Case Studies
The following examples represent a cross-section of work completed by Survey Launch across commercial and public sector engagements. Client names are not included where confidentiality applies. Each example is selected to illustrate a specific capability or area of experience.
A major media research firm needed a reliable, scalable system for deploying, monitoring, and reporting on a high volume of survey projects across multiple countries. Previous approaches required significant manual effort and were prone to errors at scale.
Survey Launch designed, built, and implemented a custom survey platform and project management application that automated the full project lifecycle - setup, quality control, launch, monitoring, and reporting. The system supports assembly-line style project setup with incremental approvals, automated launches and closes, and real-time data exchange via secure web services.
The platform has been in continuous production operation since 2009. At peak volume it manages more than 400 projects per month. It has been deployed in 13 countries and currently holds 41,000 projects under management, 2.9 million media assets, and 7.4 million completed respondent surveys.
Quality record: zero programming errors, zero downtime, and zero missed launches across 16 years of operation.
Capabilities demonstrated: Custom platform development, large-scale survey operations, long-term client relationships, quality at scale.
A state public health agency needed to understand how young adults ages 16-24 perceived nicotine addiction and what communication approaches would be most effective in reaching this population.
Survey Launch designed and executed a three-phase mixed-methods study. Two qualitative phases using in-depth interviews established a foundational understanding of vaping motivations, addiction perceptions, and attitudes toward cessation. Findings from the qualitative phases directly informed the design of a final quantitative survey. The quantitative phase measured changes in addiction awareness and assessed receptivity to specific communication strategies.
Findings revealed statistically significant patterns in how young adults understood and described their own addiction, and identified which message approaches were most likely to prompt engagement with cessation resources. Results directly informed the agency's public health communication strategy.
Capabilities demonstrated: Mixed-methods design, qualitative research with hard-to-reach youth populations, pre-post evaluation framework, public health research, sensitive topic research.
A media research client required weekly tracking of audience attitudes and behaviors across a large national sample, with consistent methodology and data quality across hundreds of consecutive waves.
Survey Launch has managed this study continuously since 2006. Weekly responsibilities include asset processing, survey programming, quality control, data collection monitoring, and data management. The study has been fielded 1,026 times and maintains a trending dataset of 4.2 million completed respondent surveys.
Quality record: no missed launches and no survey programming errors across 19 years of continuous operation.
Capabilities demonstrated: Longitudinal tracking, large-scale data management, operational reliability, long-term client relationships.
A state agency needed representative data on public attitudes and behaviors related to trails and public lands to inform funding decisions. Prior survey attempts had failed to achieve representative samples, particularly among Hispanic residents, rural populations, and Native American communities.
Survey Launch devised a stratified sampling methodology aligned to state demographics across age, ethnicity, region, income, education, and gender. A multilingual survey was administered through multiple channels including mobile-optimized platforms, with specialized outreach strategies to reach geographically dispersed and hard-to-reach populations.
Rigorous quality control was applied throughout data collection, including manual validation of responses. Deliverables included comprehensive data analysis, cross-tabulations, and customized reports for multiple state agencies.
Results established an authoritative benchmark dataset that is now used across state government for policy and funding decisions.
Capabilities demonstrated: Multilingual research, hard-to-reach population research, stratified sampling, state agency research, benchmark data development.
A state health agency created a program to encourage young people ages 16-22 in designated health professional shortage areas to pursue careers in an underserved health profession. Survey Launch was engaged to conduct the post-program survey and complete the pre-post comparative analysis.
The evaluation is designed as a quasi-experimental study comparing cohorts surveyed before and after program implementation. Survey Launch manages the full evaluation process including IRB submission and approval, survey design and quality control, panel sample management across multiple providers, daily data quality monitoring, and final analysis and reporting.
The post-program survey targets young adults ages 16-26 living in designated shortage areas. Analysis will examine changes in awareness of career opportunities and shortage areas, interest in the profession, and the impact of specific program initiatives and communication channels.
Survey Launch conducted additional follow-up surveys and qualitative research with program participants, including in-depth interviews to capture attitudinal and behavioral perspectives, and concept testing of program media materials to assess impressions and message effectiveness.
Capabilities demonstrated: Program evaluation, pre-post comparative analysis, quasi-experimental design, IRB compliance, youth research, qualitative research, in-depth interviews, concept testing, state health agency research, direct government contract.
A state mental health and addiction services agency needed to understand alcohol consumption patterns and treatment perceptions among underserved populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to evaluate which public health messaging approaches resonated most effectively with this audience.
Survey Launch conducted a two-phase qualitative evaluation. Phase I used semi-structured interviews to establish baseline understanding of alcohol use behaviors, pandemic-related stressors, mental health impacts, and coping mechanisms. Phase II used sequential monadic concept testing to present and evaluate specific campaign visuals and messaging to determine which communication approaches were most effective.
Findings provided clear, evidence-based recommendations that enabled the agency to optimize its messaging strategy for underserved populations.
Capabilities demonstrated: Qualitative evaluation, concept testing, underserved population research, sensitive topic research, public health communication strategy.
A national association for federally insured credit unions conducts an annual compensation and benefits survey of member organizations. The survey collects financial, organizational, and executive compensation data across hundreds of institutions.
Survey Launch designed and implemented a secure online registration portal and a custom data collection application built in Python. The application organizes data collection into hierarchically structured sections with independent validation at each level. Changes to dependent sections trigger parent section reviews to maintain data integrity. Multiple parties within each organization can enter, review, and submit the required information.
Survey Launch manages the full annual cycle including source list preparation from federal databases and industry resources, portal operation, telephone and online technical support during the field period, data analysis, and production of data tables for inclusion in annual reports.
Capabilities demonstrated: Custom application development, complex survey design, annual tracker management, B2B research, financial services sector experience.
A state early childhood agency was required to incorporate public input into a federally mandated plan and needed a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and documenting community feedback at scale.
Survey Launch designed and administered a public input process combining in-person sessions, virtual meetings, and a dedicated online portal. The most recent cycle collected 2,088 open-ended comments across twelve survey questions. Analysts conducted systematic reviews of all responses, developed a comprehensive coding framework, and transformed unstructured qualitative feedback into structured quantitative data suitable for statistical analysis.
Deliverables included an executive summary, coded data tables for each question, and complete verbatim responses organized by question. The analysis enabled the agency to document community priorities clearly and incorporate them into the state's federally required plan.
Capabilities demonstrated: Public engagement research, qualitative coding and quantitative transformation, state agency research, federally mandated evaluation requirements.
A major beverage supplier needed to measure the patron experience of ordering from digital menu boards typical of fast food restaurant counters and drive-thrus. The study required an advanced conjoint design to be administered in a simulated in-person ordering environment.
Survey Launch devised a methodology and supporting technical application that broadcast high-resolution dynamic menu content on flat-screen LCD monitors in a mock ordering area, synchronized with a discrete choice exercise running on the interviewer's laptop. Interviewing areas were set up at central location testing facilities simulating both restaurant counter and drive-thru ordering environments. Survey Launch designed the methodology, built the technical application, set up the facilities, and trained interviewing staff.
Capabilities demonstrated: Advanced conjoint design, in-person intercept research, custom technical development, CLT facility management, QSR sector experience.
A university conducts periodic surveys among prospective students, current students, and alumni to track attitudes, behaviors, outcomes, and demographics across cohorts over time. The study varies across waves based on changes in program initiatives and objectives.
Survey Launch performs a range of analytical work across these data including data transformations, weighting, recalculation of derived variables across multiple segments using disjoint time-series data, cluster analyses, and key driver analysis to identify changes and update KPIs. The firm also advises on variable development, transition strategies, and codebook alignment across waves.
Capabilities demonstrated: Longitudinal KPI tracking, advanced analytics, derived variable development, multi-cohort comparative analysis, higher education sector experience.