News

First-Ever Panel of the Year Award Goes to Banana Republic

Whistler, B.C. – Vision Critical’s inaugural Panel of the Year Award was presented to Banana Republic for their innovative “BR Insiders” custom online panel.

This annual award honors the very best in online custom panel research. The presentation was made during a gala awards dinner at the Panel Summit, a conference hosted by Vision Critical where the latest in interactive online research methods were unveiled and discussed.  

“Banana Republic has done an outstanding job of realizing the full potential of panel research. They’ve created an ongoing conversation with their customers, treating them like VIPs. By getting quick results, the research has been infused across their organization, making the panel a part of the company’s DNA,” said Jason Smith, President of Vision Critical, Panel Division. “Banana Republic is a great example of how to leverage panel research.”

Searching for a quick and easy research tool that wouldn’t drain their budget, Banana Republic launched their branded online panel, BR Insiders, in January 2006.  They quickly saw the merits of being able to engage with these panelists on many different levels, on a more continuous basis.  Now, with tens of thousands of customers participating, the panel serves as an important tool for connecting with customers.

Customers participate in surveys, feedback forums, focus groups and other creative exercises. For example, BR Insiders have even been able to show Banana Republic the inside of their own closets, using photo upload technology. Banana Republic uses this information to help derive insights about their customer needs and preferences, giving their company a leg-up on the competition.

Banana Republic’s BR Insiders panel beat out strong competition from Vodafone, ACP Magazines and Teen Vogue.  Finalists were judged in a variety of areas, including recruitment, panel health, surveys and retention strategies.

In addition to presenting the Panel of the Year Award, the Panel Summit brought together the leading minds in custom panels and online communities to share ideas, best practices and try the latest technology. The keynote address was given by Angus Reid, CEO of Vision Critical. Other presentations included:
o Leveraging Communities & Panels for Insights by Aprille Byam at Eastman Kodak
o Breakthrough Tools, Techniques & Practices by Jessica Chung at Clorox
o Using your Panel for Better Segmentation by Shawn Henry for Vodafone NZ and Westpac

Posted on July 3, 2008
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Panel Summit Brings Together the Best of Interactive Research

Curious how organizations are generating revenue with a panel? Want to know how a panel has improved product development cycles to bring better concepts to market for testing? Want to learn how to build conversations that truly engage respondents in a panel or a community?

The answer to all these questions and more were uncovered at Vision Critical’s first ever Panel Summit in Whistler, BC. The Summit was an informal and intimate gathering for leaders in panel research to share how panel research has enhanced business. Vision Critical experts also presented learnings from running over 250 panels with a sneak peek of Sparq, the latest in online panel and community software platform technology.

The Summit kicked off with a keynote address by Angus Reid, CEO of Vision Critical. Other presentations included:
o Leveraging Communities & Panels for Insights by Aprille Byam at Eastman Kodak
o Breakthrough Tools, Techniques & Practices by Jessica Chung at Clorox
o Maximizing Your Panel by Anne Montgomery at Banana Republic

The presentations will be posted when available. To receive an email when the presentations are ready, contact Caroline Hickton.

Posted on June 26, 2008
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Vision Critical Named as Finalist in New Media Awards

The industry’s most prominent advocates and entrepreneurs to be awarded on November 18th

 Vision Critical, has been recognized as one of Canada’s new media leaders. Vision Critical is one of three finalists to be named “company of the year” category of the 2008 Canadian New Media Awards (CNMA). A Canadian celebrity host will be joined by industry supporters on November 18, 2008 to celebrate and present 14 Pixel Awards at CiRCA in Toronto.

 “I am very proud to be a finalist,” says Angus Reid, CEO, Vision Critical. “This is a very important event, bringing national attention to highlight the best and brightest minds driving Canada’s dynamic new media industry.”

“The CNMA recognizes great talent and work in the Canadian digital interactive industry.” said Adam Froman, Founder of CNMA and President and CEO of Delvinia. “This year 43 finalists from across 14 award categories demonstrate the innovation and creativity driving the success of the Canadian interactive and new media industries.”

More information about the 2008 finalists can be found on: http://www.cnma.ca/index_e/finalists.html

Posted on June 19, 2008
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Webinar: Integrating Online Communities & Custom Panels

Overview 

Blogs, social networks, crowd sourcing. You’ve heard how companies are using online communities to gather insights and to engage customers. Where do you start and how do you make sense of the noise? This webinar will outline the keys to building successful online communities and integrating them with custom panels. When communities and custom panels are used together, they provide a powerful way to link qualitative feedback with quantitative data. Your community feedback is elevated to tangible and actionable results.

This webinar will look at the evolution of communities and the role they play in market research. We will explore how communities and panels can be leveraged effectively to identify, test and refine concepts. Learn how to establish a successful research practice around communities, including how to integrate quant and qual.

Key Learnings

• 5 keys to building a successful online community
• How to unite quant & qual for ideation, testing, and refinement
• Mythbusting – Are the “musts” we’ve been told about communities true?

Date: July 23, 2008
Time: 2:00 pm  EST

Click Here to Register for this Webinar

Posted on June 16, 2008
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Choice Hotels International® Launches Custom Online Panel to Enhance Loyalty Program

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world’s leading lodging franchisors, has launched an online panel of its top tier customers called “Choice Privileges® Elite Member Voice.” The panel is powered on Vision Critical’s interactive survey platform, Panel+, and will give Choice Hotels access to the attitudes, opinions and behavior of its most loyal customers.

Choice Hotels is inviting their Gold, Platinum and Diamond members, who have stayed 10 nights or more per year, to provide input about the rewards program, promotional offers, new efforts and service satisfaction to feed into their business decisions. Choice Hotels will be able to use behavioral data from its database and match it up in Panel+ with attitudinal data. Using the panel to gain these insights means Choice Hotels can use customer input to make timely decisions with confidence.

Posted on June 11, 2008
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