Once again the Perception Analyzer by Dialsmith was used in a research session with swing voters to provide real-time feedback on the president's State of the Union address.
Photos: GQR / Democracy Corps
Research was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps and GQR Digital.
Full details and analysis here.
Continuing the trend from the 2008 presidential election season, CNN has once again turned to the Perception Analyzer by Dialsmith to gauge real-time reactions to candidates' speeches following the NH primaries.
CNN
Focus group respondents in South Carolina were given Perception Analyzer dials and asked to give continuous feedback during Mitt Romney's victory speech and the other candidates' concession speeches. Feedback was represented as lines drawing across the bottom of the screen.
Contact for more information.
Last time it was The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and now The Colbert Report takes its turn. Stephen Colbert enlisted the help of Frank Luntz to use the Perception Analyzer by Dialsmith to focus group test video clips in hopes of refining an important message.
As Mr. Colbert watched intently, respondents turned their dials and explained how they felt about the notion that "Corporations are People."
Mr. Colbert promises that over the coming weeks we'll see how things come together. Can't wait!
Watch the episode online. Segment starts at 3:21 and the focus groups are featured at 9:10 and 14:18.
During the Federal Reserve chairman's news conference broadcast on CNBC, commentators used Dialsmith's Perception Analyzer® dials to register real-time feedback on what they were hearing from Ben Bernanke. Watch the set-up here and watch the new conference with the integration of the dials below.
Dubbed the "Bernank-O-Meter" results were available side-by-side with the feed of the news conference and used for post-conference analysis.
As the second season of Street Legaue Skateboarding rolls on, the Street League Dime Squad took a shot at at ISX Scoring during practice at stop two in Kansas City.
At the 32nd annual Banff World Media Festival, the Perception Analyzer® by Dialsmith was used during an exciting new competition called "Deal Makers Live." Three lucky contestants got the opportunity to pitch their idea for a new television show to a panel of industry experts. Those experts used Perception Analyzer dials to give instant and constant feedback on how they were feeling during each moment of each pitch.
The results from the dials were plotted on custom graphics created by Dialsmith's creative team and displayed on large screens for the audience to see, resulting in a fast-paced, interactive, and fun session that was the talk of the festival.
FOX NEWS' Hannity program, in conjunction with Dr. Frank Luntz of Luntz Global, featured the Perception Analyzer® by Dialsmith during an in-studio focus group of likely voters watching a live Q&A session with members of Congress, the Senate, and top business leaders.
As the Q&A was conducted, audience members turned their dials on a 100-point scale to indicate how the felt about what they were hearing. Data represented as a line graph was keyed at the bottom of the screen and broadcast on-air with the support of Dialsmith's broadcast support team.
Once again CNN, in conjunction with Southern Methodist University, has featured the Perception Analyzer® on-air. This time it was with a focus group of Republican and Undecided voters in New Hampshire as they watched the second Republican debate of the season.
Read about the findings and watch a video clip.
As voters watched the debate they turned their Perception Analyzer dials up and down on a 100-point scale to indicate how much they liked and disliked what they were hearing at each moment. As the dials were polled the resulting line graph was plotted over the debate for discussion, analysis, and review.
Dialsmith is proud and excited to be a partner of the
Banff Media Festival, contributing in two ways:
If you're in media and can make it to Banff, this promises to be an amazing week.
On the March 27, episode of NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice teams ASAP and BACKBONE battled it out to see which could create a better promotional video for ACN's new video phone. Rather than company executives picking the winning team, ACN employees got to determine the teams' fate and BACKBONE came out ahead with 53% of the vote.
Voting was done with our Dialsmith Perception Anlayzer dials, the same dials famous for use by CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News during presidential debates and speeches. After viewing the videos, company employees were asked to vote for their favorite by turning their dials in favor of ASAP or BACKBONE. The dials were instantly polled and each employee's opinion was locked in. It was a fast, efficient, and accurate way for the employees to give instant feedback.
Read more in the official release.
The Apprentice © 2011 JMBP, Inc. All rights reserved. THE APPRENTICE, YOU’RE FIRED, YOU’RE HIRED, and all related logos and slogans are trademarks of JMBP, Inc. All rights reserved.
Dialsmith® and MXi are once again proud to offer ISX - Instant Scoring eXperince™ to Street League Skateboarding® for real-time scoring and stats.
After an incredibly successful inaugural season in 2010, Street League has announced details of its 2011 season. With four stops, $1.6 million in prize money, and live airing on ESPN, ESPN2, and int'l webcast, Street League will continue to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
On March 27, the Perception Analyzer® by Dialsmith® will be used to help select the winning team on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice. As the teams compete in the upcoming task employees of the sponsoring company will cast their vote for the winning team with the help of Dialsmith’s Perception Analyzer dials. Tune in at 9:00pm ET/PT on Sunday, March 27, to see the voting and we’ll have more details after the episode airs.
The Apprentice © 2011 JMBP, Inc. All rights reserved. THE APPRENTICE, YOU’RE FIRED, YOU’RE HIRED, and all related logos and slogans are trademarks of JMBP, Inc. All rights reserved.
Dialsmith had the pleasure of providing audience feedback at TED2011. Audience members used Perception Analyzer dials to to confidentially give continuous, real-time feedback TED. Each Talk and video was evaluated, resulting in rich data for TED staff to use in their on-going quest to enhance the TED experience, both live and online.
This method of continuous, moment-to-moment data collection is the same as used by CNN and MSNBC for presidential debates and State of the Union speeches, as well as television networks for TV pilot testing. It is also used extensively for advertising research, presentation evaluation, and more.
Dialsmith proudly provided Perception Analyzer services to help PSU's Advertising Campaigns class take the win in a national ad campaign for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under the Department of Transportation (DOT).
Conducting a focus group at the Dialsmith offices PSU tested various campaign ideas with parents of tweens (tweens = childres ages 8 - 12). The Perception Analyzer was used to evaluate the campaign ideas and pne clear winner emerged.
PSU's "Have You Hugged Your Tween Today?" campaign uses an illustration of a parent's hug to coorolate to a child being protected by a seatbelt. The campaign went on to win in a competition of six universities.
Congratulations to Prof. Dickinson and his class.
Hi,
It's been a year since we started Dialsmith and this seems like a good time to reflect, share some of what we've learned, and thank those who have helped make it happen.
After years of working in cubes and private offices we made the decision to have Dialsmith be an open office environment. It took some getting used to and finding the right space, but we think we did pretty well. This has allowed for a level of teamwork and collaboration we had never experienced before. Check it...
In addition to releasing the new Perception Analyzer Model V dial with response confirmation and tune-out buttons, we also launched the ISX - Instant Scoring eXperience system for scoring of sporting and reality events.
Some milestones in year one:
Something that we'd be considering for years, well before the launch of Dialsmith, is the opening of a European office. This year we decided the time was right and we were fortunate to find the colleagues to make it happen. We are also fortunate to have retained our incredibly strong core team as well as add some new talent.
What have we learned?
To everyone who has helped Dialsmith through its first successful year, I say thank you. Were it not for our team, clients, partners, friends, and family, we'd be nothing but bodies in an office and numbers in a spreadsheet. But thanks to all of those people (and it really is all about the people) we are a company that had a strong first year and is developing plans for even stronger years to come. Taking care of our team, serving our clients, and enjoying life are the reasons we why do this in the first place. By keeping those three over-arching goals in mind we enthuastically march forward and again, to all who have helped us, we say thank you.
- David
The lions and tigers and that kind of stuff
They have up here now are not quite good enough.
You see things like these in just any old zoo.
They’re awfully old-fashioned. I want something new!
pic moggierocket Flikr
Lions and Tigers and that kind of stuff.
As I was preparing for this post and contemplating the above thought from young Gerald McGrew I received an email from one of my sales and marketing mentors, Peter Weedfald discussing the future of radio. His email was a sharing of thoughts and research that shows that "although radio listening remains healthy as a percentage of media usage, a number of varying realized formats have muscled onto the scene over the past few years distracting and disrupting radio’s monetization opportunities: social networking, MP3 players, Internet radio, Podcasting and satellite radio (and let’s not forget downloaded apps and widgets abounding)."
As I read Peter's email I realized that present day terresterial radio is not quite good enough, and it appears that we all want something new. So who leads the pack in this new radio zoo? According to Vision Critical Research Pandora is the something new that leads in this new radio zoo.
Radio is awfully old-fashioned
It just so happened that a few days after reading through Peter's email I receive an invite from none other then Tim Westergen, founder of Pandora, to attend a town hall meeting. I am not one to look away when kismet, or syncronizcity like that falls upon me, so of course I attended the town hall. I walked in to the downtown Portland, OR, office of Wieden + Kennedy for the town hall thinking about modern radio and the Dr. Seuss quote that was the guide for this blog. It didn't take long once Tim started speaking that I realized he was the Gerald McGrew of the new radio zoo. Tim epitomizes the not quite good enough I want something new success story. The passion of a musician with a vision for his fellow musicians. He realized that present day musicians were limited on modern radio and that was just not good enough. His desire for something new lead him across the country in a van, talking and listening to anybody who would in 1999 about his Music Genome Project. Who knew, that Tim was a true blue Gerald McGrew? A little over ten years in what Tim does is travel the country, now by plane, and talk and listen and continue to strive from an altruistic passion of realizing something was not quite good enough in his realm, and what he did was create somethign new in the terresterial radio zoo- Pandora.
I want something New!
It was fascinting to hear not only Tim but his many fans and listeners discuss meta data, the 400 points of musicology and the magic formula that creates the Music Genome Project. A project that has lead to Pandora being number one, for now. A service that has done zero paid advertising, (other then giving out free T-shirts at the town halls, made by American Apparel) and grown 100% through word of mouth, or more appropriately through viral sharing.
Tim talked about the thumbs up and down of Pandora, he was open to hearing about the things that needed to be done to make Pandora even better. One of the things that was brought up was that when using the thumbs down of Pandora it begins to limit your playlist - "you paint yourself into a corner" Tim explained - skipping is "neutral" and thumbs up brings in more music choices based on the more you use thumbs up of your music universe expands. For me that was an aha moment because this is what the technology age can be about zoo goers. In my opinion Tim explained it best, "if you simply skip what you don't like and thumbs up what you like and only thumb down what you really just don't ever want to hear ever again - you get a much better experience." I think young Tim Westergen expresses a great philosophy that goes far beyond Pandora - thumbs up.
pic clint koehler flikr
Dialsmith proudly welcomes Chris Boniface as Client Relations Manager, Europe, to head our new UK office. Chris will spearhead our efforts to better serve European clients with a base of operations in London.
Dialsmith's office is in the area of Old Bailey in St. Paul's, a great hub for conducting business around London and throughout Europe.
Photo by: M.I.S.S.Y. from Flikr
"But if I ran the zoo,"
Said young Gerald McGrew,
"I'd make a few changes.
That's just what I'd do...."
Changes.
“I’d make a few changes. That’s just what I’d do…” Were these the words uttered at GAP recently? It appears so, and based upon the social media uproar this change has brought attention to the brand. Was it the attention the company wanted? Was this the change they planned for? Change is one of those words that is uttered often, every politician is going to bring change, every new product will change your life, even David Bowie sings about chchchanges. My personal pet peeve is that change and growth have become interchangeable in our modern vernacular. I could, and may in the future, do a whole blog post on that very thought process. Today though, the purpose of this post is to focus on the changes made recently with logos. There's a very timely example with GAP, but they are not alone in the world of logo changes. There are several examples such as Tropicana, Pepsi, and now the United and Continental merger have them considering their impending logo change, to save the United "tulip" or not?. Thing 1 or Thing 2 what to do? Several of the logo changes just mentioned have been very costly to the companies. There is the initial cost and expense of creating a new logo, and with some companies there is a large loss of revenue from lost sales if the logo is not well accepted. Tropicana is the glaring example, after their new design was released on the packaging of their Pure Premium line of OJ in January 2010, they saw a loss of 20% between January 1st and February 22nd 2010. By February 23rd 2010 Tropicana announced they were scrapping the new packaging due to the consumer outcry. They went from Thing 1 to Thing 2 and back again in less then 2 months.
Thing 1, or Thing 2 ? something new, or a redo ?
There appears to be an assumption that change is good, any change. I disagree, I believe well thought out and researched change is best. When Hertz decided to change their logo, part of the process included a 25-30 minute survey including live chat, all focused very specifically on logo design and how the customer felt. Some companies, ad agencies, and marketers believe they know best. I recognize there is a belief among some very talented ad agencies out there that take a gamble, because they believe they know what the next best thing will be. They create ahead of the customer, showing them what they did not know was possible to see and feel about a company through creative logo design. A belief that I see weekly with a character named Don Draper. When you watch Mad Men, (if you haven't yet you should), you will see an ad agency based in the United States in the 1960's. An ad agency that existed in a time that was very Amerciancentric. Now in the year 2010, everything is a world market, or at least a viral world market, an opinion and a surge of millions of opinions is literally a click away.
Whether utilizing crowdsourcing as GAP is now doing, or surveys and live chats like Hertz did, or placing your customers and employees fingertips on amazing research technologies like the Perception Analyzer, the access to input is here, you simply have to ask. Possibly the modern Don Drapers who create ahead of the curve may want to listen first and change after. Or as Mark Hansen, President of Gap Brand North America stated Octover 11th, "We’ve learned a lot in this process. And we are clear that we did not go about this in the right way." Market Research is an investment in knowledge of your customer, your employee, or end user that can save you millions of dollars, the right way.
Photo by: bredgur from Flickr
“It’s a pretty good zoo,”
Said young Gerald McGrew,
“And the fellow who runs it
Seems proud of it, too.”
Zoo Keeper First Impressions:
Young Gerald McGrew gets his first impression of the zoo from the “fellow who runs it” and “Seems proud of it too.” First impressions are talked about extensively, from when your parents tell you to “stand up straight, don’t slouch” to business mentors teaching you what to wear, how to smile, what to say, how to mimic behavior and all the other tid bits we have heard, read about and been taught over the years. In Gerald McGrew's world, pride is the first impression he gets of the zoo keeper. However, we learn as we turn the pages that young Gerald McGrew does not necessarily feel the same way that the zoo keeper does.
The Politics Of The Zoo:
We are in the midst of some amazing political times. So I imagine instead of a zoo keeper, a political candidate, and they need Gerald McGrew's vote. You have 30 to 60 seconds to promote your platform on TV and radio and/or you have 45 to 60 minutes in a debate to clarify and showcase your views, while challenging your opponent(s). You may be proud of it, and pundits will do what pundits do, but in the end what really matters is what is Gerald McGrew’s perception? Right now, probability is that Gerald McGrew is an independent voter. There are many stories and studies and polls right now discussing the growth of the independent voter. The Washington Post recently posted on this very topic "The amazingly unpredictable voter."
Unpredictable is right, and while that may be an exciting notion for voters, what about the candidates? How can they possibly get a grasp on what these unpredictable voters are responding too? As our two party, black and white (red and blue) system takes on shades of grey (and purple) this political season it is more vital than ever to utilize non-group-think political research methods, most notably the Perception Analyzer®
What is young Gerald McGrews Perception::
At Dialsmith we get to provide political candidates honest feedback on that all important first impression. More importantly we give them a chance to make a more qualified second impression. Sometimes the proud “fellow who runs it” does not want to hear that Gerald McGrew does not like “it,” or only thinks “it’s pretty good" or as is the case in Dr. Seuss' If I Ran The Zoo, Gerald McGrew thinks it the same as every other zoo. This is the exact feedback, and trackable data that can create your winning zoo. That swing vote for you could be one question away, or even one moment-to-moment overlay away. Watching your ad from your proud zoo keeper perspective may create a warm fuzzy for you and those that already support you, but what matters is watching second by second how the voting Gerald McGrew feels about your ad or how you responded to an answer in a televised debate or town hall.
If you are willing to put your pride aside and listen to honest perceptions directly from your base, the other zoo, and, of course, those unpredictable independent voters regarding your first impression, you will get a chance to create a second impression and be able to build a zoo for that Gerald McGrew, and then he will vote for you!
A WHO in Blogville
Who is WHO – Beth is the WHO entering the world of blogging and sharing and other thingamamusings. Beth who? Who is Beth? Why I am an entrepreneurial spirit Who began with a Panasonic VHS camera, and VCR when I was in High School way back in the way backs of the 80s. I would spend hours video-taping weddings, little league playoffs, corporate training videos, and other Whoville events, then spend even more hours editing footage to create personal memories for all the big Whos who wanted memories of their little Whos.
Where now?
Just as the technology world has evolved so have I. I now am with Dialsmith, LLC, and helping many Whos get the information and data they need to fill their own Whovilles with dreams and success. My career has twisted and turned like many Dr. Suess adventures bringing me to this wonderful place. Some things remain true and steadfast and one of those, no matter what the career choice or business I chose to run, consult with or work for, was an answer to a common question “What is your favorite business book, Beth?”
What book? Really?
If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss. “Really?” That’s the common response and my answer is an emphatic, “YES!” Quite possibly it started with the first book I ever learned how to read as a very little Who - Go Dog Go. Or maybe it started with my first insights into conflict and war with The Butter Wars and The Lorax. But no matter where it all began, to this day, after many days, months and years of business, sales and marketing, If I Ran the Zoo remains the trusted and true for this Who.
What now?
I hope you will return and read more as I continue to grow, blog and post using the insights gained from the great Dr. Seuss and his book – If I Ran the Zoo.
We get that question a lot, especially now that buzz around Street League Skateboarding is heating up. So for those who are interest, ISX - Instant Scoring eXperience - is a new scoring system co-developed by us (Dialsmith) and Media-X International, in partnership with Rob Dyrdek.
ISX allows judges to use hand-held dials to enter scores faster than ever before, and to score every trick in a sports performance, regardless of how fast the tricks take place. The result is instant, trick-by-trick scoring that's fast, accurate, exciting, and fun.
Debuting at Street League, ISX is adaptable to the rules and format of nearly any judged sporting or reality event. From skating to snowboarding to surfing to motocross, ISX is ideal for the pace of action sports. It can also be adapted to more traditional sports where tricks or individual elements need to be judged and scored, and to non-sports competitions where judges need to score performances.
The ISX website provides more informaiton along with video links to Rob Dyrdek talking about why he got involved with ISX and how ISX is being integrated as the cornerstone of Street League Skateboarding.
To learn more or just brainstorm ideas for integrating ISX into your event, feel free to drop me a line. We love talking about this stuff!
The first Street League competition is in the can and it was a huge success. Seeing the skate park constructed in Jobing.com Arena was amazing and the caliber of skating was unbelieveable.
We delivered instant scoring and stats through ISX and the vibe was so cool. After every trick the skaters could look at the board and know exactly how they did. They also always knew how they were ranked and what score they needed to advance or take the lead.
In the end Nyjah Huston took home the first ever Street League first place prize, but it was a jocky for first position right down the last few tricks.
ESPN has a great video recap and below are some photos from an exciting week. Now we start getting ready for Ontatio, CA, on September 11, and the finals in Las Vegas on September 25. You can watch all three events on ESPN2 at 8PM EST / 5PM PST on September 15, 22, 29.
(Welcome to Street League!)
(World's largest skateboard rolls through town)
(California Skateparks hard at work building the skatepark inside the arena)
(Finished product - view 1)
(Finished product - view 2)
(Testing the ISX Scoring screens on the arena Jumbotron)
(Rob Dyrdek welcomes the crowd)
(Rob checking the ISX scores and watching the action)
The pros came out today to run through the Street League training facility. ISX captured the scoring and even Justin Bieber showed up. This is definitely the start of something big for professional skateboarding.
(Paul Rodriguez, Greg Lutzka, Rob Dyrdek)
(P-Rod and Terry Kennedy checking the rail)
(Rob Dyrdek making the call)
(Rob Dyrdek and Justin Bieber discussing the ISX leaderboard)
(P-Rod mid-flight!)
(ISX scoring system capturing scores and stats)
There's been a lot of activity this week at the Street League pre-season training facility (photos below). Earlier in the week we logged some time with the amateurs and next we bring on the pros. Skate plaza design is amazing and ISX scoring, where every trick counts, is adding a key element to the action. If you can make it to one of the upcoming tour stops you will definitely be in for a good time and some serious skating.
Is there any better metaphor for bad planning? You sit down to take care of your most personal of business and require this ubiquitous item to see you through the process to a successful outcome. Yet, despite its critical importance, how often do you sit and simply take for granted it will be there for you when you need it?
Well, today I did just that. It may be the first time in my life, but when I reached for it there was none to be had. Empty roll. No problem though because I was at work and we have those fancy double spindle deals and surely they weren't both empty, right? Wrong. So not only did my lack of basic planning bite me in the ass (so to speak), but the contingency that should have reduced the odds of this epic failure to microscopic proportions also failed.
Being a technology company, we see this kind of thing all the time. Technology is fickle and it will fail at the most inopportune and detrimental time. That's why we build in redundancies, back-ups, fail safes...you name it. But it's not usually the most complex or intricate thing that fails - it's usually the most basic, the most simple, the thing we should most easily be able to avoid. In other words, it's the running out of toilet paper.
I used to be in the camp of "don't sweat the small stuff." Now I'm a business owner of a tech company and I know all too well that it's the small stuff that usually gets you. So sweat the small stuff...all the time. Check, double check, plan, review the plan, adjust the plan, adapt, and build in contingencies. I'm not saying carry around your own TP (hmm...maybe), but you get the gist.
Oh, and to add insult to injury guess what was sitting on top of the toilet tank behind me when I finally got up? That's right, a spare roll of TP. So lesson number two (no pun intended)...sometimes the easiest solution is right in front of you (or right behind you).
Photo credit: MmMmMmMmMatt
