The Challenge
Liveminds recently worked on an exciting research project with Virgin Hyperloop One, the company building an operational commercial Hyperloop system that will move passengers and cargo at airline speeds at a fraction of the cost of air travel. The client wanted to gain insights into potential markets over proposed routes around the world. The project involved using Behavioural Recruitment to find fresh research participants living in the US, based on their genuine behaviour and interests, and carrying out qualitative research on the Liveminds research platform.
The Solution
Behavioural Recruitment
Virgin Hyperloop One needed to include English-speaking, registered voters interested in the future of transportation and living in the US. In addition, quotas for the following criteria had to be met:
Regularly reading and sharing technology news
A range of education
A range of political views
A range of city, suburban or rural dwellers
A mixture of men and women from a representative range of age and racial groups
Enthusiastic about carrying out the tasks required
Behavioural Recruitment powered by Facebook’s detailed behavioural, attitudinal and demographic data allowed Liveminds to target the most appropriate potential participants with adverts. Over 50 different adverts were created to optimise the campaign by A/B testing imagery, creative and targeting options. For example, one set was targeted at people who demonstrated ‘commuter’ travel behaviour based on Facebook’s records of their repetitive daily location changes.
Potential participants who matched all of the required criteria were then moved into the qualification stage, where amongst other comprehension and technical tests, they were invited to take a detailed survey inside Liveminds Facebook app and answer creative questions to make sure that the final participants were truly representative, fully engaged in the process and able to express themselves well.
Find out more about Behavioural Recruitment™
Research activities
Around 20 participants in the US answered 27 questions on the Liveminds research platform over four days. A mixture of web and mobile app questions were used to discover the participants’ deeply held values, views on infrastructure challenges and their opinions on transport and the Hyperloop.
The researcher chose to post most questions to the website rather than the mobile app as they wanted people to spend more time reflecting on their feelings and experiences and providing longer written responses. Mobile app questions allowed participants to capture ‘in the moment’ feedback, and this worked particularly well when asking people to give their opinions on the pros and cons of various transportation options. Participants were encouraged to be creative and upload videos of themselves outlining their thoughts on the Hyperloop which really brought their posts to life and provided rich outputs for the end report.
All questions were private, so participants could only see their own responses and replies from the researcher. This elicited more open, in depth answers and ensured the participants felt comfortable uploading self-taken videos and avoided any biases from seeing others’ responses.
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The Results
Using Behavioural Recruitment, powered by Facebook, Liveminds was efficiently able to find fresh, fully engaged and enthusiastic participants who truly matched the required criteria. Virgin Hyperloop One was extremely happy with the Behavioural Recruitment and online research and gained valuable insight.
As a company, we’re in uncharted territory. Liveminds allowed us to listen to real people in a private, personal and one-on-one way. This encouraged candour and avoided groupthink, or embarrassment about not knowing much about the issue. It was powerful for us to hear stories from across the country pointing to travel inefficiencies and lack of choice - and how a Hyperloop system could impact where people lived, worked, and used their valuable free time. Working with Liveminds was a completely seamless and enjoyable process, we look forward to additional projects in the future!Leslie Horwitz
Strategic Communications Manager, Virgin Hyperloop One
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