Panel quality tools set to ‘change the online research game’
MarketTools and Peanut Labs tools will make this year pivotal for online MR, says Forrester study

US-- “This could be a game-changing year for online panels.” That’s the view of the author of a new Forrester report into panel quality.

Brad Bortner says that after years of waiting for a proper solution to the panel quality issue, two have come along at once.

“What’s interesting to me is that a whole generation of market researchers have grown up over the last ten years thinking this is just the way you do it,” Bortner told Research. “There was no way to say ‘Panel A is better than panel B’. Now there will be.”

Peanut Labs’ recently announced OptimusID tool has been joined by MarketTools’ TrueSample initiative, which has been developed in conjunction with other panel providers including Greenfield, Ciao and Toluna.

Both systems uses machine fingerprinting to identify computers and see which ones are joining multiple panels or completing too many surveys. TrueSample’s solution also uses the same information used by credit card and direct marketing companies to help verify the identity of panel recruits. The Peanut Labs solution can supposedly be run on any online panel, whereas MarketTools’ offer requires the panel operator to sign up and obtain TrueSample accreditation.

Bortner is enthusiastic about both offerings. “Over the next year or two you’re going to see a flight to this,” he said. “I’m urging people to sign up for them as quickly as possible. I would be shocked if we’re not looking at a really new landscape within about a year.”

By contrast he has been unimpressed by the attempts from industry associations to address these issues. “They’ve been talking about it for a long time, but there’s been no teeth and no enforcement,” he said.

Bortner sees room in the market for both solutions – and potentially more – but says it remains to be seen how much research firms will be willing to spend. “A lot of this will come down to price-value,” he said. “I don’t think people will pay a lot for it but they will pay some.”

MarketTools vice president Amy Millard told Research the wide backing her firm’s solution has won from the industry is encouraging. “What online research gave us is reach,” she said. “But it gave us anonymity with it, it gave us a problem of trust. If you can take away that anonymity and bring authenticity, why wouldn’t you do online research?”

Author: Robert Bain