Back in March 2020, we started discussing with our constant client conducting an in-hall test of soft drinks. The primary purpose was to test the tastes and properties of the drinks with existing and updated formulation to assess the potential for a market launch of a refreshed soft drink. The project involved tight timing for the very test stage – the second decade of April 2020. The emergency was not declared yet at that moment, but we had a feeling that the respondents became all less and less accessible for a personal interview. Then we started thinking about possible variants in the case the emergency was declared, and quarantine introduced.

Since it has actually happened, our wish to modify our procedures just strengthened. From the first day of the quarantine, we have already been working remotely in terms of conducting telephone surveys (you can read about this here: https://clck.ru/Mq9Fu ). It only gave us confidence that anything was possible, and we might propose a product with a known methodology in a refreshed format! Here, we should emphasize the interest, involvement, and desire to help us on the part of our client. We are immensely grateful to him for his trust and challenge that led to a fruitful result for both parties, Group brainstorming helped us analyze all the possible subtleties of the methodology that we planned to translate into an online format, as well as to identify potential difficulties and draw up a detailed work plan. The most struggling issue was ensuring personal safety and compliance with the recommended sanitary measures by all project participants (ACT employees and respondents). The following stages were implemented, keeping in mind the safety and compliance aspects.

Preparation of guidance materials:

• In-hall test questionnaire;
• Recruiting of respondents;
• Screener for the recruiter;
• Detailed instructions to the questionnaire;
• Detailed instructions to the remote interview procedure;
• Detailed instructions for the preparation of samples during quarantine;
• Instruction for respondents on using sample bags;
• Instruction for safe delivery of samples to respondents;

Details about recruiting of respondents:

• Snowball method;
• Mandatory pre-screening;
• Development of sample delivery logistics: grouping the respondents by city districts;
• Compliance with the principle of equal coverage of city districts;
• Development of scheme for communication with respondents on product delivery and conducting the survey;

Online-purchase/delivery of products for conducting the in-hall test:

• Test products, containers for bottling drinks, bags for packaging, masks, gloves were purchased using online delivery service;
• Contact-less delivery/delivery using personal protection equipment;

Technical support:

• Data collection using tablets (CAPI)
• Using STG software
• Interviewing the respondents using one of the video-options: WhatsApp/Skype/Zoom

The sample size was 100 respondents. The data was collected on April 10-13, 2020. The obtained experience of conducting an in-hall test during quarantine allowed us to improve and hone all the workflows necessary to conduct this kind of research. We will be glad to assist you in doing marketing research during quarantine, as well as any other time!