The competition was stiff, but four came out ahead: NASCAR, Taco Bell, Allure and Aeroplan. Here’s how they’ve taken their panels above-and-beyond – and what you can learn from and incorporate into your own panel:
NASCAR – Winner, 2009 Panel of the Year
NASCAR is a great example of a Vision Critical client who is using their panel to the fullest. At a time when TV ratings and race attendance was slipping, NASCAR refocused their attention on the core fan. Together, NASCAR and Vision Critical built a private online community of 12,000 fans.
NASCAR saved 80% in research costs and conducted three times the research.
This panel has created a shift in company culture as it relates to consumer research, as nearly all departments have embraced the council. In 2008, the “NASCAR Fan Council” helped NASCAR save an estimated 80 per cent in research costs while managing to conduct more than three times the amount of research with its avid fans.
It’s been an incredible value to NASCAR’s bottom line during these tough economic times. Before the community, NASCAR typically conducted three to five custom research studies a year, via telephone, online or focus group methodologies. This year alone, they’ve conducted over 70 studies with the Fan Council.
But what has really knocked this panel out of the park for NASCAR is the value gained from consumer insights. In 2009, regular consultations with the council resulted in two important changes to the sport while also helping the company to triple its research and reduce consumer research costs by 80%:
- Double File Restarts: When fan sentiment ran high for a new restart format – in which the leaders line up side-by-side following cautions to restart the race – NASCAR picked up the comments, validated, and initiated a new double-file restart rule, to overwhelmingly positive reviews.
- Earlier and consistent TV start times: When fans voiced their opinions about event start times, NASCAR listened and quantified sentiment resulting in earlier and more uniform start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2010.
These changes are great examples on how vital NASCAR views the "Fan Council" as a channel for fans to voice their ideas and opinions. NASCAR President Mike Helton referenced the NASCAR Fan Council on national television… NASCAR fans blog about the Fan Council and provide comments about how honored they feel to be a member of such an elite group of fans… There’s even a waiting list to be a panel member. It’s no wonder why today NASCAR is the number one motor sport property and the number two sport on TV – all because of their avid fans who are their best customers.
Click here to read the press release.
Aeroplan – Finalist, 2009 Panel of the Year
Aeroplan is a 2009 Panel of the Year Award finalist for the enhancements they’ve made to their business by using a Vision Critical panel.
Less than 1% of panelists have requested removal.
It’s important to the company to be able to understand their members’ attitudes towards the Aeroplan program and to search for opportunities to improve the program for their members – and their panel has enabled them to do just that. Response rates have more than quadrupled, survey satisfaction has improved and less than one per cent of their panelists have requested removal.
Using the Sparq platform, Aeroplan conducts quick and efficient surveys, on their own time. Virtually ALL of their data collection is now done through Sparq. You could certainly say they’re Sparq super-users.
Aeroplan has linked their CRM database to their panel to enhance their sampling capability and conduct powerful analyses by linking attitudes and behaviors to consumer profiles.
Since Aeroplan started their panel, they’ve garnered a better understanding of their consumer and the cost per survey has dropped by 50 per cent. Their panel is certainly a success story for both Aeroplan and their panelists.
Allure – Finalist, 2009 Panel of the Year
Beauty is a $50 billion-plus business and Allure magazine’s Expert Reader Panel is at its core. These “Allure Experts” are true beauty enthusiasts and a barometer of the beauty consumer’s needs, desires, habits, and touch points. They have become a major cornerstone of the magazine’s marketing and sales efforts.
“Allure Experts” have become a cornerstone of the magazine’s marketing and sales efforts.
Through product testing, online forums, and more than 50 surveys per year, Allure Experts have influenced and informed product launches, marketing campaigns, and advertising.
Panelists have the opportunity to upload their photo and become the “Beauty Expert of the Month,” which is featured in a dedicated monthly newsletter that also includes results from surveys, tips, special offers, and more.
Taco Bell – Finalist, 2009 Panel of the Year
When Taco Bell realized there was a critical need to tap into consumer feedback on a regular basis, they turned to Vision Critical to build a panel – and build they did. Participation in their panel is a fun and engaging experience – and panelists feel like insiders.
Those insiders, for example, have played an integral part in evaluating product concepts before they ever hit the menu – or naming a new product before the general public knows anything about it. When Taco Bell asked panelists to write to the company’s president, they received more than 1,200 letters: stories of childhood memories at Taco Bell and tales of parents bringing their kids to Taco Bell because it’s what their own parents did.
They received more than 1,200 stories of childhood memories at Taco Bell.
The company has found such value in their panelists that they’ve incorporated an open-ended question at the end of every survey into surveys so that panelists can add whatever is on their minds – because of a request for such an option from one of the panel participants. The result: a genuine connection with the consumer.
NOTE: This year’s winner was crowned during Vision Critical’s 2009 Client Panel Summit. Thanks to all who attended.
Click here to read more about the Client Panel Summit.
There’s always next year!
Think your panel has what it takes to win the 2010 Panel of the Year? We’ll begin accepting nominations in April.
Stay tuned for more information on how to enter – in an upcoming Client Newsletter.