3. Greetings Sample Leaders,
I would like to personally welcome each of you to SampleCon – the first ever sample-only
event. Our industry is changing in new and exciting ways, from rapid technological
developments in the mobile and routing spaces to the emerging automated exchange world.
We must learn together how to successfully grow alongside these new innovations.
Several months back, I began planning a 30 attendee Fulcrum user conference but realized that
we, the sample industry, wanted something bigger. Previously no opportunity existed for those
in sampling to unite over the future direction of our industry. Federated Sample is running
SampleCon to give sampling its own spotlight by bringing together the creators, innovators, and
leaders who are shaping the future of market research sampling.
Throughout the event, I ask you to stay engaged, be proactive and help us shape the future of
sample. You, as leaders in the space, have the vision, the knowledge, the wherewithal and the
experience to help our industry grow and evolve.
I want to thank you for joining us in New Orleans and hope you have a wonderful time at
SampleCon 2013!
Sincerely,
Patrick Comer
4. MITCHELL J. LANDRIEU, MAYOR
CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
1300 PERDIDO STREET | SUITE 2E04 | NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA | 70112
PHONE 504.658.4900 | FAX 504.658.4938
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to New
Orleans for the first SampleCon, hosted by
Federated Sample.
Our city is known for its creativity, innovation and
growing technology sector, so it is fitting to have
this unique event here. SampleCon will bring
together the creators, innovators and leaders who
are shaping the future of online market research
sampling.
New Orleans has become a hub for
entrepreneurship with a climate that attracts both
local startups and major corporations. Federated Sample is one of the
companies at the forefront of this renaissance.
While you are here, I hope that you will take some time to visit our historic French
Quarter, fine restaurants and entertainment venues and absorb the rich culture that
makes New Orleans the most authentic and culturally rich destination in America.
On behalf of the City of New Orleans, I extend my best wishes for a successful event.
Sincerely,
Mitchell J. Landrieu
Mayor
City of New Orleans
5. AGENDA
Sunday, September 8
Meet & Greet New Orleans Style "Pub Crawl"
Federated Sample Office (365 Canal St., Suite 700)
6:30 PM Sponsored by Federated Sample, Market Cube, Prodégé and Ugam Solutions
Monday, September 9
Registration & Networking Breakfast
Foyer I – Westin, 12th
Floor
9:00 AM Registration & Networking Breakfast
Opening Remarks
Ballroom I – Westin, 12th
Floor
9:45 AM Resurgent New Orleans
Speaker: Chris Schultz
10:00 AM Welcome to SampleCon & Opening Remarks
Speaker: Patrick Comer
Routing: The Past, Today & Future
Speaker: Chuck Miller
10:45 AM Break
6. Module 1: Leverage Your Exchange
Track 1: Leverage Your Exchange
Ballroom I – Westin, 12th
Floor
Track 2: Exchange Knowledge Center
Executive Room – Westin, 12th
Floor
Track 3: Ask the Wizard
River Room I – Westin, 12th
Floor
11:00 AM A History in Exchanges: What We Can Learn
Speakers: Walton Comer & Michael McCrary
11:00 AM Fulcrum Demo
Speakers: Jeb Hunsinger &
Kathryn Isenmann
11:00 AM Fulcrum Custom Training
Alex Leger &
Monica Nguyn
11:25 AM APIs: What They Are and How They Work
Speaker: Jayme Plunkett
11:25 AM Fulcrum Tips & Tricks
Speakers: Jeb Hunsinger &
Kathryn Isenmann
11:45 AM Challenges & Opportunities Buying Sample via API
Moderator: Jim Longo
Panel: Lev Mazin, Jayme Plunkett &
Leslie Townsend
11:45 AM What Makes Up Fulcrum Exchange
Traffic & How Do I Control
Speaker: Kathryn Isenmann
12:15 PM Holding the CPI Line
Speaker: Don Golden
12:15 PM Bidding on Fulcrum
Speakers: Matt Shwery &
Lucy Warburton
12:35 PM User’s Experience Sharing Session
Speakers: Lori Tripphahn & Jeremy Engelin
12:35 PM Best Practices for Training &
Onboarding
Speaker: Brook Bissinger
Lunch
The Plimsoll Club – Westin, 11th
Floor
1:00 PM Sponsored by Benefit Administration Group, Federated Sample & MyPoints
Module 2: Sample Technology
Track 1: Sample Technology
Ballroom I – Westin, 12th
Floor
Track 2: Exchange Knowledge Center
Executive Room – Westin, 12th
Floor
Track 3: Ask the Wizard
River Room I – Westin, 12th
Floor
2:00 PM Connecting the Dots on Multi-model Sampling:
Phone to On-demand APIs
Speaker: Danny Wong
2:00 PM Reporting & Understanding What
Matters Most
Speaker: Alex Leger
2:00 PM Fulcrum Custom Training
Alex Leger &
Monica Nguyn
2:20 PM Survey Says: The Latest Data on Routing
Speaker: Steve Hopkins
2:20 PM Fulcrum Demand & Supply APIs
Speakers: Alex Leger, Vignesh
Krishnan & Michael Velez
7. Track 1 Sample Technology
Ballroom I – Westin, 12th
Floor
Track 2: Exchange Knowledge Center
Executive Room – Westin, 12th
Floor
Track 3: Ask the Wizard
River Room I – Westin, 12th
Floor
2:40 PM Getting Comfortable with Routing
Moderator: Jim Longo
Panel: Rob Berger, Jeremy Engelin, Chris Fabber &
Steve Hopkins
2:40 PM Maximizing Respondent Experience
& Preparing for Mobile in Fulcrum
Speakers: Matt Shwery, Michael
Velez & Lucy Warburton
2:40 PM Fulcrum Custom Training
Alex Leger &
Monica Nguyn
3:05 PM Where Is Mobile Headed?
Speaker: Mike Billingsley
3:05 PM Gauging Feasibility in an Exchange
Speakers: David Butler &
Ted Pulsifer
3:25 PM Mobile Roundtable
Moderator: Jim Longo
Panel: Mike Billingsley, Edan Portaro &
Brett Schnittlich
3:50 PM Break 3:50 PM Break 3:50 PM Break
Module 3: Our Ecosystem
Our Ecosystem
Ballroom I – Westin, 12th
Floor
4:05 PM Challenges with B2B Sample: How Can We Fix It?
Speaker: Carrie Angiolet
4:25 PM The Impact of Data Quality on the Sample Ecosystem
Moderator: Jim Longo
Panel: Carrie Angiolet, Dyna Boen, Mark Menig & Jason Thomas
4:50 PM The Future for Sample Exchanges & Closing Remarks
Speaker: Patrick Comer
Wine Tasting Networking Event
The Plimsoll Club – Westin, 11th
Floor
5:30 PM Sponsored by Harris Interactive Service Bureau and TrueSample
8. SPACE OVERVIEW
- Registration & Breakfast
- General Session
- Exchange Knowledge Center
- Ask the Wizard
- Lunch & Wine Tasting (11th
Floor)
THE
PLIMSOLL
CLUB
9. SESSION OVERVIEWS
OPENING REMARKS
Resurgent New Orleans
Many successful innovations arise out of crises, which create remarkably fertile opportunities for reinvention. Post-
Katrina New Orleans is no exception. But unlike the legendary phoenix, which relies upon magical intervention, how
does rebirth of a living, breathing city take place? Join Chris Schultz, local New Orleans entrepreneur and angel investor,
for a colorful ride through the post-Katrina efforts to not only rebuild, but diversify and strengthen the New Orleans
business community and economy. We don’t call it the Silicon Bayou for nothing!
Opening Remarks
Panels and routers and aggregation - oh my! The online sample industry has undergone multiple waves of innovation
over the past decade. With the emergence of platforms and automated sample exchanges, the online sampling
landscape is undergoing yet another transformation. Patrick will kick off the conference by challenging today’s sample
norms and getting everyone into the SampleCon spirit – which is, of course, exchanging ideas, clearing a path for new
leadership and capitalizing on joint opportunities. As Sample proves itself as the primary driver of growth for the
Research Industry, it's finally time we have our own sample-only event. Welcome to SampleCon!
Routing: The Past, Today & Future
Chuck Miller is considered by most to be the godfather of online survey sample routing. Join him for a trip down
memory lane as he recalls the history of routers, explains sampling theory and methods for managing bias associated
with routing and touches on the current day work that is being conducted by the ARF to fully understand the
implications of routing. Chuck will also share his views on the current state of online sample and sample quality and
gaze into his crystal ball to see what the future holds for online sample.
MODULE 1: LEVERAGE YOUR EXCHANGE
Track 1: Leverage your Exchange
A History in Exchanges: What We Can Learn
The market research industry has a habit of lagging behind
the rest of the business world when applying technology to
solve common problems. A brief history on the evolution
of various exchange platforms in other industries will
demonstrate that we have, once again, fallen behind the
curve. A closer examination of the advertising industry will
demonstrate how technology helped solve the challenges
of the digital age and how our industry can follow suit.
APIs: What They Are and How They Work
Not another three letter tech acronym?!? Fear not!
Through this interactive demo, Jayme will help you
understand exactly what an API is, how it can provide real
value to you and your business and how it is already
changing our industry as we know it. Spoiler alert… API
stands for “application programming interface” and allows
“the machines” to talk to each other and work together
regardless of their source code.
Challenges & Opportunities Buying Sample via API
SampleCon provides a timely opportunity to begin
a dialogue as to what best practices and/or standards
companies should consider as they begin to think about
offering and buying from an on-demand API.
Track 2: Exchange Knowledge Center
Fulcrum Demo
Still not sure exactly what Fulcrum is, how it works and
what the full benefits are? Kathryn and Jeb will lead you
through a comprehensive, interactive demo of Fulcrum
focusing on the Field Management, Sample Optimizer,
and Exchange product suites from varying user
perspectives.
Fulcrum Tips & Tricks
Ever think that there must be a better way to do
something in Fulcrum? Odds are you’re right! This is
your chance to learn firsthand the tips and tricks that
our experts use to overcome the most common
everyday sampling challenges. Didn’t cover what you
wanted? Audience participation is encouraged. Bring
your toughest challenges and test our experts.
What Makes Up Fulcrum Exchange Traffic & How Do I
Control
Kathryn Isenmann of Federated Sample will discuss the
changing environment of the Fulcrum Exchange focusing
on the growth of automatic delivery, changes in the
supplier composition, and methods to best access and
control Exchange flows through Fulcrum’s product
suites. Following the initial discussion, we will open the
10. Holding the CPI Line
Fulcrum licensees create downward pressure on their
pricing by pre-screening participants and elevating client
side IRs. Precision Sample believes that client side
incidence rate increases are earned and has worked to
maintain pricing based on the true incidence of the
project. Through some trial and tribulation, we found that
with proper communication and process, it is possible to
implement best pre-screening practices and maintain
pricing based on the true incidence rate.
User's Experience Sharing Session
An open forum for all to discuss experiences working
within the system: what works well and where there have
been challenges. For the challenge areas, sharing of ideas
for workarounds as well as long term solutions for the
Federated development path for Fulcrum.
floor to discuss methods for optimizing results from
both the supplier and buyer perspectives. Please come
prepared to join the discussion, connect directly with
other Fulcrum partners, and share your
recommendations for future Exchange initiatives.
Bidding on Fulcrum
Get a sneak peak at Fulcrum’s new bidding tool
scheduled to be launched later this fall. See how easy it
will be to manage and track bids as well as buy and sell
sample directly on one centralized platform. Federated
Sample is implementing a solution that will significantly
impact the efficiency of your bidding process. We’ll
demo a host of new features which include providing
the tools for buyers and sellers to connect, to monitor
bid progress, and streamline the survey creation
process.
Best Practices for Training & Onboarding
How do the Fulcrum Experts onboard new Field
Managers? Participate in a discussion and presentation
of Federated Sample’s philosophy on training field
managers, the materials we use, and the timeline we
find works best. Discuss the best practices formed by
your company and tackle any challenges with help from
the group.
MODULE 2: SAMPLE TECHNOLOGY
Track 1: Sample Technology
Connecting the Dots on Multi-model Sampling: Phone to
On-demand APIs
How to reach your target sample on a budget requires a
multi-model approach. You can start out with an online
sample approach and as your study nears completion and
you are still short of completes, you can switch to a phone
sample approach and conclude your study. Traditionally,
phone sample is much more costly than online sample.
Having a good sample/quota control system will dictate
when it would be best to switch from online to phone.
Moving from phone to online sampling has been a trend
we’re seeing in the industry. Mostly this is driven by
economics. Allowing the project manager to compose,
program, and test the survey in one tool has been a
method of reducing cost for the project, by enabling the
project manager to purchase (on-demand) sample and
deploy the study in just one transaction has revolutionize
the time it take to field an online study.
Survey Says: The Latest Data on Routing
A brief presentation of key findings from the ARF’s
Foundations of Quality 2 research initiative involving over
75,000 completed online interviews obtained through a
Track 2: Exchange Knowledge Center
Reporting & Understanding What Matters Most
We will discuss the functionality as well as best practices
associated with the myriad of reports available in
Fulcrum. Learn how to easily track your entire sample
bought or sample sold at a micro or macro level with the
click of a button. Reconcile unacceptable completes
with ease. Need an incidence, data analysis or
respondent answer report? You’ll find it here.
Fulcrum Demand & Supply APIs
This session will focus on the integration process
associated with Fulcrum APIs as well as the workflow
improvements, increased revenue and cost savings
achieved. Feedback will be solicited in terms of ease of
integration and use, future reporting needs and the role
using standard qualifications plays in an API world.
Maximizing Respondent Experience & Preparing for
Mobile in Fulcrum
Peek into the world of accessibility and responsive
design to see how they impact the future of the
respondent experience. Responsive design and device
agnosticism is the new standard – we're implementing
11. wide variety of sample sources. In particular, we will take
a look at the findings related to sample sources (ie, panel
vs. real-time/river) and routing methodologies.
Getting Comfortable with Routing
Whether you are ready to go out and procure your
company’s first commercial router or you just learned that
your sample has been routing for years without realizing it,
your next step likely includes securing the blessing of your
research science department to move forward. Good
news, you are not the first to face this challenge. How have
other companies successfully navigated the need for speed
and savings while maintaining happy research scientists?
Our panel will share their trials and tribulations to help you
forge your path forward.
Where Is Mobile Headed?
In an ever-increasing mobile world, market researchers are
provided with an opportunity to engage consumers in new
and unique ways to capture insights "In the Moment".
How we engage respondents via their mobile devices
varies greatly based on the type of research and the
opportunity to engage with the consumer. As researchers
we “have” to adapt to this new mobile world, but we also
“want” to. In this presentation we will review the multiple
ways to launch a survey and where sample exchanges and
routers can play a part in properly sampling mobile survey
takers.
solutions that improve respondent accessibility,
usability, and routing across all devices, especially those
considered "mobile." We'll demo a variety of
experiences, from desktop to mobile, and from simple
questions to complex grid qualifications.
Gauging Feasibility in an Exchange
The Exchange increases sample delivery and reduces
costs in field, but presents new challenges in the pre-
field estimation stage. David Butler and Ted Pulsifer will
lead a discussion on how our Services Bureau estimates
the Exchange and demonstrate the tools and resources
available to Fulcrum users. The session is designed for
field directors, quotation managers, project managers
and others who would like to include the positive impact
of the Exchange on client proposals.
MODULE 3: OUR ECOSYSTEM
Challenges with B2B Sample: How Can We Fix It?
More than ever before, sample quality and reliability are among the biggest challenges and concerns for the research
industry- especially in the B2B space. As buyers, we deal with B2B sample challenges on a daily basis: low feasibility,
unreliable sources, trending issues, tanking IR, poor data quality, and more. Samplecon presents an opportunity for both
buyers and sellers of online sample to join a roundtable discussion to explore the challenges from both sides of the
supply chain, and determine how we can, as an industry, improve our ability to reach high-quality business respondents
around the globe.
The Impact of Data Quality on the Sample Ecosystem
The sample ecosystem is not unlike global warming in that our actions as market researchers can have a profound effect
on the market research environment as a whole. Whether you’re on the supply-side or the demand-side of online
sample, one thing is for sure… we’re all in this together. The way we manage sample today can have a lasting effect on
the future of online research and the quality of our work. On one hand, some clients take an “ignorance is bliss”
mentality and think everything is fine even though it’s not. On the other hand, many clients may be experiencing a crisis
of trust in the data and feel exposed to varying degrees of unnecessary risk and understand the need to take action.
Who are these survey respondents? Where did they come from? How are they behaving in my survey? What are they
doing with my confidential materials/concepts? Am I trading-off feasibility/quota fulfillment for premium quality
sample? How do our data quality techniques impact the sample ecosystem? Lets discuss opportunities to make the
right decisions today to improve our current state and preserve the future of our industry.
12. ATTENDEE LIST
Chris Andaya
Vision Critical
Toronto, ON
Carrie Angiolet
Illuminas
Austin, TX
Brook Baston
MyPoints.com
San Francisco, CA
Taylor Beery
Crescent Sample
New Orleans, LA
Rob Berger
Vision Critical
Toronto, ON
Mike Billingsley
Research Now
Plano, TX
Peter Bodenheimer
Flatstack
New Orleans, LA
Dyna Boen
Federated Sample
San Francisco, CA
Yaron Brenman
Ugam Solutions
New York, NY
BonnieBreslauer
Lightspeed Research
Warren, NJ
AmeliaCarry
Illuminas
Austin, TX
PatrickComer
Federated Sample
New Orleans, LA
Jose Correa
MarketView Research
Edgewater, NJ
Mitchell Dagley
The Link Group
Atlanta, GA
Janna de Bruijne
Points2Shop
Alpharetta, GA
Mathijs de Jong
Points2Shop
Alpharetta, GA
Jonathan Deitch
Ipsos
Columbia, MD
Tony Dent
Sample Answers
Surrey, UK
Joe Detuno
Prodégé
Los Angeles, CA
Matt Dohm
Lightspeed Research
Seattle, WA
Andy Ellis
Federated Sample
Denver, CO
Jeremy Engelin
Phoenix Marketing International
Rhinebeck, NY
Chris Fabber
GfK
New York, NY
Gene Filipi
Kinesis Survey Technologies
San Francisco, CA
Dan Fitzgerald
GMI
New York, NY
Clif Fleitas
uSamp
Los Angeles, CA
Brad Franz
Burke, Inc.
Cincinnati, OH
Calvin Friesth
Prodégé
Los Angeles, CA
Jeff Gerken
Research Panel Asia
Orange County, LA
Garrett Gil de Rubio
Points2Shop
Alpharetta, GA
Don Golden
Precision Sample
Denver, CO
Bert Goyne
Askia
San Francisco, CA
Michael Holmes
EMI Research Solutions
Cincinnati, OH
13. Steve Hopkins
Market Cube
McLean, VA
Rachel Jenkins
Precision Sample
Denver, CO
Corey Julseth
Harris Interactive Service Bureau
Rochester, NY
Tony Kretzmer
ISA
Van Nuys, CA
Julian Lewis
Clear Voice Research
Denver, CO
Jim Longo
Discuss.IO
New Orleans, LA
Lev Mazin
AYTM.com
San Francisco, CA
Michael McCrary
Federated Sample
New Orleans, LA
Lesley McCormick
Clear Voice Research
Denver, CO
James McNamara
Penn Schoen Berland
Washington, DC
Mark Menig
TrueSample
Seattle, WA
Jessica Metcalf
The Link Group
Atlanta, GA
Peter Milla
Cint
Centerport, NY
Chuck Miller
Digital Marketing & Measurement
Dallas, TX
Madhav Mirani
Ugam Solutions
New York, NY
Tariq Mirza
Kinesis Survey Technologies
London, UK
Mike Misel
Harris Interactive Service Bureau
Los Angeles, CA
Brin Moore
MyPoints.com
San Francisco, CA
Mendy Orimland
Prodégé
Los Angeles, CA
Jayme Plunkett
Decipher
Fresno, CA
Edan Portaro
uSamp
Los Angeles, CA
Cliff Przybyl
Market Cube
McLean, VA
Jacqueline Rosales
SoapBoxSample
Van Nuys, CA
Glen Saunders
WebMD
New York, NY
Brett Schnittlich
Federated Sample
New Orleans, LA
Chris Schultz
Launch Pad
New Orleans, LA
Nicole Schumann
Prodégé
Los Angeles, CA
Kristine Sinisi
Lightspeed Research
Warren, NJ
Jason Thomas
Decision Analyst
Arlington, TX
Leslie Townsend
Kinesis Survey Technologies
Austin, TX
Lori Tripphahn
Harris Interactive Service Bureau
Rochester, NY
Aaron Walton
EMI Research Solutions
Cincinnati, OH
Leah Wang
WebMD
New York, NY
Mauricia Wills
Decision Analyst
Arlington, TX
Jake Wolff
Cint
Princeton, NJ
Danny Wong
CfMC
San Francisco, CA
14. SAMPLECON 2013 SPONSORS
SampleCon would like to thank all of our sponsors for making
the first annual conference possible.
Benefit Admin Group
Lunch Sponsor
Benefit Administration Group is an experienced and innovative team of Employee Benefits, Individual Insurance and HR
Support Services consultants. We assist employer clients Analyze, Design, Communicate and Deliver comprehensive
employee benefit plans integrated with the technology to supports them.
Decipher
Wi-Fi Sponsor
A marketing research services provider, Decipher specializes in online survey programming, sampling, data collection and
data reporting. Utilizing proprietary Web-based applications, Decipher integrates state-of-the-art technology with
traditional research techniques. Decipher is all about uncovering opportunities in whatever territory is explored with
clients. As a true partner, Decipher isn’t interested in just data, but also about what that data represents for each client.
The company focuses on technology and research systems that bring data to life, and in doing so, helps reveal how even
seemingly small discoveries can yield meaningful insights. www.decipherinc.com
Federated Sample
Pub Crawl + Lunch Sponsor
Federated Sample is a technology firm based in New Orleans that focuses on bringing efficiency and automation to online
sampling. Federated Sample created Fulcrum, a sample management platform with the world’s first and only sample
exchange. With cutting edge sample management tools and sophisticated routing technology, Fulcrum connects sample
buyers and sellers to more quickly and effectively achieve high quality results. Hundreds of firms transact on the exchange
every day. Do you?
Harris Interactive Service Bureau
Wine Tasting Sponsor
Harris Interactive Service Bureau (HISB) is a market research firm for market research firms. We specialize in providing
high-quality sample and survey solutions with a focus on consultation. When you partner with HISB you not only get high-
quality sample, but cutting-edge online programming, survey design recommendations, industry leading methodologies
and tools, and seamless project management for both domestic and global research. We bring a wealth of experience in
online, phone, and mixed-mode data collection. Additionally we offer programming, hosting, data processing, and
reporting services. With nearly 50 years of research, sampling and panel expertise, HISB is your true partner in research
success.
15. Market Cube
Pub Crawl Sponsor
Market Cube is an online sample and research operations company dedicated to helping our clients look good and
maximize their ROI. We own and operate proprietary panels with over one million members worldwide. We also have
access to millions more respondents through our large network of panel, publisher, and social media partners. Market
Cube prides itself on providing high-touch service with rapid response times and a can-do attitude. This, along with our
deep industry experience and competitive pricing, is what helps us offer our clients a truly different experience.
MyPoints
Lunch Sponsor
MyPoints is a rewards program that delivers. To you, our partners and clients, we deliver quality returns on your
investment, unmatched targeting capabilities, and the Internet's most responsive consumer database: over 9 million
emailable members. To our members, we deliver a long-term relationship, reliable customer service, and high-quality
offers. Our dependable, loyal customer base expects to hear about great offers from you. We can target our base using
data points and lead-gen offers, so that the only people who see your offer are the ones most likely to respond.
Prodege
Pub Crawl Sponsor
Prodege LLC is the web's leading people powered influence network. Offering a full vertical consumer influence solution,
Prodege LLC and its flagship web property, Swagbucks.com, connect brands with consumers to produce unprecedented
engagement and sentiment sharing. In 2011, 2012 & 2013 Prodege was included on the Inc 500|5000 fastest growing
company list, in 2011 & 2012 named the #3 & #7 fastest growing private company in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles
Business Journal, and listed by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the best places to work in Southern California.
True Sample
Wine Tasting Sponsor
TrueSample is the industry’s only fully multi-dimensional data quality solution—effectively screening out fake, duplicate,
unengaged and unqualified survey respondents while also identifying survey design problems. TrueSample eliminates the
need for manual data cleaning and validation, which is both expensive and highly subjective. TrueSample works on any
survey platform and with any sample source, so researchers both within end-client organizations and research firms can
depend on consistent and reliable results. TrueSample is running on tens of millions of survey responses every year to
reduce the risk of making a poor decision. Is your business protected yet?
Ugam Solutions
Pub Crawl Sponsor
Ugam Solutions is a research and analytics firm providing cutting edge solutions to global retailers, brands and insights-
based consultancies that improves their business performance. 12 of the Honomichl Top 25 MR firms, are benefitting from
these solutions that uniquely combine the best of domain consulting, analytics expertise, and a proprietary state-of-the-art
big data technology platform.
16. SPEAKERS
*Listed in alphabetical order by first name
Alex Leger
Federated Sample
Director, Technical Services
Alex has seven years of experience with
start-ups, with four years experience in
the market research industry. At
Federated Sample, Alex is the Director of Technical
Services. The technical services team is responsible for
integrations, technical support, documentation and
other technical requests related to Fulcrum. Alex began
his career at Trading Places, a privately held tour
operator with revenue of $6MM, where he held the
title of Director of Operations. His responsibilities
included vendor relations, accounting, technology, and
training. During his time there, Alex helped to double
Trading Places's number of employees and revenue.
Alex received his BA from Boston College and his MBA
from Tulane.
Brett Schnittlich
Federated Sample
CTO & EVP
Brett recently joined Federated
Sample from his post as CTO of
Lieberman Research Worldwide, a
global market research firm. Brett has over two
decades of experience as an entrepreneur, investor,
and executive. In 1990, Brett founded Ibis Software, an
innovative healthcare data collection company which
sold to Grey advertising in 1998. Brett joined Grey as
EVP and Managing Director. He brokered the sale of the
Ibis assets to Pharmacentric, rebranding the company
as eTrials, prior to joining Torre Lazur/McCann
Healthcare as CTO in 2000. In 2001 Brett and his
partners were approached by Omnicom to reinvigorate
medical marketing agency Harrison Wilson &
Associates. The company was rebranded as Hyphen. At
Hyphen, where he served as CTO Managing Partner,
Brett created targeted software products for the life
sciences market. Brett and his partners took Hyphen
from a $2M loss when he joined in 2001 to over $2M in
profits in less than three years. Brett saw market
research as an industry ripe for similar innovation and
reinvention, and in 2004 joined OTX as CTO. He
introduced software tools which brought the speed and
efficiency of technology to a historically non-
technological business. Among the innovations which
Brett brought to OTX were the rollout and
implementation of the SPSS Dimensions platform as
well as client-facing reporting applications and portals.
Brett also introduced a large-scale business process
management (BPM) system. With these and other tools,
OTX was able to cut its operations team by half while
increasing both productivity and accuracy, during a
period where revenues more than doubled and EBITDA
quintupled.
Brook Bissinger
Federated Sample
Director, Operations
A New Orleans native with 10 years of
experience in Technology, Marketing, and Non-Profit,
Brook brings a diverse background to Federated
Sample. Brook joined Federated Sample in January of
2011 and is currently the Director of Operations and the
Account Manager for the Central and West
regions. Prior to Federated Sample Brook received an
MBA from Tulane University’s Freeman School of
Business.
Carrie Angiolet
Illuminas
Senior Vice President
Carrie has been developing custom
research projects at Illuminas since 1999,
which have helped position Illuminas as
one of the industry’s most esteemed providers of
thoughtful business solutions. She has nearly 20 years
of experience in market research, and has created and
managed global programs for some of the world’s most
successful brands, including Apple, Cisco, HBO, HP, Red
Hat, Oracle and Warner Brothers. Carrie has been a
market research instructor for the University of Texas’s
Continuing Education Center, a lecturer at the
McComb’s School of Business at UT Austin, and has
presented at various conferences including AMA, TMRE
and ARF.
Chris Fabber
GfK
Senior Vice President,
Panel Operations
Chris Fabber is Senior Vice President,
Panel Operations, Gfk Consumer Experiences North
America. As leader of the company’s Panel Operations
team, Fabber has responsibility for its US panel assets,
including KnowledgePanel®, KnowledgePanel Latino™,
17. Cada Cabeza, Consumer Opt-in (AskGfk.com), and PCN®
(healthcare professionals), as well as custom panel
support functions. Chris is a tenured market research
professional with a proven track record and deep
experience in panel management and sampling. Fabber
brings over 20 years of panel management, survey and
technology experience to GfK, most recently serving as
President, Panel Direct Online, a division of Focus
Forward. He also spent five years at InsightExpress,
where he was Senior Vice President of Operations,
responsible for panels, client service and survey
programming. Prior to this, Fabber has been Vice
President, Panel Development, at TNS-NFO, overseeing
global panel operations, including panel technology,
research, management and operations. He has also
served as Vice President and Director of Client Services
& Operations for The NPD Group.
Chris Schultz
Launch Pad
Entrepreneur & Angel Investor
Chris is a tech entrepreneur living
in New Orleans and San Francisco.
He has launched several Internet companies and writes
about entrepreneurship at ChrisSchultz.net. Chris
founded Voodoo Ventures as a platform to invest in
companies and build his own products. In 2009, he co-
founded Launch Pad, a community that provides
workspace, mentor network, and educational events to
develop the talent in the New Orleans ecosystem. In
2005 Chris co-founded Flatstack, a software
development company with offices in Kazan, Russia and
New Orleans that builds applications for clients
worldwide. Chris’s angel investments through Voodoo
Ventures are in Federated Sample, a market research
technology firm, and Neighborland, a platform for civic
engagement in communities. Through Launch Pad Chris
has also invested in 23 seed-stage startups through his
accelerator program. Chris actively mentors young
entrepreneurs in New Orleans and is passionate about
connecting the startup ecosystem in New Orleans to
global networks in Silicon Valley and New York. Chris
received an MBA from the Marshall School of Business
at the University of Southern California in 2002, and a
Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of Virginia in 1996. Chris loves being
on two wheels. He is currently carless in New Orleans,
rides his bike every day and has a passion for
motorcycles and taking cross-country road trips during
the summer.
Chuck Miller
Digital Marketing & Measurement
President
Chuck Miller is President of Digital
Marketing & Measurement, LLC (DM2),
an agency focused on communications
and measurement in emerging media.
During his 20+ years in marketing research Chuck and
his teams have built significant capabilities in both
provider and end client organizations. Chuck’s passions
are “all things digital” and “data synthesis and
interpretation” having spent the majority of his career
as a VP at AOL and Time Warner leading Consumer
Insights and Business Intelligence functions. As a
recognized thought-leader in marketing research, Chuck
frequently publishes, speaks at conferences, and leads
many industry initiatives.
Danny Wong
CfMC
CTO
Danny Wong joined CfMC over 30 years
ago as part of CfMC’s research and
development team and among other
advancements, was largely responsible
for development of Survent™. Survent is a data
collection and sample management system that
continues to serve as the foundation for the data
collection function in the marketing research and
opinion polling industries.This technology has enabled
leading research organizations to identify, target, and
define research subjects with granularity and precision.
Organizations benefiting from this technology include
Maritz Research, The Gallup Organization, Market
Strategies International, IRI, ICF International, GfK and
many others. In recent years, Danny has served as the
company’s Chief Financial Officer and President & CEO.
Under his leadership, CfMC released the first integrated
predictive dialer for use with CfMC software. Today, as
Chief Technology Officer, he is actively involved in
determining and defining the next generation of tools
for market research and opinion polling. Danny holds a
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the
University of California, Berkeley.
David Butler
Federated Sample
Director
David joined Federated Sample in
January, 2011 and is responsible for
business development in the Central and
West regions. He also manages Federated’s feasibility
18. team in the Services group, and works with the product
team on Bid Tool development. Prior to joining
Federated Sample, David consulted institutions on
hedge fund portfolio strategy in a different city on a
swamp, Washington DC. Leaving the relative calm of
2007-2010 financial scene, David decamped to New
Orleans where he found the delightfully turbulent world
of market research and sampling technology.
Don Golden
Precision Sample
President & Founder
Don Golden is the Founder and
President of Precision Sample. An 11
year online sample veteran, Don specializes in building,
attracting participants to and maintaining online and
mobile panels. Since 2002 he has built multiple high
performing panels and recruited tens-of-millions of
members to them with innovative online, social and
mobile marketing techniques and creative deal-making.
Prior to founding Precision Sample, Don founded Clear
Voice Research and served as the business development
and panel acquisition lead for goZing Research which
was acquired by Greenfield Online. He holds a BA in
Economics from Rollins College. In his spare-time, he
enjoys playing memory games, coloring and building
sand castles with his daughter, racing motocross,
waterskiing and wakeboarding.
Dyna Boen
Federated Sample
Vice President
As one of the early members of the
MarketTools leadership team, Dyna
is an entrepreneurial leader in the
market research technology space. During her career
she has worked closely with clients like General Mills,
Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft. Dyna
knows online sample well. As one of the founding
members of TrueSample, responsible for product
evangelism and VP of Business Development. She has
also lead Sample Operations and Zoomerang Sample
Sales, all acquired by Survey Monkey in early 2012.
Dyna is passionate about leveraging technology
solutions to drive higher data quality for research. She
believes technology can bring greater efficiency to the
complicated and inefficient world of online sampling.
She knows innovation can dramatically improve the
respondent experience, while meeting the demand of
survey quotas for clients, and margin management for
researcher companies.
Edan Portaro
uSamp
SVP, Global Business
Development
A seasoned leader with over 20
years of experience in sales and business
development, Edan came to uSamp after spending
several years as a consultant focused on the
development of sales channels and go-to-market
strategies for a variety of small-to-medium, VC
funded, and early stage companies.
Prior to consulting, he worked as SVP of Sales
atYellowPages.com where he was recognized for
his role in retooling the existing sales channels and
positioning teams for future growth.
Jason Thomas
Decision Analyst
Chief Control Officer
Jason Thomas is the Chief Control
Officer at Decision Analyst, a full-
service marketing research company
located in Arlington Texas, which is celebrating its 35th
anniversary in 2013. Jason has over 25 years of
experience in the industry, focusing on mail panels in
the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1996 he moved the
mail panel, American Consumer Opinion, online and
that launched the venture into the online panel realm
as one of the earliest companies with an online panel.
Over the years he has created and managed several B2B
panels for Decision Analyst, including technology,
executive, medical, physician and contractor panels.
Decision Analyst’s panels contain over 8 million
members across the word in 250+ countries and in 13
languages. In addition to building and managing panels
for Decision Analyst, he has built dozens of custom
panels for clients over the years, including Blue Cross
Blue Shield, Southern California Edison, Brown-Forman,
Goodyear, Verizon and several other fortune 1000
corporations.
Jayme Plunkett
Decipher
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
As co-Founder and co-CEO of Decipher,
Jayme Plunkett focuses on developing
new and innovative methods and
processes to build efficiencies in the
market research industry. Before Decipher's
conception, Plunkett successfully helped lead MACRO
Consulting for four years as Vice President of Applied
19. Research Methods. Plunkett's comprehensive applied
statistical skills and analytical experience served him
well as a senior research analyst. He was responsible for
implementing multivariate techniques and analysis as
well as developing research methods and practices.
While at MACRO Consulting, Plunkett worked with a
number of clients including WebTV, Microsoft and
Pepsi. Plunkett's responsibilities at Decipher extend to
head of development where he utilizes his 17 years of
extensive strategic, analytical and technical experience.
Decipher has experienced astounding year-over-year
growth since its inception and currently employs
approximately 150 full-time employees in the United
States. Plunkett earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in
Economics, with an emphasis in Applied Economics,
from Stanford University.
Jeb Hunsinger
Federated Sample
Executive Director
Jeb has 8 years of experience in product
delivery and organizational technology
adoption, with the past three at
Federated Sample. Before managing Federated
Sample’s East division as the Executive Director of
Operations, Jeb was a Senior Principal at eLoyalty
Corporation (now Mattersight). At eLoyalty, Jeb led the
Deployments team within the Behavioral Analytics ™
division, responsible for the delivery of client specific
web-based portals analyzing customer/client
interactions. Jeb oversaw the release of this technology
to multiple Fortune 100 companies across the finance,
consumer credit, airline, insurance, and healthcare
industries. Jeb has his M.A. in Applied Economics from
the University of Michigan, and a B.S. from Tulane
University.
Jeremy Engelin
Phoenix Marketing International
Director, Strategic Sourcing
Jeremy Engelin is the Director of
Strategic Sourcing at Phoenix
Marketing International, one of the
fastest growing marketing research
firms based in the United States. PMI provides market
research solutions to a number of vertical markets
utilizing custom approaches, syndicated platforms, and
targeted products that are data and model driven.
Jeremy has over thirteen years’ experience in supply
chain management, business process outsourcing and
organizational change leadership in the Market
Research, Financial Services and Information
Technology Industries. He has a proven track record of
analyzing, improving, and transforming organizational
procurement processes and delivering sustainable cost
savings while improving procurement efficiency and
quality. Prior to joining Phoenix, Jeremy spent
extensive time in India developing vendor relationships,
implementing new business processes, and
performance auditing for AllianceBernstein, LP. Jeremy
is a graduate (Cum Laude) of SUNY Oswego School of
Business.
Jim Longo
Discuss.IO
Co-Founder
Jim brings 26 years of domain
expertise in the market research
industry. He was instrumental in
building the first global online qualitative research
practice at Harris Interactive where they conducted
more than one thousand online groups in the first three
years of its existence. While at itracks, he consulted
with brands and research agencies around the world on
how to have insightful online conversations. Jim is a
thought leader with regards to online behavior and
technology, often speaking at industry conferences and
events. Jim formerly served as a Director at Large for
the Marketing Research Association (MRA) and was
Chairman for the MRA Trends and Technology
Committee. He took the lead with the Social Media
Taskforce, a group of industry professionals that
documented standard questions clients should ask
when choosing a vendor who uses social networks for
research. Jim is also a member the Qualitative Research
Consultants Association (QRCA).
Kathryn Isenmann
Federated Sample
Director
Kathryn Isenmann is a Director of
Federated Sample and has been with
the company since August 2010. In her
current role, she oversees the
onboarding and growth of supply partners within the
Fulcrum Exchange and strategic client relationships. Her
unique role provides insight to market research industry
trends and the impact of new technologies on
workflows and processes. When not in the office,
Kathryn enjoys exploring New Orleans and volunteering
with local arts organizations.
20. Leslie Townsend
Kinesis Survey Technologies
President & Founder
Leslie Townsend is CEO and Co-founder
of Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC.
Kinesis was founded in 2003 to address
the demand for mobile applications within the market
research space, beginning with the first cameraphone
ethnographies. Since then, Kinesis has developed a full
device-agnostic research platform providing survey,
panel, and community solutions. Prior to founding
Kinesis, Leslie worked in North American sales for one
of the first “app” developers in the pre-smartphone era,
Codetoys. Its games, such as “Who Wants to Be a
Millionnaire?” were among first global gaming brands.
Leslie also founded Marketfinders, which provided a
wide range of research solutions to the telecom and
mobile industry.
Lev Mazin
AYTM.com
CEO & Co-Founder
Lev is the CEO and Сo-founder of Ask
Your Target Market, AYTM.com, one of
the leading innovators in online Market
Research. AYTM survey tool with built-
in 20MM+ worldwide panel helps brands and agencies
gain insights from their precise target markets while
enjoying an amazing turnaround with the highest
quality of data and superb client experience. In his 15
years professional marketing/market research career,
Lev worked with many fortune 500 companies,
consulted on national campaigns and product launches,
built web applications UI's for companies such as
Oracle, designed marketing materials for Tiffany & Co,
Maserati, Harry Winston, Whole Foods Market etc.
Lori Tripphahn
Harris Interactive Service Bureau
Vice President, Panel Management
& Supply
Lori has worked in the market research
industry for over 10 years and was
instrumental in Harris Interactive’s implementation of
the Fulcrum system within their day to day supply
management functions. She oversees the supply
planning and sourcing for all online data collection at
Harris as well as supply delivery to clients via Harris’s
sample only offering.
Lucy Warburton
Federated Sample
Senior Product Manager
Lucy Warburton is a senior product
manager at Federated Sample and
loves using technology to develop
innovative solutions that drive
efficiency, productivity, and automation in market
research sampling. With a passion for user experience,
Lucy brings with her skills in process management,
conceptual modeling, and requirements & design
documentation. Lucy graduated from Syracuse
University with an MS in Information Management and
has a BS in Civil Engineering from Tulane University.
Mark Menig
TrueSample
Director
Mark Menig brings nearly a decade of
online research experience at both
panel and research firms to his role at
TrueSample where he is responsible for all aspects of
the business. He works directly with clients to
understand their online data quality needs/
requirements and coordinates with the rest of the
TrueSample Team to build appropriate technology
products/strategies to successfully deliver against each
clients’ objectives. Mark graduated from the University
of Washington with a double major in Marketing and
Corporate Entrepreneurship and added a Certificate in
Contract Management from the University of
Washington Extension School.
Matt Shwery
Federated Sample
Front-end Developer
Matt is a designer and developer of
digital products. He focuses on making
complex things simpler, and rich
applications more digestible. Matt
continues to refine his skills and loves to learn about
emerging technologies. He joined the Federated Sample
team at the beginning of 2013, previously developing
VoteIt (a consensus-driven voting platform) and a
myriad of other web startup products, including his own
MinimaList. With a thorough understanding of both the
product design and code implementation sides of
creating an application, Matt brings his unique breadth
of knowledge to grow and evolve the family of products
at Federated Sample.
21. Michael McCrary
Federated Sample
President
Michael has over fifteen years of
experience in marketing, advertising,
and research. In 2003, he joined
Greenfield Online and played a
significant role in the growth of the company into the
leading online data collection provider. After
Greenfield’s successful public offering in 2004 (Nasdaq:
SRVY) Michael moved from Greenfield’s Wilton
Connecticut headquarters to California to run the west
coast division out of Encino. When Michael departed
Greenfield in 2009, after the sale of the business to
Microsoft for $486 million, he was the company’s SVP
responsible for North America sales and marketing with
a team of 30 sales professionals and a total revenue
budget of $65 million. Michael served as the Managing
Director for Cint AB after over the past year where he
built a solid sales, marketing, and operational strategy.
Michael also served on the firm’s management team
and technology steering committee. In October 2010,
Cint licensed Federated Sample’s Fulcrum platform
which brought tremendous efficiency and operational
power and helped grow Cint’s presence in North
America and Europe. Michael is passionate about
technology and knows first hand the positive impact
that Federated’s products can deliver to the market
research industry. When Michael is not working he
enjoys spending time with his wife and two children,
playing golf, mountain bike riding, jogging, and an
occasional hand of Texas hold’m. Michael graduated
with a B.S. from the Belk College of Business at UNCC
with a concentration in Marketing.
Michael Velez
Federated Sample
Senior Software Engineer
Michael Velez is a senior software
engineer at Federated Sample who has
been pivotal to the development of APIs,
Bid Tool, and to back end performance improvements
that accompany the improvements to respondents’
router experience and set the stage for exciting new
capabilities. His expertise is in building high
performance systems and working closely with
everyone on the team to remove all technical
roadblocks to the continued explosive growth of the
Fulcrum Exchange. Michael has a Bachelors of Science
in Computer Science as well as a Masters of Business
Administration from the University of New Orleans. He
has worked at Federated Sample for a year and a half of
his almost ten year career in software.
Mike Billingsley
Research Now
Vice President,
Business Development
Mike Billingsley serves as Vice
President of Business Development for
Research Now Mobile. Mike joined Research Now in
January 2012, focused on innovative products such as
online communities and mobile. He brings with him 20
years of experience working in online market research
in various senior sales and operations roles. Mike views
the integration of mobile data collection with market
research as a way to interact with consumers in an
exciting and unique way that will alter our approach to
conducting research now and in the future.
Patrick Comer
Federated Sample
CEO
Patrick has ten years of experience
with start-ups as a founder, investor,
and executive with seven years
experience in the market research
industry. In 2005, he joined OTX
Research to improve sample acquisition and routing
technology adding $1-2MM in EBITDA annually. In 2006,
he started the Sample Services group at OTX which
grew to $4MM in revenue in 2007. In 2008, he merged
the group with the programming and hosting unit, RSX,
and doubled the combined revenues to $15MM (25% of
total OTX revenue). Ipsos announced its acquisition of
OTX in January, 2010 for $71MM. Previously, Patrick
was the founder and Vice President for Operations of
Sample Czar, an online sample broker, where he built
the core technology and established the initial sales
pipeline. In 2003, Patrick joined IFILM and founded the
surveys group, doubling their revenue and creating new
vendor relationships. Patrick got his entrepreneurial
start in the halcyon days of dot-com. He was Chief of
Staff of govWorks, an e-government startup, which
raised $65MM in the US. govWorks is also known for
the documentary of its rise and fall, “Start-up.com,” in
which Patrick has a few key scenes. Patrick has his MBA
from Columbia Business School and his BA from
Sewanee: The University of the South.
22. Rob Berger
Vision Critical
Managing Director, Market Panels
Rob leads the Global Market Panel
division at Vision Critical overseeing
sales, recruitment and distribution of VC’s panels in
Canada, US, UK and partner panels through our
Springboard Network to Sparq clients, End Clients and
Agencies around the world. With 20 years working in
offline/online data collection and leading sales efforts
for both access and community panels he has worked
with hundreds of MR firms and end clients around the
world.
Steve Hopkins
Market Cube
Principal
Steve Hopkins is a principal at Market
Cube, an online sample and research
operations company with offices in
Northern Virginia and New Delhi.
Steve works within the Market Cube team to set the
goals for the company’s general and technological
development while assuring the company delivers value
for its clients. Prior to Market Cube, Steve was a co‐
founder and principal of Edge Research, a full‐service
custom research firm where his focus was on survey
research design and data analysis. Steve has extensive
formal training in quantitative research methodology,
and is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where
he received a BA in Political Science and an MA in
Quantitative Political Analysis.
Ted Pulsifer
Federated Sample
Executive Director
Ted joined Federated Sample in 2011
and is responsible for business and
client development for the Eastern
Region. He has over 14 years of sales
experience with an emphasis on rapid customer growth
and account management in the technology arena.
Prior to joining Federated Sample, Ted came from
Peanut Labs/Research Now, selling and promoting
cutting edge research techniques that emphasize new
and improving technology. Before entering the market
research industry, he worked for two Dow 30
companies, AOL/Time Warner and GE in a
management, sales and technical capacity.
Vignesh Krishnan
Federated Sample
Director, Product Development
Vignesh Krishnan is the Director of
Product Development at Federated
Sample. He works with all applications
of the Fed Sample application suite, and
helps build the company's long term product vision.
Vignesh completed an MBA at Tulane University, New
Orleans and joined Federated Sample in 2010. Since
joining FED, Vignesh has defined the overall product
development process and S/W project management
cycle, and has defined the company’s short and long
term applications. He has also previously worked as a
programmer at Dell‐Perot Systems where he gained
experience working with large B2B products.
Walton Comer
Federated Sample
Co‐Founder, Investor &
Board Member
Walton Comer has a trading and
finance background. He is a
cofounder of Falcon Bridge Partners, a high frequency
and commodities trading firm. Walton cut his hedge
fund teeth as a VP of Risk at SAC Capital. Previously he
was the Head of Research at Thornhill Partners, a M&A
and strategic consulting boutique serving media and
telecom companies. A little known fact is that he
started his career as a toy designer after graduating
from Columbia University; where he holds a masters of
mathematical finance. He also holds undergraduate
degrees in physics, math and engineering.