Pollster is a system that seeks to bring together two markets of users with complementary needs and abilities. Pollsters and Voters.
Pollsters are individuals with a decision to make, for whom specific feedback from informed individuals would help them greatly. Pollsters format any question into a small ‘micro-survey’ and select who in our Voter Community they’d like to hear back from. Pollsters can pick which Voters based on filtering criteria like location, experience and age, or other ‘learned’ features like proficiency at math, experience in the retail sector or proven ability to identify winning energy stocks. While our system can be used to poll a crowd indiscriminately, the real power is in its ability to ask questions of individuals who can demonstrate expertise in some ability or area of knowledge.
Voters, are individuals with spare time and the desire to earn a little extra income. Voters are notified whenever a new poll arrives in their inbox, and are rewarded by Pollsters for answering polls and providing helpful feedback. Voters wishing to demonstrate some expertise may opt to take training polls aimed at showing Pollsters they know their stuff.
In its most recent iteration, this system has been tailored to support Pollsters trying to decide on which version of an online ad to run, in the hope that a smarter decision will drive more users to their website.
3. • Performance-driven ad Optimization
• A/B Testing
• “Crow d-sourced creativity of Humans”
Our partner &
sponsor
Need
Process
Solution
Impact
Problem
7. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 800 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2
Week 3
Result
Total Cost: Best Ad Result:
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
8. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 800 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2 700 Clicks 10 Clicks
Week 3
Result
Total Cost: Best Ad Result:
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
9. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 800 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2 700 Clicks 10 Clicks
Week 3 500 Clicks 60 Clicks
Result
Total Cost: Best Ad Result:
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
10. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 800 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2 700 Clicks 10 Clicks
Week 3 500 Clicks 60 Clicks
Result 2000 Clicks 100 Clicks
Total Cost: Best Ad Result:
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
11. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 800 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2 700 Clicks 10 Clicks
Week 3 500 Clicks 60 Clicks
Result 2000 Clicks 100 Clicks
Total Cost:
$3,100
Best Ad Result:
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
12. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 800 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2 700 Clicks 10 Clicks
Week 3 500 Clicks 60 Clicks
Result 2000 Clicks 100 Clicks
Total Cost:
$3,100
Best Ad
A
Result:
Run Version A
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
13. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 110 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2 40 Clicks 100 Clicks
Week 3 100 Clicks 120 Clicks
Result 250 Clicks 250 Clicks
Total Cost:
$1,500
Best Ad
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
14. Time
Version
A
Version
B
Week 1 110 Clicks 30 Clicks
Week 2 40 Clicks 100 Clicks
Week 3 100 Clicks 120 Clicks
Result 250 Clicks 250 Clicks
Total Cost:
$1,500
Best Ad
???
Which ad will drive
more users
to my website?
15. “Which photograph should I place on my dating profile?”
“Which slogan resonates most with my customers?”
“Which offer would bring the most new patrons to my store?”
Version
A ?
Version
B
26. A crowd of respondents can identify the superior
version
Hypothesis 1:
27. Some individuals have a talent for identifying
the superior version
Hypothesis 2:
I think Version A
will attract
more visitors because…
28. Some individuals have a talent for identifying
the superior version
A crowd of respondents can identify the superior
version
Hypothesis 1:
Hypothesis 2:
29. Training respondents can increase a group’s
ability to identify the superior version
Hypothesis 3:
33. “This survey is very important to develop the ability to know which ad may have more clicks
than others.
Good exercise. It also gives me tips and reminders on how to write effective ad copies for
Boost clients. Thank you for this opportunity. :)
I thought the survey was very interesting and really made me think about why people click on
certain ads and not others.
Actually It was hard to choose. I believe that I need to learn more [sic.]. But tips & test were
useful for me. I hope my answers [sic.] will be useful also.
It's been exciting and wonderful.
Training Feedback
34. Some individuals have a talent for identifying
the superior version
A crowd of respondents can identify the superior
version
Hypothesis 1:
Hypothesis 2:
Training Opinion Leaders can increase a group’s
ability to identify the superior version
Hypothesis 3:
35. Results
• Respondents get better at identifying winner with
training
• Training results can help filter out poor
performers
Need
Process
Solution
Impact
Problem
36. Results
• A crowd of respondents can correctly identify the
winning version
• Useful Human feedback
Need
Process
Solution
Impact
Problem
41. Two groups of users.
• Creates micro-surveys
• Selects Opinion Leaders to poll
• Receives Targeted Feedback
Joan
Is a Pollster
Alex
Is an Opinion Leader
42. Two groups of users.
• Creates micro-surveys
• Selects Opinion Leaders to poll
• Receives Targeted Feedback
Joan
Is a Pollster
Alex
Is an Opinion Leader
• Trains to improve abilities
• Gives insightful feedback
• Receives rewards for responding
to micro-surveys
57. Savings
Standard
A/B Test
Pollster
Total Cost $500 - $5,000 $10 - $500
Time 3 Weeks 2 - 7 Days
Feedback • Number of Clicks • Number of Clicks
• Written Feedback
from
• Humans
Need
Process
Solution
Impact
Problem
58. ■ Impact
• Micro-survey platform
• Cost-effective
• Quick, Targeted, Human Feedback
• Expandable
Need
Process
Solution
Impact
Problem
Process
Solution
Impact
Problem
59. “Having [the] type of feedback [gathered by Pollster] allows us to
understand what marketing messaging will work before putting it
into market. [“ This] will save us money in the long run and allow us
to experiment more with marketing messaging overall.”
- Bill Sherby
Analytics Manager at Boost Media Inc .
60. Future Work & Potential Uses
Decisions where there is a high cost for making the wrong decision
• Dating profile feedback
• Fashion advice
• Brick & Mortar Marketing Initiatives
Hinweis der Redaktion
My name is Xavier Malina and this is my teammate Shubham Goel
Our team set out to complete a project that met two criteria above all. First, the project must address a real-world problem, not a hypothetical one. Second, the output should be a product that stands alone: version 1.0 and not version 0.1.
Company A month away valentine's day
it can have a huge impact on their bottom line
A single client could generate $50 it profits, and a 10 percent difference in clicks could mean thousands of dollars to them
Version B
Well, we had 1,000 professional ad writers at our disposal. So first asked ourselves:
Could a group of people identify the Ad that would receive the most clicks – instead of running the A/B test?
Because, if they could – our hope would be that they might be able to respond faster than a several-week A/B test.
Not only that, but maybe they could provide feedback that might help shed light on the critical question:
What made one version more successful?
In this case, the company spent $2,400 on a test that ran for 3 weeks.
With feedback from the test, they felt like they had enough information to make a smart decision.
After all - Version A received 2,000% more clicks than version B. So it seems obvious that version A is the right choice to run in the week before Valentine’s day.
But what if, instead of these results, the test had come back with results like these?
In this case, the company spent $2,400 on a test that ran for 3 weeks.
With feedback from the test, they felt like they had enough information to make a smart decision.
After all - Version A received 2,000% more clicks than version B. So it seems obvious that version A is the right choice to run in the week before Valentine’s day.
But what if, instead of these results, the test had come back with results like these?
In this case, the company spent $2,400 on a test that ran for 3 weeks.
With feedback from the test, they felt like they had enough information to make a smart decision.
After all - Version A received 2,000% more clicks than version B. So it seems obvious that version A is the right choice to run in the week before Valentine’s day.
But what if, instead of these results, the test had come back with results like these?
In this case, the company spent $2,400 on a test that ran for 3 weeks.
With feedback from the test, they felt like they had enough information to make a smart decision.
After all - Version A received 2,000% more clicks than version B. So it seems obvious that version A is the right choice to run in the week before Valentine’s day.
But what if, instead of these results, the test had come back with results like these?
In this case, the company spent $2,400 on a test that ran for 3 weeks.
With feedback from the test, they felt like they had enough information to make a smart decision.
After all - Version A received 2,000% more clicks than version B. So it seems obvious that version A is the right choice to run in the week before Valentine’s day.
But what if, instead of these results, the test had come back with results like these?
In this case, the company spent $2,400 on a test that ran for 3 weeks.
With feedback from the test, they felt like they had enough information to make a smart decision.
After all - Version A received 2,000% more clicks than version B. So it seems obvious that version A is the right choice to run in the week before Valentine’s day.
But what if, instead of these results, the test had come back with results like these?
And this result is more common than the first result we saw.
One figure we saw indicated that as few as 1 out of 8 tests like these generate good enough feedback for a decision-maker to make the right decision.
The company just spent a lot of money and came back with no good feedback for their client.
And even in a case where there is a good result – they know they turned away customers that saw the inferior version.
If they had been able to run this test in the lab, then at least they could have followed up with them and asked: hey, what do you think might have made you more likely to click on the ad more?
Or ask them about what they want in a flower delivery service? And use the responses to improve the ads.
A/B Testing is expensive, and often costs thousands of dollars for a single test
Gathering sufficient results to interpret can take weeks
A/B Tests often don’t produce interpretable results
Because A/B Testing only works on ‘unwitting’ participants, results reflect actions but cannot capture any other feedback
“Appsumo reveals its A/B testing secret: only 1 out of 8 tests produce results” https://vwo.com/blog/a-b-testing-tips/
A/B Testing is expensive, and often costs thousands of dollars for a single test
Gathering sufficient results to interpret can take weeks
A/B Tests often don’t produce interpretable results
Because A/B Testing only works on ‘unwitting’ participants, results reflect actions but cannot capture any other feedback
“Appsumo reveals its A/B testing secret: only 1 out of 8 tests produce results” https://vwo.com/blog/a-b-testing-tips/
And this result is more common than the first result we saw.
One figure we saw indicated that as few as 1 out of 8 tests like these generate good enough feedback for a decision-maker to make the right decision.
The company just spent a lot of money and came back with no good feedback for their client.
And even in a case where there is a good result – they know they turned away customers that saw the inferior version.
If they had been able to run this test in the lab, then at least they could have followed up with them and asked: hey, what do you think might have made you more likely to click on the ad more?
Or ask them about what they want in a flower delivery service? And use the responses to improve the ads.
A/B Testing is expensive, and often costs thousands of dollars for a single test
Gathering sufficient results to interpret can take weeks
A/B Tests often don’t produce interpretable results
Because A/B Testing only works on ‘unwitting’ participants, results reflect actions but cannot capture any other feedback
“Appsumo reveals its A/B testing secret: only 1 out of 8 tests produce results” https://vwo.com/blog/a-b-testing-tips/
A/B Testing is expensive, and often costs thousands of dollars for a single test
Gathering sufficient results to interpret can take weeks
A/B Tests often don’t produce interpretable results
Because A/B Testing only works on ‘unwitting’ participants, results reflect actions but cannot capture any other feedback
“Appsumo reveals its A/B testing secret: only 1 out of 8 tests produce results” https://vwo.com/blog/a-b-testing-tips/
A / B tests can be run to help make a decision in all kinds of situations,
but costs of A/B tests are too high for them to be useful in many of them (both in terms of time and cmonetary costs)
The problems affect all of them.
How to get quality feedback from a crowd of people you can trust is the problem Boost presented us with.
Well, we had 1,000 professional ad writers at our disposal. So first asked ourselves:
Could a group of people identify the Ad that would receive the most clicks – instead of running the A/B test?
Because, if they could – our hope would be that they might be able to respond faster than a several-week A/B test.
Not only that, but maybe they could provide feedback that might help shed light on the critical question:
What made one version more successful?
Write that it was boost media experts
Write that it was boost media experts
Write that it was boost media experts
Were there some individuals more capable at making these decisions than others?
Write that it was boost media experts
Well, we had 1,000 professional ad writers at our disposal. So first asked ourselves:
Could a group of people identify the Ad that would receive the most clicks – instead of running the A/B test?
Because, if they could – our hope would be that they might be able to respond faster than a several-week A/B test.
Not only that, but maybe they could provide feedback that might help shed light on the critical question:
What made one version more successful?
Well, we had 1,000 professional ad writers at our disposal. So first asked ourselves:
Could a group of people identify the Ad that would receive the most clicks – instead of running the A/B test?
Because, if they could – our hope would be that they might be able to respond faster than a several-week A/B test.
Not only that, but maybe they could provide feedback that might help shed light on the critical question:
What made one version more successful?
Well, we had 1,000 professional ad writers at our disposal. So first asked ourselves:
Could a group of people identify the Ad that would receive the most clicks – instead of running the A/B test?
Because, if they could – our hope would be that they might be able to respond faster than a several-week A/B test.
Not only that, but maybe they could provide feedback that might help shed light on the critical question:
What made one version more successful?
Based on the results we got from the survey we started working on our system.
We realized that the problem was more generalizable.
It is the problem of collection quality feeback.
Our solution has two stakeholders.
Joan is a marketing executive at a new fashion start-up and is two weeks away from the launch of a major ad campaign for their newest product, and there’s a problem. Two slogans have been put forward as the best candidates to go on their online ads, but no clear winner has emerged after two months of discussion. Paralysis has gripped the creative team and Joan is stuck. There isn’t enough time to enroll the services of a market research firm, and even if there were – they wouldn’t be able to afford it. Making smart decisions can be difficult.
Alex is a stay at home parent who used to manage a chain of small retail stores that catered to the same clientele as Joan’s company. Alex has been looking for ways to earn a little extra income for his family, but his kids keep him busy and his schedule is often erratic. He’d love a way to earn money while he’s sitting in the school parking lot, or when he’s in line at the grocery store. In a perfect world, Alex would love to be paid for doing something with his mind and not his hands.
Alex is a stay at home parent who used to manage a chain of small retail stores that catered to the same clientele as Joan’s company. Alex has been looking for ways to earn a little extra income for his family, but his kids keep him busy and his schedule is often erratic. He’d love a way to earn money while he’s sitting in the school parking lot, or when he’s in line at the grocery store. In a perfect world, Alex would love to be paid for doing something with his mind and not his hands.
With these goals in mind we setout to design our system.
We worked on the navigation flow to support all the interactions for both the Opinion Leaders and pollsters
We worked on the wireframes
And made an interactive low fidelity prototype to test out the system navigation.
And made an interactive low fidelity prototype to test out the system navigation.
H
For us the most important page was the voting page:
This is the page the Opinion Leaders use to express their feedback.
It is also the page they are show during the training.
We played around with different layouts:
Positioning of the two advertisements being compared
Position of the voting buttons
We wanted to remove bias
Teach how this works
What did we learn from using this stack?
Refreshing
At this point in the project, we had I identified a partner with a pressing need.
We had access to a large dataset past A/B tests the company run – along to knowing in each case which ad received the most clicks.
And we also had access to another resource the company made available to us: 1,000 writers in the Boost Creative Network who Boost would let us send surveys if we felt it could help us in our research.
And lastly a question: Can we build a solution that addresses the problems of A/B testing and helps Boost’s clients make smarter decisions?
Next we’ll talk about the process we went through to evaluate this problem.
For us the most important page was the voting page:
This is the page the Opinion Leaders use to express their feedback.
It is also the page they are show during the training.
We played around with different layouts:
Positioning of the two advertisements being compared
Position of the voting buttons
We wanted to remove bias
For us the most important page was the voting page:
This is the page the Opinion Leaders use to express their feedback.
It is also the page they are show during the training.
We played around with different layouts:
Positioning of the two advertisements being compared
Position of the voting buttons
We wanted to remove bias
For us the most important page was the voting page:
This is the page the Opinion Leaders use to express their feedback.
It is also the page they are show during the training.
We played around with different layouts:
Positioning of the two advertisements being compared
Position of the voting buttons
We wanted to remove bias
The layout that we picked was one with the two ads listed next to each other.
The ads are not marked by text as version A and B or 1 and 2
The user has four actions at any stage