
</b></h3>
<p class="p4">While they didn’t transform the cultural economy or create a social media platform, Gen X consumers are educated, employed, and the parents of the first majority-minority generation in history &#8211; Gen Z. For market researchers, focusing on Gen X is essential for growth. It behooves us to understand this generation to ensure their experiences as consumers are ideal and provide clients the insights they need to differentiate themselves in the marketplace.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p4"><em>A version of the preceding article was originally published on <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/is-online-sample-ignoring-gen-x-consumers/">ThinkNow&#8217;s blog</a>.</em></p>


Is Online Sample Ignoring Gen X Consumers?

<p class="p1">The online sample market was thrust into the spotlight late this year with two big announcements. Cint <a href="https://www.bizneworleans.com/lucids-1-1b-sale-makes-it-new-orleans-first-unicorn/">acquired Lucid</a> for a whopping $1.1 billion, and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/software-services-firm-zendesk-buy-surveymonkey-parent-nearly-4-bln-2021-10-28/">Zendesk acquired Momentive Global</a> (Survey Monkey) in a $4 billion deal. These two acquisitions underscore the growing popularity of research technology and validate the value of data insights. This is a win for all parties involved, including online sample providers like ThinkNow, who have delivered quality sample and multicultural consumer insights for the past ten years.</p>
<p class="p1">In general, however, online sample has always struggled with finding an identity within the market research industry. Are we technology companies? Is sample a commodity? Does data collection even belong in the market research community? These are just a few of the questions that sample providers have had to contend with over the years. But with the payouts we’ve seen for &#8220;sample companies&#8221;, the sample industry seems to be finding its identity in the form of research technology, more commonly known as &#8220;ResTech&#8221;.</p>
<h2>Evolution of online sample</h2>
<p class="p1">Despite playing a significant role in the development of new products and services, the online sample business is a niche within a niche, comprising a small group of players relatively unknown to the public. Even within the market research industry, there’s been debate over <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/online-sample-has-a-good-problem-and-a-very-bad-one-data-quality/">data quality and responsible data sourcing</a>. But online sample isn’t new. The first iteration evolved in the late 1990s through the early 2000s with Web 1.0 as <a href="https://www.greenbook.org/market-research-firms/online-communities">market research online communities</a>, or MROCS. Programmatic sample came along about ten years later, giving rise to the exchanges. This new technology broadened the borders, enabling affiliates like Prodege, P2Sample <span class="s3"><i>(acquired by Cint)</i></span>, and Market Cube (<span class="s3"><i>acquired by <a href="https://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research/Schlesinger-Clinical-Research">Schlesinger Group</a>)</i></span> to enter the online sample industry.</p>

        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/insights-technology/essentials-when-building-an-online-sample-platform">Essentials When Building an Online Sample Platform</a></h4>
        </div>
    
<p class="p1">Nevertheless, despite the momentum, the technology still struggled to establish its identity during this time span. It wasn’t SAAS enough to be traditional tech software and didn’t fit neatly into the market research category.</p>
<p class="p1">Then Patrick Comer introduced the world to the concept of research technology when he founded Lucid and built it to &#8220;democratize data collection by applying programmatic technology to market research&#8221;. His gamble paid off, the game was changed, and now online sample is entering yet another phase of transformation in the form of ResTech.</p>
<p class="p1">So at this point, there is no <a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/research-methodologies/traditional-online-panel-vs-programmatic-sample">debate</a> over traditional online panels versus programmatic. <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/the-rise-of-the-multi-billion-dollar-restech-industry/">Online sample companies resistant to change are lagging behind, or worse.</a> Programmatic sample software is the future, and the billion-dollar valuations we’ve seen recently is a call for bigger players to invest in ResTech, and for online sample companies to re-evaluate their worth.</p>
<p><em><span class="notion-enable-hover" data-token-index="0" data-reactroot="">A version of the preceding article was originally published on <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/the-rise-of-the-multi-billion-dollar-restech-industry/">ThinkNow&#8217;s blog</a>.</span></em></p>


The Rise of the Multi-Billion Dollar ResTech Industry

<p class="p1">Based on the 2020 Census, Hispanics now account for 18% of the U.S. population. This represents a 23% increase over 2010, bringing the overall Hispanic/Latino population to 62 million. The African American population remained steady at 46 million, whereas Asians reported the most growth, now at 26 million. The White/Caucasian majority remained unchanged at around 204 million. The multiracial population, however, has doubled since 2010 to a population of 33.8 million, a growth of 276%. At this rate, this group will reach 100 million by 2030.</p>
<p class="p2">While Hispanics represent the largest minority segment in the U.S. today, the total population is facing a decline in the next decade, which may signal the demise of the majority of minority groups in the U.S. in 20 to 30 years.</p>
<h2 class="p3">Hispanic identity fades with new generations</h2>
<p class="p1">Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race, and only in the USA is it used as a racial identifier. Latin America does not segment its population as Hispanic. It does not exist in their census. Even though 62 million Americans identified as U.S. Hispanic in the 2020 Census, the Hispanic ethnicity will decline as new generations assimilate into American culture.</p>
<p class="p1">ThinkNow conducted a study and found that of first-generation U.S. Hispanics, over 80% identified as Hispanic/Latino. Of those second-generation, about 40% identified as Hispanic/Latino (already a 50% drop), and only 10% of third-generation identified as Hispanic/Latino. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2017/12/20/hispanic-identity-fades-across-generations-as-immigrant-connections-fall-away/">Out of the current 62 million Hispanics, 47% are first-generation</a> (born in the USA of immigrant parents).</p>
<p class="p1">Seventeen percent are second-generation (both parents or one parent born in the USA), and 12% are immigrants. The rest are third and higher generations. In ten years, as the trend continues, there will be more second-generation, U.S.-born Hispanics whom at least 40% won’t identify as Hispanic.</p>
<p class="p1">If the data continues to trend this way, by the 2030 Census, the Hispanic population will decline or remain about the same. This change in Hispanic identity is already having an effect. In entertainment, specifically Spanish language programming targeting Spanish-speaking consumers in the U.S., Telemundo, and Univision, two of the top Spanish-speaking networks in the country, are experiencing a decline in viewership among young Hispanics. Millennials and Gen Z, in general, prefer English to Spanish.</p>
<h2 class="p3">&#8220;Latinx&#8221; isn’t mainstream, it’s online</h2>

        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/grit">Moving from Talk to Action: Fostering Inclusive Insights</a></h4>
        </div>
    
<p class="p1">Another trend we’re seeing and have been hotly debating for the past few years is the term &#8220;Latinx&#8221;. While its use may seem ubiquitous, the momentum only exists online, popularized on social media, and romanticized by hashtags and influencers. Outside of the Internet and in the physical world, only 3% of <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/latinos-prefer-hispanic-over-latinx-when-describing-ethnicity/">Latino/Hispanics identify as &#8220;Latinx&#8221;</a>. Twenty percent have heard of the term, and a whopping 76% <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/08/11/about-one-in-four-u-s-hispanics-have-heard-of-latinx-but-just-3-use-it/">have never heard of it</a>. The Hispanic community, as a whole, does not connect with this identifier despite its use online and in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/05/opinion/latinix-warren-democrats.html">political campaigns</a>. To date, there are no signs there will be greater adoption of this term.</p>
<p class="p1">Despite the possibility of a slow decline in the Hispanic majority, these consumers will continue to be cultural and economic drivers in the U.S.</p>


Is America’s Largest Minority Declining? The Future of Hispanic Identity

<p class="p1">Just as the <a href="https://www.greenbook.org/market-research-companies/new-zealand">market research</a> industry began returning to normal, COVID-19 made a comeback as a new variant called &#8220;Delta&#8221;.  As a result, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and several other states are struggling with high infection rates, delaying workers’ return to the office or requiring them to work remotely.</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/pay-cut-google-employees-who-work-home-could-lose-money-2021-08-10/">Google</a>, for example, is giving employees the option to work from home. But there&#8217;s a catch: Depending on location, work-from-home employees may experience pay cuts as high as 25%. Right now, this is an experiment being carried out by a few tech companies in Silicon Valley and others dotted throughout the U.S. But it makes me wonder, are these the first steps towards permanent remote work for most of us?</p>
<p class="p2">Everything indicates no turning back to a post-pandemic way of life. One of the most significant changes during the pandemic was a shift to digital, a change that created numerous opportunities for sample providers by way of increased demand. But the increase doesn’t come without growing pains such as bandwidth and data quality<span class="s2">.</span></p>
<h2 class="p3">A supply problem is a good problem to have</h2>
<p class="p1">The persistence of the pandemic is driving high demand for online sample recruitment, causing spikes in sample pricing. Many online sample companies are seeing record sales, but most <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/the-jig-is-up-samplecon-2021-edition/">exchange systems</a> have sample constraints. Companies that do not have proprietary panels or sample resources are struggling to keep up with demand.</p>
<p class="p1">Another challenge for sample providers is that demand is also very niche, targeting U.S. Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, and White/Caucasians in more rural areas with limited ZIP Codes. So, sample companies invest in their own panel resources and create their own exchanges to reconcile supply and demand. Multicultural sample is essential to building a <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/samplecon-2020-highlights-importance-of-multicultural-sample/">representative data set</a>, so the inability to get that data compromises output to the client.</p>
<h2 class="p3">Data quality issues also make a comeback</h2>
<p class="p1">Data integrity continues to be a hot topic within the online sample industry. At SampleCon last year, <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/data-quality-technology-key-themes-at-samplecon-2020/"><span class="s3">data </span>quality and responsible sample sourcing</a> was (and continues to be) a key concern as sample providers are stretched to the brink.</p>

        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/research-methodologies/when-will-the-sample-industry-really-lay-down-the-law-on-sample-fraud">When Will the Sample Industry Really Lay Down the Law on Sample Fraud?</a></h4>
        </div>
    
<p class="p1">At its lowest point, clients opted out of using online data collection as a methodology of choice and resorted to the traditional data collection model (phone, in-person) to get better results.</p>
<p class="p1">After the onset of COVID-19, discussion of sample fraud took a backseat to the lives lost due to the pandemic. During this time, traditional research methodologies like in-person focus groups shut down, and clients turned to online sample again as the only form of data collection available.</p>
<p class="p1">This brings us to today, 18 months later. Demand for sample is high, but fraud issues persist, making it more imperative than ever that clients work with a reputable sample provider with the experience and security infrastructure to maintain data integrity.</p>


Online Sample Has A Good Problem and a Very Bad One – Data Quality

<p>After months of uncertainty, many Americans are cautiously optimistic about saying farewell to COVID-19. Mask mandates have either expired or are set to expire soon, and vaccines are available to anyone ages 12 and older who wants one. Slowly, the country is starting to awaken, and with it, sample companies are assessing where we go from here.</p>
<p>For 15 months, the online sample industry adapted its business strategy to the pandemic reality. Traditional in-person focus groups shifted online, and online surveys were the gold standard. While the country was shut down last year, the need for sample soared as marketers scrambled to stay connected to consumers dealing with unprecedented challenges. These challenges inevitably changed their behavior, preferences, and spending habits.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/market-research-trends/forces-of-change-how-technology-and-apps-are-supporting-consumers-in-a-post-covid-world">Forces of Change: How Technology and Apps are Supporting Consumers in a Post-COVID World</a></h4>
        </div>
    
<p>Now that the worse seems to be over, some of the hardest-hit industries are preparing to ramp up. But they need accurate consumer insights to do it. Marketers not plugged in run the risk of missing the mark and damaging their brands, presenting sample providers with an opportunity to provide a critical service.</p>
<p>That is especially true for some of the hardest-hit industries where getting it right could be the difference between a comeback and a catastrophe.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Travel and Tourism</h2>
<p>The bottom fell out of the travel and tourism industry last year. It is just now starting to see glimmers of hope. Cruises are preparing to set sail, and international travel to beloved destinations may resume this summer for Americans. Yet, the industry is roaring back without clear visibility into consumer demand. It is unclear how consumers will react and how they will spend.</p>
<p>Sample providers have an opportunity to provide insight into consumers’ willingness to travel, how and when that travel happens, and how much they will spend on the trip. This is particularly important for multicultural consumers hardest hit by the pandemic. Restoring their faith in travel safety is essential to bookings. Developing COVID-19 related screeners enables clients to understand consumers’ current perception of travel to design solutions to overcome objections.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Brick and Mortar</h2>
<p>Retail, CPG, and consumer services are poised to reach pre-COVID capacity in the coming months as the U.S. re-opens and spending normalizes. However, the challenge for retail is similar to that of the travel industry, discovering new consumer behavioral patterns. Before the pandemic, Gen Z, for example, preferred to shop in-store. But shuttered brick-and-mortar stores pushed those sales online, prompting a significant uptick in e-commerce sales. Will we see sales shift back to in-person? Is this a good opportunity for direct-to-consumer brands to make a big push for sales? Understanding consumer consumption habits is vital to the industry and the systems needed to support it.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Post-Pandemic Online Sample</h2>
<p>The consumers you knew in 2019 are vastly different from the consumers you see today. They have endured the stress of a once-in-a-lifetime event and adjusted their behaviors to cope. It is unrealistic to think they will emerge on the other side unscathed. Some will be out of the habit of spending, while others will splurge. Our job as sample providers is to assist our clients with understanding where their customer falls on the spectrum. And we can only do that by asking them how COVID-19 has impacted who they are today.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong><em>Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@matthew-barra-178916?utm_content=attributionCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=pexels">Matthew Barra</a> from <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-cruise-ship-813011/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=pexels">Pexels</a></em></strong></p>


COVID-19 Post Pandemic Online Sample

<p>The concept of “do-it-yourself” may bring to mind images of re-tiling the bathroom floor or reseeding the lawn. But DIY goes far beyond home improvement projects. About five years ago, online do-it-yourself sample tools began trending. Sample companies would create these tools for clients at little to no charge to facilitate sample buying. However, it wasn’t long before clients realized, like many of us who’ve tried to tile a floor, it may look easy, but looks can be deceiving.<span id="more-9777"></span></p>
<h3 data-fontsize="22" data-lineheight="26"></h3>
<h2>Convenience vs. Complexity</h2>
<p>When one engages in a do-it-yourself project, there is a certain level of satisfaction knowing that you control more of the process. You determine when to start the project, how long the project will last, and get the praise if the project is a success. DIY sample platforms may be of interest to some companies requiring online sample for similar reasons – control and convenience. With a DIY sample tool, buyers can purchase sample at their discretion without going through the bidding process and the hassle of emailing multiple sample companies. However, sample buying through a DIY tool is complex. There are many moving parts on the backend like profiling, segmentation, and project management. Not to mention the learning curve to making the tool work.</p>
<p>Due to the overwhelming burden of onboarding online DIY sample tools, vendors end up assisting the client or assuming control of the project entirely. This puts them right where they should have been all along – doing the data collections for the client.</p>
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<h2>Complicated Pricing, Lower Conversion</h2>
<p>A second reason why DIY sampling is not a fit for everyone is the pricing models. Every sample company uses an entirely different <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/essentials-to-build-online-sample-platforms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">methodology</a> when generating sample and how they price it. The algorithms they use are different, and how they conduct their surveys vary.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/research-methodologies/are-diy-platforms-ready-for-prime-time">Are DIY Platforms Ready for Prime Time?</a></h4>
        </div>
    
<p>When market research firms use a DIY sample tool, they typically see their sample automatically paused due to low conversion. A price increase is required to continue. Other tools might not pause the project but will give the survey a lower score and not make it visible to panelists, negatively impacting the conversion rate.</p>
<p>Often, clients don’t know how to profile correctly, so the criteria are fragmented. This, too, causes the conversion rate to decrease, which prompts the DIY algorithm to pause the project and ask for more money. If an additional budget is not added, the survey is dead in the water.</p>
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<h2></h2>
<h2>Outsourced Sample vs. DIY Sample Tools</h2>
<p>DIY sample tools, in theory, are high in utility. But in reality, they end up being a hassle for the clients that don’t know how to use them. Instead of spending time, resources, and budget to learn the ins and outs of a DIY sample tool, that budget would be better served retaining the services of a qualified sample company that is ready and willing to collect and deliver the data you need. That way, you can get back to doing what you’re good at.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em><strong>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@michalp24?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Michal Pechardo</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/diy-floor-tiling?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a> </strong></em></p>


Online DIY Sample Tools, Not A Fit For Most

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<p>A few years ago, the concept of autonomous vehicles captivated consumers. While the technology has progressed tremendously, most self-driving experiences are still limited to driver assistance, partial automation, or conditional automation. Innovation develops over time.</p>
</div>
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        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/the-majority-minority-population-drives-demand-for-multicultural-sample">The Majority-Minority Population Drives Demand For Multicultural Sample</a></h4>
        </div>
    </div>
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<div data-test-id="formatted-input-0">Compare that to the emergence of mobile sample. Ten years ago, it was the most significant innovation in the online sample industry. Mobile sample was discussed in every conference from 2010 to 2016. Despite the buzz, however, mobile sample didn’t immediately catch on. The technology existed, but brands resisted the change in survey methodology. But that started to change in 2017. Larger companies began to consider mobile sampling as a means to collect data. Mobile sampling has since gone mainstream and presents a big opportunity to reach a sought-after demographic – multicultural consumers.</div>
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<h2 data-test-id="formatted-input-4">Mobile Sample Increases Multicultural Reach</h2>
<div data-test-id="formatted-input-5">The shift to mobile slowly started to emerge in 2014 when mobile compatible surveys came online. By 2017, mobile-compatible surveys were prevalent, and it’s common now, which aids multicultural research. Mobile surveys allow for broader reach among U.S. Hispanics, especially unacculturated consumers.  This segment is the most challenging segment to reach online. Mobile-enabled surveys have made this group more accessible.</div>
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<h2 data-test-id="formatted-input-7">Mobile Enables Segmentation</h2>
<div data-test-id="formatted-input-8">Conducting surveys via a mobile device also allows researchers to segment a particular niche community more accurately when compared to doing so via desktop. When accessing the survey on mobile devices, such as smartphones, cookies drop onto browsers to report user activity, and along with location data, researchers can identify the individual using the device.</div>
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<h2 data-test-id="formatted-input-10"><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research/mobile-surveys-in-market-research">Mobile Surveys</a> Are Undervalued</h2>
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<p>Mobile surveys were not around in mass ten years ago due to a lack of technology to support it and no one advocating for it. The market research industry naturally orbited towards mobile-enabled surveys over time, however. This innovation inadvertently benefited cultural research as multicultural consumers, particularly Hispanics, over-index on smartphone use. Accessibility to respondents and real-time insights help researchers better serve their clients. Mobile sample continues to add value to research technology.</p>
</div>
<div data-test-id="formatted-input-11">Mobile-enabled surveys give sample providers the means to gauge consumers’ attitudes and motivations using a device that a large number of the population keep on their person at all times. But occasionally, it’s important to take a step back and reflect on how far technology has come. Like autonomous vehicles, mobile surveys came online in phases. But now, the online sample industry and the clients we serve have used this innovation to transform how we reach multicultural consumers, a clear win for multicultural research.</div>
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The Benefits of Mobile Sample on Multicultural Research

<p>Last year around this time, I published <a title="The State of the Union: Privacy Laws’ Impact on the Sample Industry" href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/market-research-trends/the-state-of-the-union-privacy-laws-impact-on-the-sample-industry">“The State of the Union – Privacy Law’s Impact on the Sample Industry”</a> sharing my views on how privacy legislation impacted the sample industry in 2019. Since then, the world has radically changed. A worldwide pandemic sparked a global health crisis. Social and political unrest upended the status-quo, and Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the United States. The election was so bitterly contested that it resulted in a violent attack by extremists on the U.S. Capitol. Many are wondering how we can collectively move forward.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, as President Biden takes office and decides when to deliver his first State of the Union address, I thought it fitting to recap how the online sample industry changed over the last twelve months, focusing on two areas: the shift to digital and emerging business opportunities.</p>

        <div class="post-related-post">
            <h3>Related</h3>
            <h4><a href="https://www.greenbook.org/insights/market-research-trends/the-state-of-the-union-privacy-laws-impact-on-the-sample-industry">The State of the Union: Privacy Laws’ Impact on the Sample Industry</a></h4>
        </div>
    
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Online Sample Industry Booms During the Pandemic</h2>
<p>In March 2020, the American Stock Market dropped 11,000 points following nationwide lockdowns to combat the spread of COVID-19. As businesses began to shutter, many online sample companies were forced to close multi-year tracker studies, cancel live projects, and furlough employees to keep cash-flow out of the red.</p>
<p>But as consumers gradually began shifting in-person activities online, the online sample industry quickly benefited. Market researchers transferred many qualitative and quantitative studies online to replace in-person focus-groups, interviews, and customer observations. This transition accelerated the shift to digital that was already happening in the online sampling industry, but now it was out of necessity, not curiosity. The digital migration created new business opportunities and modernized the industry.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>“Survival of the Fittest” Separates the Winners and the Losers</h2>
<p>“Survival of the Fittest,” one of the major tenets of Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, suggests that as the environment changes, only strong organisms survive. This principle was in full effect in 2020, as the pandemic forced the market research industry to pivot to stay afloat or risk going under.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, exposed and over-leveraged online sampling companies soon disappeared and were replaced by larger companies with more robust technology and product ingenuity. But for the few companies who did manage to survive, business has never been better.</p>
<p>Online samples became a high-priced commodity as industry protocols shifted to accommodate health precautions. New survey tracking instruments were developed to expedite the data collection process and discern patterns and trends more quickly.</p>
<p>Going forward, online sampling companies will need to continue to innovate to keep selling their products and adjust to market demand.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<p>Despite a global health crisis, a shuttered economy, and socio-political unrest, the online sampling industry turned what could have been a disastrous year into one marked by growth. In 2020, online samples quickly became necessary in the absence of in-person events, catapulting many sampling companies into the limelight as market researchers turned to digital instruments for qualitative data.</p>
<p>As we look towards the future, one thing is clear. Digital is here to stay.</p>
<p>In 2021, online sampling companies who wish to remain competitive will need to incorporate innovation and technology integration into the core of their business operations to keep pace with the next normal. Even post-pandemic, after most Americans are vaccinated and gatherings resume, some habits formed during the pandemic, like a reliance on Zoom to communicate, may not return to pre-pandemic levels. This is especially true for providers who see the cost savings and the greater access to qualified respondents. The question is, will you be ready?</p>
<p><em>Photo by <strong><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@karolina-grabowska?utm_content=attributionCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=pexels">Karolina Grabowska</a></strong> from <strong><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/image-of-old-building-on-american-banknote-4386157/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=pexels">Pexels</a></strong></em></p>


Online samples quickly became necessary in the absence of in-person events as market researchers turned to digital instruments for qualitative data.

State of the Union – Online Sample Edition 2021

<p>Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly all aspects of life have been reframed, reimagined, or otherwise rearranged. Everything from business to pleasure, big events, and routine minutia have felt the impact. It should come as no surprise that in-person ethnography, so dependent on immersion in real life, has been put on hold. Understandably, many of those in innovation and research are asking themselves, <em>“Is it worth doing research when life seems so unreal&#8230;and I can’t even do research the way I want to?”</em></p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-25289" src="https://greenbook.org/mr/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ethnography.png" alt="Ethnography: Does Remote Research Really Count?" width="624" height="325"   /></p>
<p><strong><em>The short answer is yes: change is happening and it’s real. Ethnographic approaches &#8211; even mediated through digital tools &#8211; are some of the best ways to map the shifting sands. As some industries change dramatically, and at an accelerated pace, research shouldn’t wait. </em></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>To explore this in full, first, we need to review the goals and intent at the core of <strong>ethnographic </strong>methods. The first things that come to mind are in-person/in-home interviews and cultural immersions. Ethnography seeks to <strong>understand humans in their natural settings </strong>through qualitative observation and interaction. You might say, it captures how humans act and feel in the “real world.” To get to these natural settings, we go where the action is: the exact places, times, and spaces where decisions are made, lives are lived, or mindsets are influenced.</p>
<p>Alas, getting to where the action is not so easy right now. We can’t effortlessly hop on a plane to become guests in people’s homes or shadow them as they go about their days. So we can’t immerse ourselves in participants’ “<em>there” </em>when we are isolating in our own “<em>here”</em>. Or can we? <strong>A limitation does not have to be a negation; even a limited color palette can yield a richly detailed rendering of daily life. </strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Is this the real world? Or just changes?</h3>
<p>No matter how you slice it, we are living in a moment of upheaval and alienation. Time and space seem warped and our real world feels more like an alternate reality. Most are struggling to connect with those they are used to being in close contact with and even feeling further from associations and networks which, while not closely held, did provide meaningful context or support.</p>
<p>To be sure, the pandemic is extreme and tragic, but life is always dynamic. Without downplaying the extent of the impact of Covid-19, we <em>always</em> do our research in front of a background of some form of change, be it macro-disruptions like economic downturns and racial tension to personal struggles or family crises. This <em>is </em>part of the real world and our methods need to be up to the task.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<h3>As we look to remote tools, are we losing some <em>realness</em>?<strong><br />
</strong></h3>
<p>While the pandemic has pushed us to rely <u>more</u> on technology, whether research is being conducted in-person or not a social interaction is taking place, and those human interactions are still very real. This awareness is one of the things that define ethnography. Anthropologists, ethnography’s inventors, have embraced that our face-to-face work is inherently social. While researchers and participants being in the same room certainly facilitates our work, distance, and mediation through webcams and smartphones is not an insurmountable hurdle to a social engagement. So long as the complex layers and subtle nuances of human interaction are accounted for and nurtured, real life <u>can</u> be tapped remotely to get quality data and meaningful insights.</p>
<p><strong>Here we share some considerations, observations, and key takeaways important for transitioning in-person ethnographic work into the remote environment.</strong> As we look at some of the building blocks for social interactions, we find<strong> parallels between the in-person and the online.</strong> Taking care to consider these can both help prepare for ethnographic teams for remote research and better face-to-face work as social distancing restrictions life. <strong>In short, the real world is alive and well in the remote,</strong> it just may require a different level of effort and intention to rethink the social interactions required when mediating research through technology.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Breaking the Ice: Meetings and Greetings</h3>
<p>Starting can be the hardest part, not to mention the most important. People are not inclined to jump into deep conversations with strangers without going through some formalities.  Luckily for us, every culture <em>has </em>norms that make entering into interaction and making initial connections smooth, efficient, and hopefully less awkward.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>How this Emerges in Person</h4>
<p>Going into people’s homes as strangers is pretty weird when you think about it. It’s the participant’s space &#8211; they are the host and we are their guests. We all know the steps in the social dance &#8211; they invite us in, we offer to remove our shoes, they take our coats and offer us a drink, we politely refuse (or accept as long as it’s no trouble at all), and the host offers to show us around. Finally, we settle in for our chat.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>How this Emerges Online</h4>
<p>Handshakes or finding out where someone is from has clear parallels on line. Once we introduce ourselves by name, we naturally look to our virtual environments for common ground. Technological glitches and mute button mishaps are just as good as lamenting the weather for our purposes. Everyone has those experiences, but no one spends much time talking about them. So, just like that, we find a connection. On the surface, little vital information is shared during these five or ten minutes. The story behind an interesting trinket in a participant’s living room or comparing the quirks of Zoom vs. FaceTime is basically never mission-critical to a project. They are essential to the later success of the discussions. We need to navigate the accepted formulas of social interaction regardless of proximity.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Establishing Trust and Affirming Social Safety</h3>
<p>Anyone can chat about the weather and mute buttons. That’s just a first step. Next, we must build stronger trust. Sometimes trust is about the basics of physical safety and respect. So much of this goes unspoken and unnoticed in our lives. Consider interactions as small as acknowledging another person as you pass on the sidewalk. Regardless of the length it lasts, a relationship has started. The sliver of rapport is built and you agree to not walk in their path, and instead trust the other to simply walk as socially prescribed. The work gets more involved when we want the participant to feel that “this is someone I can talk to.”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>How this Emerges in Person</h4>
<p>You are probably not aware of it, but when people get together in the same physical space, we use a complex set of cues to confirm that we can trust each other. As strangers come together in a research setting, the informal interaction before things get started is a dance for connection and comfort. Even the check-in process of a research study leverages participants’ mental checklists for judging if an interaction is safe and can be trusted.</p>
<p>As they enter and are greeted, they have a verification process engaged:</p>
<ul>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> Yes, this is the right place.</li>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> Yes, this is a research study.</li>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> No, this is not a ruse to get me to a location where I’m going to be murdered. (or more simply, I am safe)</li>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> Yes, I agree to participate in exchange for this incentive.</li>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> Phew, there are snacks!</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>How this Emerges Online</h4>
<p>The technology for bringing these remote research interactions online <strong>does</strong> <strong>not change the human need for connection, trust, safety, and relationship-building. </strong>In fact, they become more essential and require more effort to reproduce in digital environments. In virtual spaces, there is just as much complexity in how we interact with each other and how we confirm that we can trust each other.</p>
<p>A participants’ virtual checklist for verification is not that different:</p>
<ul>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> Yes, this is the right place.</li>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> No, my home address and videos are not being displayed to others. (my <em>information and identity</em> is safe)</li>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> Oh, neat, there are real researchers here to interact with and share with, how cool. I was expecting a boring survey.</li>
<li><input type="checkbox" /> Perhaps we can share an anecdote about our Zoom backgrounds before getting started</li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>The Roles and Responsibilities of Ethnographer and Participant</h3>
<p>Humans are wired for <strong>pattern recognition</strong>. We are always asking ourselves, albeit subconsciously, <em>“How should I act in this situation?”</em> Humans look to context in order to understand how to behave, speak, and interact with others. How we act and how we speak is incredibly tied with our familiarity of the format of interaction. As we will see that means giving control to the participant by undoing any sense that we are experts just because we know how to do ethnography.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>How this Emerges in Person</h4>
<p>As social animals, we cannot feel comfortable when we don’t know how to act towards others in a given situation. In-person, we use contextual clues to figure out the goal of the interaction and what our roles should be. Take an everyday transactional experience: walking up to a counter in a store. We all know that the goal of the interaction is a purchase and one of us is the customer and the other is the cashier. We have played out this scene thousands of times and go on “auto-pilot.” We inherently know what to do, say, ask, and even how long the interaction should last.</p>
<p>We have internalized countless such social protocols from habit and repetition from boarding a plane to chatting with a dental hygienist. Ethnographers, however, have to pull an extra trick. We need to take the fact that participants often see us as professionals or experts and flip that to make the participant feel in control. In effect, this makes the participant high status in the interaction and will encourage them to show us their view of the world instead of deferring to ours.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>How this Emerges Online</h4>
<p>In the digital world, this can be tricky, especially among strangers. <strong>Context clues are limited</strong>. We don’t have our physical presence, body language, or shared space to draw on. Since technology continues to evolve rapidly, protocols of the kind we use with cashiers simply aren’t as widely recognized.</p>
<p>Furthermore, using a computer to surf the internet or stream content makes some people feel like an audience member rather than an active contributor (though this may be changing generationally). With remote ethnography, however, participants find themselves to be the subject matter, and the researchers become the audience. This is an unfamiliar format at first, and the onus is on the research moderators to help participants orient to this new context.</p>
<p>With expectations so dynamic, the challenge becomes: <strong>how do we leverage the medium to elicit raw experience and emotion</strong>? A good example of magically unscripted moments happens with unboxing experiences. Normally, when someone opens a gift there are heavy expectations of social politeness. We all draw from scripted feigns of surprise, delight, or awe in order to please the giver of the gift. But when research participants are encouraged and <strong>allowed</strong> to be candid in an unboxing or unveiling moment, their brains are actually overriding many social constructs that would normally not allow them to say or show what they are feeling or thinking. Ultimately, as these experiences become more of a social vernacular, much like the selfie has become, anthropologists and researchers will have to again fully consider the layers of prescribed behavior which is done in person and will be different when done online.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25290 size-full" src="https://greenbook.org/mr/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/pullquote.png" alt="&quot;No matter where you meet humans - in person or online - you can be assured it is a real world.&quot;" width="612" height="320"   /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>If you are sensing a pattern: remote research, just like in-person work, is still a social interaction, and a very real one.</h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Online, just as in person, you cannot push out stimuli blindly to respondents and expect true, rich data without acknowledging the layers of subtle and complex systems that need to happen. When online research removes the &#8220;niceties,” what they really lose are the critical layers that facilitate social interaction and therefore that real life data we so need. <strong>Humans by nature need these foundational elements to orient themselves, foster feelings of safety and trust, and to ultimately share openly. </strong>Virtual research platforms that claim to be “plug and play” may automate some of our labor, but they can’t forget that human interaction is anything but “plug and play”. Regardless of proximity, active moderation, communication, and fostering social relationships with your participants is actually <em>essential</em> to successful research.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>So back to the question: <em>Is this the real world?”</em></h3>
<p>The initial dismissal of what happens online as not a part of the “real world” is understandable in that it is a different experience for humans. But it is no less real than any other human experience. Ethnographers seek to understand humans in their own environments and there are few humans not experiencing an online component to their existence. The truth is, no matter where you meet humans &#8211; in person or online &#8211; you can be assured it is the real world.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@dylanferreira?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Dylan Ferreira</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/zoom?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Essentials When Building an Online Sample Platform

<p>September 15th marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month. During this month-long celebration, the contributions and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans are thrust into the national spotlight and inspire a steady flow of well-intended marketing campaigns. U.S. Hispanics, however, are often treated as a homogenous group by media, leading to poorly executed campaigns that miss the mark and squander opportunities for brands.</p>
<p>Far from fitting the one-size-fits-all formula, the 60 million Americans of Latino/Hispanic origin represent over 20 Latin American countries. Each with their unique heritage and cultural backgrounds. Few marketers are even aware “Hispanic” is not a race – it is an ethnicity.</p>
<p>To effectively target these populations, market research firms must divorce themselves from the idea that U.S. Hispanics are a monolithic group and instead embrace the full scope of their multiculturalism.</p>
<p>Understanding segmentation within the U.S. Hispanic population is essential to doing this and will help brands and market research firms glean the insights needed to cater to this multifaceted consumer base. That enlightenment starts with a conversation around acculturation and language.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Acculturated, Unacculturated, and Bilingual Measurements Limited</h3>
<p>Market research firms must understand how to define and measure U.S. Hispanic acculturation. Currently, much of the market research industry measure acculturation based on the ratio of Spanish to English language used within the home. For example, “acculturated,” “unacculturated,” and “bilingual.” But acculturation isn’t solely defined by language. Factors like socioeconomic background, education level, geographic location, history, and political affiliations should also be taken into consideration.</p>
<p>While there is no universal algorithm for measuring acculturation, brands should look to market research firms with a reputation for having a deep, thorough understanding of U.S. Hispanic populations for the most accurate data.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Accurate Representation of U.S. Hispanics in Media Lacking</h3>
<p>Hispanics now account for nearly 18% of the U.S. population, yet still are woefully underrepresented in television and media. Frequently typecast into immigrant roles, Hispanics are often portrayed as a singular minority with little to no differentiation between groups.</p>
<p>This not only hurts the Hispanic consumer but keeps brands from providing better products and services to these communities, which could encourage brand buy-in and customer loyalty. To fully understand Hispanic buyers, brands must do their due diligence. For example, media consumption is not the same across generations in Hispanic households, as second and third-generation Hispanics don’t watch Spanish-speaking channels like Telemundo and Univision like their older counterparts.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Key Takeaways:</h3>
<p>To gain a more comprehensive understanding of Hispanic consumers, brands, and market research firms must embrace segmentation. Hispanics can’t be typecast into one specific persona, but instead, possess a wide range of buying behaviors and characteristics based on their unique cultural background and heritage.</p>
<p>With proper acculturation measurements and more accurate representation in the media, brands can form a more symbiotic relationship with their Hispanic customers and tap into this powerful demographic’s $1.7 trillion worth of buying power.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@omarlopez1?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Omar Lopez</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/@omarlopez1?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Hispanic Votes Shift in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re like me, you have read your fair share of “prediction” articles that are typical of a New Year and a new decade. These prophetic announcements from market research industry pundits vary in quality. Many are self-serving and consistent with the prognosticator’s business objective; few are very thought-provoking. At the very least, they tend to give us perspective about the flood of new products, platforms, and services which also tend to launch in the first quarter of each year. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why is this kind of content so prevalent? Most of us are eager to turn the page on the previous year and start fresh. To paraphrase that famous Las Vegas tourism ad slogan, we would all like to believe that what happened in 2019 stays in 2019. Unfortunately, no matter how optimistic we are for change as we say goodbye to auld lang syne, the truth is that—for the most part—we’re in our same jobs, living our same lives, with all their pros and cons. Life is not like our annual budgets: there is no reset button despite the fact that the Earth has made it around the sun again.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With this in mind, I’d like to offer some New Year’s resolutions for the industry to consider as unfinished business from 2019. </span></p>
<h3>1. Let’s Stop Making Excuses for Bad Surveys</h3>
<p><b><span style="font-weight: 400;">How bad is bad? If one in five people quit a survey</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">⁠</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—not over quotas, disqualifications, or quality terms</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">⁠</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—is that too much? (It is for me.)  What about one in four? What about one in three? As an industry, we acted like this problem would evaporate when we moved to mobile. Except it didn’t. In my time at a previous employer, we found that people who dropped out were twice as likely to never come back again. </span><a href="https://greenbookblog.org/2015/05/14/the-future-of-panels-five-investments-needed-to-improve-participation-and-reduce-bias/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">I’ve said this before</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and will say it again: buyers need to stop acting like dropouts are free, especially since suppliers are capable of—and are now actively —shutting down abusive studies through automation. Why? Because the revenue from that study is less than the cost of replacing all the people who were driven away. </span></b></p>
<h3> 2. Let’s Make Conferences Worth Attending Again</h3>
<p><b><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a regular market research conference attendee for nearly a decade, and also in a previous century (does that date me?), I’ve been around long enough to have seen pre-digital versus post-digital. It is indisputably cool what we can do as an industry, and it has been fascinating to see this develop in conference settings. Yet in doing so, we have also started letting the tail wag the dog. I get that conferences need to be monetized by their promoters, but in both paid and free conferences, we are now regularly seeing thinly veiled sales pitches and, worse, naked product demos. We&#8217;re the industry that’s being disrupted now, folks. We need to stop pretending we’re the predators and not the prey. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">While we’re at it, how about differential pricing schemes for junior staff? The great leaps in my knowledge and my career have come from the learning and networking experiences that conferences represent. We shouldn’t be pricing people out of them.</span></b></p>
<h3>3. Let&#8217;s Pay our Bills on Time</h3>
<p><b><span style="font-weight: 400;">I can’t even believe I have to write this. No matter your company size, or its role in the industry, it is time to sort out your cash flow issues and pay on time. As an ordinary consumer, this kind of behavior would result in lousy credit and all the misery that entails. In short, it is the right thing to do. Pay your bills and keep positive relationships with your partners, vendors, clients and everyone else in your circle. </span></b></p>
<h3>4. Create a Better Workplace for Others</h3>
<p><b><span style="font-weight: 400;">I believe that there are two unusual things about our industry that affect us in the workplace. One is that practically none of us started out on our career path with a Eureka! moment of: “My God, that’s it! I need to be a market researcher!” The other is that—despite the late hours, the consolidation, the massive change that is bulldozing the industry—most of us like what we do. But people are also deeply frustrated by things like lack of opportunity, tyrannical colleagues, and company cultures that tolerate and perpetuate negativity. Truth be told, this is probably also the case with other industries, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept it in ours.  </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br />
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are steps we can take to change this reality</span>:</b></p>
<ol>
<li style="list-style-type: none;">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Be a mentor to someone. </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">While there are formal mentoring programs, like one I’ve participated in through </span><a href="https://www.womeninresearch.org/mentoring/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women in Research (WIRe)</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, you can be a mentor in your own office. Build others up, share your knowledge, give junior staff in your company opportunities to grow their careers. You will uncover your own personal benefits in providing </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">guidance, motivation, emotional support, and role modeling for others. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Reward and recognize.<span style="font-weight: 400;"> If you are in a leadership role, use your influence to motivate your employees. This can mean helping people understand how their work is contributing to overall company goals, making what they do meaningful and valuable. It also clearly means investing in </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">external motivators such as salaries, bonuses, and more tangible rewards. It’s simple: recognize a job well done and give people a sense of ownership within the greater structure of the business.</span></b></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Listen.</b> We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. How many of us heard that growing up? The truth is that many people don’t feel “heard” by their employers. With the massive change that is taking place, and the unique perspective that the younger generations are bringing to the table, it’s time we stopped adhering to the status quo just because that’s the way it’s always been done. Listen to new ideas, give everyone an equal voice in the workplace. You might be surprised where you end up.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h3>5. Let’s Insist on the Same Representation Within our Companies as We do in our Studies</h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We need to put our money where our mouths are when it comes to diversity in our own teams. As we showed in the recent paper I authored with Women in Research (WIRe) called “</span><a href="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2759897/eBooks/Women%20Executives%20in%20MRX.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women Executives in Market Research</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">”, we have a long way to go toward equal representation. We found that <strong><em>only 36% of executive roles across 133 companies were occupied by women</em></strong>. Until we start taking targeted and immediate action in the form of explicit recruitment objectives, visible measures of accountability, and internal and external engagement with stakeholders, we can’t hope to make progress in this arena. It’s time to stop talking and start acting when it comes to diversity.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Can you keep these resolutions in the coming year? Apparently, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail before we even hit February. The trick is making it stick. The combination of focus, setting daily, weekly and monthly goals, and simply getting started is what it takes. Let’s find ways to make sure we have made progress in these issues when that next flood of predictions hit as we welcome 2021.</span></p>


English Dominant Hispanics Change How Brands Advertise

U.S. Hispanics Are Not a Monolith

<p>Hispanic people are on track to becoming the largest ethnic <span class="il">minority</span> group in the U.S. this year. Not only does this have serious implications for the <a href="https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/an-early-look-at-the-2020-electorate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/an-early-look-at-the-2020-electorate/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588289711025000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFRLCi7_iiAHkmEBnRrfmhGB-a1Ug">presidential election</a>, but also for brands seeking new markets to combat stagnating sales. But it’s not just Hispanic people. <span class="il">Population</span> growth among African American and Asian American consumers continues to rise, as the <span class="il">population</span> of Non-Hispanic Whites flatline.</p>
<h3>Rise of <span class="il">Multicultural</span> <span class="il">Sample</span></h3>
<p>The data sends a clear message. Growth lies in building meaningful connections with <span class="il">multicultural</span> consumers, and the only way to do that is to understand the cultural nuances that drive their purchase behavior. So, marketers should look to <span class="il">sample</span>. A multicultural <span class="il">sample</span> will play a significant role in educating organizations and brands on the preferences of diverse audiences.</p>
<p>From vernacular to traditions, technology use to voter preference, the insights gleaned from surveying these audiences will inform forward-thinking marketing strategy and power their success.</p>
<p>But knowing that the need is real is only half the battle. How can <span class="il">sample</span> companies rise to the occasion and meet the <span class="il">demand</span>?</p>
<h3>Seizing the Opportunity</h3>
<p>As ethnicity in America evolves, understanding what that means in the context of the <span class="il">sample</span> industry is essential for <span class="il">sample</span> providers as they prepare to service clients looking to level up their <span class="il">multicultural</span> marketing efforts.</p>
<p>To do that successfully, <span class="il">sample</span> providers must employ the most innovative methodologies available to capture insights from diverse audiences effectively. Many <span class="il">sample</span> companies recruit the general <span class="il">population</span> and get the <span class="il">minority</span> segment by natural fallout. Even though this is an excellent method of recruitment, it may fail to achieve real representation for minorities.</p>
<p>While the term <em>programmatic</em> is on tips of the tongues of every marketer and researcher, in all honesty, a programmatic <span class="il">sample</span> approach will not recruit niche segments such as <em>unacculturated</em> Hispanics or Asian Americans.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, a traditional panel is the best method to recruit niche segments, specifically, a double opt-in panel that caters to a particular segment. For example, when targeting Hispanics in the U.S., panels should offer a Spanish option for the unacculturated segment as well as an English option for the bilingual and acculturated segments. Because the survey is relevant to respondents, engagement is higher. The same tactics apply when engaging Asian American consumers.</p>
<p>A combination of high-recruitment with API and a traditional panel covers all the bases.</p>
<h3>Navigating the New Mainstream</h3>
<p>Despite the data, marketers still have to make a case for <span class="il">multicultural</span> marketing with senior leadership. And for companies who deploy <span class="il">multicultural</span> marketing campaigns, most of those dollars are not reaching the intended targets or offends them with stereotypical, tone-deaf messages. Marketing to U.S. Hispanics, for example, is not just about <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295296" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295296&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588289711025000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEwwvVb9oSxOwdOXZHaCmxnpVfFsA">speaking Spanish</a>.</p>
<p>Secondly, third-generation Hispanics and beyond don’t watch Spanish speaking media, and the dollars that brands spend to reach Hispanics there are misplaced as they fail to deliver results. The same goes for English speaking Asian Americans who are not attracted to traditional marketing methods.</p>
<p>Now, more than ever, brands have a unique opportunity to serve culturally sensitive advertising validated by sound research that meets both business and marketing objectives. The alternative? Brands will spend millions of dollars in marketing to the <a href="https://soundcloud.com/think-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://soundcloud.com/think-now&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588289711025000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGOaueU_14TkpSw-9V3igA-OJD1Vw">new mainstream</a> (<span class="il">multicultural</span> consumers) to little effect. <span class="il">Sample</span> companies have a big opportunity to customize panels to diverse audiences to improve engagement and produce valuable consumer insights.</p>
<p>The future is <span class="il">multicultural</span>. The only question is, will you be ready for it?</p>


The Majority-Minority Population Drives Demand For Multicultural Sample

<p>The beginning of a new year not only brings celebratory toasts and resolutions but, in politics, preparation for the <span class="il">State</span> of the <span class="il">Union</span> address. Dating back to 1790, the SOTU serves as a “report card” of sorts, as the president gives his or her take on the <span class="il">state</span> of the nation and outlines the president’s legislative goals for the year. In the spirit of this time-honored tradition, I thought it timely to present an overview of the major changes impacting the online sample industry. I’ll focus on two key pieces of legislation – <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-gdpr-uk-eu-legislation-compliance-summary-fines-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-gdpr-uk-eu-legislation-compliance-summary-fines-2018&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1584570883488000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEtAyPXLkVXLuhdT4lM5dnnBo2rIA">GDPR</a> and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90445374/what-californias-new-privacy-law-really-means-for-you" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fastcompany.com/90445374/what-californias-new-privacy-law-really-means-for-you&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1584570883488000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHbO3xfWcYdbo1lLzJbpprEZPl4ug">CCPA</a> – that have disrupted the current <span class="il">state</span> of the sample industry and changed the way data aggregators handle consumer data.</p>
<h3>Europe – Updates to GDPR</h3>
<p>Facebook has become the poster child for poor mishandling of consumer data. Under intense scrutiny, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has had to defend his company and its data collection practices in front of both U.S. congressional committees and the European Parliament. But Facebook isn’t alone. Many well-known companies collecting data on consumers, from cookies to search histories, emails to social posts, and everything in between, have been criticized by regulators and are subject to enhanced privacy protection laws enacted to protect consumers.</p>
<p>The General Data Protection Regulation, or more commonly known as GDPR, is the EU’s response to European consumers’ growing concerns on how their data is being collected and used by companies. The law, created in 2016 and implemented in 2018, replaced privacy legislation enacted in 1995. While it took some time for regulators to figure out how to effectively enforce GDPR and for users and companies to understand their rights and compliance requirements, the regulations are in practice today. Sample companies are now held accountable to highly scrutinized data collection practices while still attempting to fulfill sample requests for clients. All sample companies doing business in the European <span class="il">Union</span>, either based locally or abroad, must abide by GDPR or at least have documentation that covers its specific rules. While the new law intends to protect EU consumers from data manipulation, critics say that this will end the EU’s internet <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/04/gdpr-and-the-end-of-the-internets-grand-bargain" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://hbr.org/2018/04/gdpr-and-the-end-of-the-internets-grand-bargain&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1584570883488000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFb1KtlYZj9jbKySTjsjBtoa0uvJA">innovation</a>.</p>
<h3>California – CCPA In Effect</h3>
<p>Inspired by GDPR, California became the first <span class="il">state</span> in the U.S. to enact sweeping privacy legislation protecting its residents. The California Consumer Privacy Act, or <a href="https://www.caprivacy.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.caprivacy.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1584570883488000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE9ln8PIC5QH0WjiFQPfhp0hGKnCA">CCPA</a>, was passed with the intent to give California residents ownership of their data, control over what personal data is collected on them, and the peace of mind of knowing that businesses will be held accountable for safeguarding their personal information. The regulations went into effect on January 1st, 2020.</p>
<p>Under threat on penalty and fines for violations, businesses must now disclose what information they collect on consumers and for what purpose, and if that information is shared with third parties. Companies must also comply with official consumer requests to delete that data. Consumers can opt-out of their data being sold, and businesses cannot retaliate by changing the price or level of service. Businesses can, however, offer financial incentives for being allowed to collect data, i.e., incentives for participating in a survey. CCPA only affects sample companies based in California.</p>
<p>Critics say that the law has too many gray areas and believes that this will reduce adoption and compliance within the business community. <a href="https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/facebook-refuses-to-change-web-tracking-practices-believes-that-ccpa-does-not-apply-to-them/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/facebook-refuses-to-change-web-tracking-practices-believes-that-ccpa-does-not-apply-to-them/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1584570883488000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGttDBKTxvLT6hlVesZCtm0-E6EwA">Facebook</a>, based in Menlo Park, CA, has eluded to <a href="https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/facebook-refuses-to-change-web-tracking-practices-believes-that-ccpa-does-not-apply-to-them/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-protection/facebook-refuses-to-change-web-tracking-practices-believes-that-ccpa-does-not-apply-to-them/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1584570883488000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGttDBKTxvLT6hlVesZCtm0-E6EwA">not being subject</a> to CCPA regulations, but others disagree. But it’s not just Facebook. California is the home of “Silicon Valley” and some of the world’s largest data companies, not to mention sample companies. Many of these sample companies are signing CCPA agreements to protect themselves from the gray areas and to position themselves to comply with the new rules.</p>
<p>The gray areas of CCPA give way to contractions in the law that have yet to be addressed. Companies located in New York, for example, can survey people in California and CCPA will not apply to them. Like GDPR, I expect there to be confusion around CCPA for months as regulators, companies, and users work to understand the nuances of the law and how to create synergy among stakeholders in which everyone wins.</p>
<p><em>This article was originally published by <a href="https://thinknow.com/blog/the-state-of-the-union-privacy-laws-impact-on-the-sample-industry/">ThinkNow</a>. </em></p>


The State of the Union: Privacy Laws’ Impact on the Sample Industry

<p>Nearly four years later, the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election are still shocking. Polls showed <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-poll/clinton-has-90-percent-chance-of-winning-reuters-ipsos-states-of-the-nation-idUSKBN1322J1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-poll/clinton-has-90-percent-chance-of-winning-reuters-ipsos-states-of-the-nation-idUSKBN1322J1&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF65ZmvCyWosPLX3fpkbc9bmoXe4A">Hillary Clinton</a> with a significant lead over Donald Trump, almost guaranteeing the win and appointment of America’s first female president. Victory parties were planned. Fist bumps and high fives were going around. But the polls were <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/every-poll-that-got-election-wrong-donald-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thewrap.com/every-poll-that-got-election-wrong-donald-trump/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHxOr2euHWuY-LSZXNevEZgoD32BA">wrong</a>. Across the pond, polls got it wrong again in the UK with the <a href="https://qz.com/717016/one-form-of-polling-was-dead-accurate-on-brexit-and-its-changing-how-we-predict-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://qz.com/717016/one-form-of-polling-was-dead-accurate-on-brexit-and-its-changing-how-we-predict-elections/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFsuiFHUhobswpD0iEI4j1_rXoA1w">Brexit referendum</a>. It seemed that those tasked with gauging public sentiment couldn’t seem to find it’s pulse. However, the <a href="https://graphics.latimes.com/usc-presidential-poll-dashboard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://graphics.latimes.com/usc-presidential-poll-dashboard/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHIK6bTVw5PbMmNeGFld0MAEov3IQ">“USC/L.A. Times Daybreak Tracking Poll”</a> got it right. This was one of a few Polls that predicted Trump had a lead over Hillary.<span id="m_6768223699578482442more-7791"></span></p>
<p>As a market researcher, and, dare I say, data collections expert, I have a few thoughts on why the polls were so wrong and how the <em>L.A. Times</em> got it right and what it means for future polls. In short, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/11/14/502014643/4-possible-reasons-the-polls-got-it-so-wrong-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.npr.org/2016/11/14/502014643/4-possible-reasons-the-polls-got-it-so-wrong-this-year&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH6krId0UCTbS-jEm2gkDFFpNsxig">most polls</a> surveyed people that were not truthful about their voting intentions. It’s also difficult to predict enthusiasm and voter turnout. But the small data sample sizes commonly used and the lack of data weighting are most alarming, and that is where I’ll focus. Let’s take a closer look at both.</p>
<h3>Proper Sample Methodology – Phone Surveys Are No Longer Effective</h3>
<p><em>How can a poll of only <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/howcan-a-poll-of-only-100/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/howcan-a-poll-of-only-100/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEJzfGf9fcHK9qSaTjTwY85aqMB7w">1,004 Americans represent 260 million people</a> with a 3% margin of error?</em>  The answer boils down to representation. Should more interviews have been conducted to get a better representation of votes, thus more precise predictions? Perhaps, but considering the methodology – phone surveys – factors of time and costs are at play. Despite online sampling technology, many pollsters still use traditional survey methods via phone.</p>
<p>The demise of landlines is shrinking the pool of potential phone respondents. <a href="https://www.wisegeek.com/why-cant-pollsters-call-cell-phones.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wisegeek.com/why-cant-pollsters-call-cell-phones.htm&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH4r5SznM4Q3O6Cc1Oxi0T7OO7Iqw">Cell phones</a> are not the best predictor of where people live. For example, someone may move to Nevada from California, but keeps his or her cell phone number because it’s just easier, right? Pollsters surveying in California call the cell phone number only to discover that the number’s owner now lives in Nevada. Cell phones pose a geographic challenge and have limited sample pools.</p>
<h3>Online Data – The Internet is the Biggest Source of Data</h3>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/27/politics/cnn-poll-joe-biden-pete-buttigieg/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/27/politics/cnn-poll-joe-biden-pete-buttigieg/index.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNERVRZHM4NTRZUnIyAGPqfQjX40fg">poll</a>, phone interviews with a sample size of a little more than a 1,000 people were conducted to predict the current front runner of the Democratic 2020 primaries. Déjà vu, 2016. For the past 25 years, the internet has been the biggest source of data, yet, all the network polls that I’ve seen have most of their data collection conducted offline. One firm that understood the power of massive <a href="https://www.greenbook.org/market-research-firms/online-data-collection">online data collections</a> is <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-cambridge-analytica-used-your-facebook-data-to-help-elect-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-cambridge-analytica-used-your-facebook-data-to-help-elect-trump/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEAmVs9PHDbKer0ELlYBP55meVrPA">Cambridge Analytica</a>. They were at the center of controversy for using Facebook’s data to gather insights for the Trump campaign. How did they collect so much data? Cambridge Analytica created a quiz (survey) that was exposed to about 87 million Facebook users via a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-cambridge-analytica-trump-diagram" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/23/17151916/facebook-cambridge-analytica-trump-diagram&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG5opqJAwPjKDl8_UTWida15P6o0g">Loophole API</a>. Whatever your opinion might be about Cambridge Analytica, they were able to gather millions of data points from people by using the internet. This gave them the tools to generate better insights predictions than phone polling. My point is that sample size matters. This is the perfect segue into my earlier example of the L.A. Times and their ability to properly weigh data to produce a more reliable Poll. Again, they did so well that they were one of the only polls to predict Trump’s win in 2016 accurately.</p>
<h3>Data Weighting – Opt for Micro Weight Over Macro Weight</h3>
<p>Data weighting is used to adjust the results of a study to bring it more in line with what is known of a population. For example, if the Census says that 10% of Americans are African American, then a Poll will survey 100 African Americans and use their response to represent 10% of African Americans (roughly 30 million) in the country. The same goes for Hispanics, Non-Hispanic Whites/Caucasians, and so on. That is what I call “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-daybreak-poll-questions-20161013-snap-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-daybreak-poll-questions-20161013-snap-story.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFavC00soxu8FjBiZdoCuJJ5WG1ZQ">macro-weighing</a>.” On a more granular level, polls that survey ten low-income African Americans in the South will not represent higher-income African Americans in the South, and vice versa. The results will vary based on income and education. Similarly, for US Hispanics, the data must be weighted on acculturation level, age, income, and education. Acculturated Hispanics with 100k+ income won’t represent lower-income acculturated Hispanics or unacculturated middle-class Hispanics.</p>
<p>But data weighting does not just apply to ethnic groups. The same goes for Non-Hispanic Whites/Caucasians. For instance, in 2016, there were several voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin who came out to the polls for the first time which skewed results of polls not appropriately weighted. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-trailguide-updates-09212016-htmlstory.html#a-lesson-in-how-to-misread-a-poll-blip-in-black-voter-support-for-trump-comes-and-goes-quickly" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-trailguide-updates-09212016-htmlstory.html%23a-lesson-in-how-to-misread-a-poll-blip-in-black-voter-support-for-trump-comes-and-goes-quickly&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGnh6PpNHk-HUi0hF4DkGoM6ojtYA">L.A. Times</a> was the only company to weigh the data differently. Opting to micro weight the data enabled them to discover that a higher number of minorities planned to vote for Trump and locate the first-time voters. Researchers at the publication were heavily criticized for their strategies, but they got it right. For those who doubt the methodology, <em>L.A. Times</em> also predicted Obama as a winner in 2008 and 2012. Choosing to micro weight the data gave them a more diverse data set and the ability to survey triple the number of people than the rest of the polls who got it wrong.</p>
<h3>Poll – Sample Size, Data Diversity, and Micro Weight.</h3>
<p>In summary, polls that got the 2016 election right did three things: used the biggest database, collected a much bigger and diverse sample size, and micro weighted the data. The polls that got it wrong did none of these things.</p>
<p>Polling does not have to be controversial, but it should be thorough. Data collections can also be done by reputable sample companies that understand how to use data technology to gather bigger sample sizes. As I mentioned, the internet is the largest source of the sample, and if done correctly and with integrity, controversy can be avoided. Online sample companies can use the power of <a href="https://greenbookblog.org/2019/11/07/traditional-online-panel-vs-programmatic-sample/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://greenbookblog.org/2019/11/07/traditional-online-panel-vs-programmatic-sample/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1581037436265000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFNf-c4tAEdk6yRhwEhDdgCVPyXPQ">programmatic sampling, online panels</a>, and proper AI technology to conduct political polls that provide consumers with accurate data and analysis with the insights they need to inform their campaign strategy.</p>


How Better Research Methods Can Improve The Accuracy Of Political Polls

<p><em><strong>Editor&#8217;s Note: </strong></em><i>The state of the online sample is an ongoing source of debate in the survey industry. Given the rapid pace of technology change, it is healthy to have a vigorous debate, and we’ve certainly had a fair number of submissions on the topic in the past year. Here, <span class="il">Art</span> <span class="il">Padilla</span> gives us his take on the debate over online panels versus programmatic samples. I think it is safe to say that we can expect the debate to continue for some time.</i></p>
<hr />
<p>Technology is driving growth across industries, creating space for unconventional ideas and technological innovations that infiltrate traditional models and disrupt the status quo. Companies unable to pivot find themselves in the fight of their lives. Peer to peer ride-sharing services such as <a href="https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/transportation/comparing-cabs-uber-new-york-city.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/transportation/comparing-cabs-uber-new-york-city.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1573152499139000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHs_lJy6M9xJGYmCEql7c5ZkcrazQ">Uber</a> and Lyft, for example, have wounded the taxi industry, and entertainment streaming services, like Netflix and Hulu, are slowly sending linear TV to an <a href="https://thinknowresearch.com/blog/linear-tv-loses-half-its-viewers-as-streaming-services-soar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thinknowresearch.com/blog/linear-tv-loses-half-its-viewers-as-streaming-services-soar/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1573152499139000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHPTttyuNc2icBXNtT8BFpoc1HUPQ">early grave</a>.<span id="m_7170444720582441379more-7627"></span> Technology’s profound impact on the industry, in general, and especially service industries like the Online Sample industry will only intensify as emerging technologies like AI and machine learning inch toward mass adoption.</p>
<p>But let’s turn the clock back to the mid-2000s and talk about the technology that upended the way people communicate – social media. Myspace, Hi5, and Facebook, during that time, were in their infancy. Google launches <a href="https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://time.com/43263/gmail-10th-anniversary/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1573152499139000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFxAsic6kGUkuVqBQdUX7uXDqsdqQ">Gmail</a>, strategically providing millions of users with free personal email addresses to access their suite of services, including the now-defunct Google+. What most people don’t realize is that social networks and the easy access to user email addresses changed the market research industry forever, and here’s how.</p>
<h3>In this corner – Old School “Online Panel”</h3>
<p>Online panels are communities of individuals sourced by sample providers to take online surveys. This business model is cost-effective for market researchers as thousands of people can be interviewed in a fraction of the time for a fraction of the cost. Social media provides an alternative way to collect a sample by accessing broader online communities.</p>
<p>There are many benefits to traditional online panels. Sample providers can create more niche communities because they have more control over who enters the community. By undergoing a series of quality control checks, it can be easily determined if the respondent is a good fit. If the potential respondent passes muster, they are accepted into the panel. The most effective panels provide live customer service to respondents, typically via phone with a real person on the other end to answer the respondent’s questions. In successful cases, the panelist moves from the actual panel to the best match survey (double opt-in), and usually takes about 5-10 surveys per year. This process improves data quality.</p>
<p>The problem with traditional online panels is keeping up with demand. The sample company must have bid managers and project managers available to process client requests 24 hours a day, which erodes the cost savings previously mentioned.</p>
<p>Now, let’s fast forward to the mid-2010s.</p>
<h3>In this corner – New Age “Programmatic Sample”</h3>
<p>By this time, the internet is faster, WIFI is ubiquitous, and artificial intelligence is making our devices smarter. Technology is cheaper and more accessible, and the term “programmatic” embeds itself in industry vernacular. A new business model emerges for the Online Sample industry called <em>programmatic sampling</em> composed of routers and APIs, which have become the preferred business model among sample companies.</p>
<p>A programmatic sample is a platform that connects to and tracks user behavior across multiple internet mediums, from websites to social media, affiliate sites to online panels, data is captured by an API (Applied Programmatic Integration). This new technology aggregates millions of people from the internet and places them at the ready for the next available online survey with a few clicks of a mouse.</p>
<p>The benefits of a programmatic sample are straight forward. They can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year all over the world with minimal or no intervention from project managers or bids mangers.</p>
<p>But programmatic has its challenges as well. The interaction between the respondents is greatly diminished or disappears entirely, and the respondents are given a blanket label of “online traffic.” The online traffic that enters the routers is less controlled, and the respondent’s survey experience is less than ideal. They encounter multiple survey windows before they get to the actual survey. The double opt-in model is lost, and it becomes more of a quintuple opt-in model, which some respondents don’t like. Due to this, most respondents in this model will only take one or two surveys in a lifetime and then leave the platform forever.</p>
<p>However, the router will keep the wheels turning and consistently generate new online traffic (online respondents). Like a Ferris Wheel, people hop on and hop off, but programmatic sample always keeps adding new people and continues to do so until it is turned off.</p>
<h3>And the Winner is?</h3>
<p>It’s hard to say but it favors a tie. Some believe that traditional online panels are dying due to the high cost of maintaining them. However, this model offers better data quality and access to niche sample sectors like U.S. Hispanics and other minority groups. The issue is speed and sample volume, which the programmatic sample model excels in. Perhaps the best bet is for sample companies to provide a hybrid of both models. But even then, as technology evolves and clients feel more pressure to produce relevant marketing campaigns that generate positive ROI, programmatic sampling still has the advantage. It will be interesting to watch how technology transforms the sample industry over the next ten or so years.</p>


Traditional Online Panel vs. Programmatic Sample

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