Experimenting with blockchain technology to innovate the research process

This post is sponsored by Kadence.

Technology is shaking up every industry and nowhere is its impact more prevalent than in market research. Leveraging the power of blockchain technology, Kadence recently participated in a trial with a blockchain technology start-up to examine and understand what value it can bring.

When mentioned, blockchain technology is often talked about within the context of fintech or accounting, where the core of its effectiveness and efficiencies works quite well in addressing certain procedural aspects specific to those industries.

That, in and of itself, qualifies it as an innovation, since it is a solution to some of the problems that manifest in those sectors.

Seeking innovation, and finding ways to implement it, within the research process, has always been an integral part of Kadence’s brand identity. As such, we were interested in the potential of how blockchain technology can improve the field of research, which meant a certain degree of experimentation was needed to prove its worth.

Therefore, when we were invited to be a part of a pilot programme by Measure Protocol, a technology company who’s pioneering the use of blockchain in market research studies, we jumped at the chance and used the opportunity to co-learn its potential benefit with Unilever Food Solutions, an existing client.

At the centre of this experiment is Measure Protocol’s app, which is based on the idea of creating a marketplace for person-based data. All data from the consumers is stored in the app, once they download it and answer questions posed to them.

Leveraging the power of blockchain technology, Kadence recently participated in a trial with a blockchain technology start-up to examine and understand what value it can bring.The collected data is transferred to the research agency directly, via blockchain, without a middleman, only when requested. These consumers are then remunerated for their personal data

We approached the study with three hypothesised “problem statements”, all related to common issues that are encountered during the quantitative research process:

1. Willingness to participate – in this day and age of growing awareness towards personal data protection, we wanted to see if there’s a way to motivate respondents’ willingness to share data about themselves, both in terms of active (for example, self-reported behaviour) and passive (for example, location data, personal health data).

      2. Immediacy of task completion – “in-the-moment” data capture is often the most accurate form of reported data, as it removes the “memory effect” of recalling.

      3. Data quality – on top of immediacy, having a robust verification process is often an important part of the process as well to maintain the integrity of a study’s findings.

When analysing the results, we found the blockchain-enabled app ended up resolving these three problem statements elegantly through the core principles of the technology:

1. Allowing respondents the option of turning on/off passive tracking, and explaining how it works within the context of blockchain technology, went a long way in assuring the respondents of its transparency, which led to an increase in the conscious “opting in” to volunteer the information.

      2. 60% of responses were submitted within an hour of the question/tasks being posed to the respondents, an indication of respondents who felt empowered by the assurance of the app itself.

      3. Respondent verification, based on app design and passive data capture, increased the validity and integrity of the survey findings.

Getting a true sense of who target consumers are, and what they are like, will always be fundamental to any piece of marketing – tactical or strategic.

We at Kadence would like to think that our capability in spotting potential innovation present in nascent technology, and having clients who are able to work with us like trusted partners, puts us in a better place than others at being able to realise the future of market research now, and to raise its impact across the region and beyond.

If you would like to know more about other innovative technology that Kadence offers in the research process, as you go about perfecting your marketing efforts, feel free to reach out at singapore@kadence.com.