Borrowing an age-old approach to market research and data collection, Time Inc.’s People has launched a giveaways page in its Style section managed by Poshly, a survey platform for beauty brands.
“We’re seeing data collected at an alarmingly high rate,” says Joseph LaFalce, executive director of business development and digital entertainment at People, according to a recent Advertising Age article. “It’s almost a focus group of our audience for product development.
The Poshly-managed page features a simple concept, showcasing products such as Aesop’s Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm which site visitors can register for a chance to win after responding to a series of survey questions. So far the publication is seeing an average of 20 questions answered per second, with questions ranging from demographic inquiries to which network the respondent prefers to watch for red carpet coverage.
“I love the idea of what I can do with Poshly, which is different than a survey or some sort of research ‘ping’ a user would get,” LaFalce said in an interview with Bizwomen in December, 2014. “These insights are being collected while there’s an engaging and enjoyable user experience.”
People brings in about 20 percent of Time Inc.’s overall revenue, and with print revenue in the decline the company hopes to use the information from the surveys for product development and editorial focus. Currently there is no direct influence of the Poshly giveaways data on editorial products.
Poshly, launched in 2012, has no intentions of providing survey data to a third party, says Doreen Block, Poshly founder and CEO, according to Advertising Age.
What does this mean for editorial content of the future? LaFalce suggests that there may be a place for the platform to be used in other types of content on People, or in other Time Inc. titles. Will this MR survey data makeover give readers a chance to connect with content that is closer to their interests?