Case Study:

How Pollfish survey data helps Lingokids expand globally

A children’s learning app developer with global reach

Pollfish’s customer success team is the best I’ve ever worked with, by far~ Sara Mateos-Aparicio, Communications Manager at Lingokids

Challenges:

  • Developing brand awareness locally and internationally
  •  Generating data and stories for press releases that speak to their target market
  •  High cost and limitations of traditional market research models

Solutions:

Pollfish’s self-service platform:

  • Reasonably priced
  • Guarantees completed surveys in virtually any target market around the world
  • Random Device Engagement brings market research into the digital age

Over 100 stories in tier 1, 2, and
3 media

Ability to measure brand awareness pre- and post- media campaigns

Over 800 surveys completed in 24 hours

Gathering critical data on the competition in other countries

Gaining actionable insights into other cultures

You can make assumptions about your market, but they’re just assumptions. With Pollfish, you can confirm those assumptions and they become data.

~ Sara Mateos-Aparicio, Communications Manager at Lingokids

In 2016, Lingokids launched its learning app for young children and their parents. Based in Spain, the company now boasts over 25 million downloads worldwide. Lingokids’ signature PlaylearningTM activities help kids learn everything from English language to STEM by engaging children in play, their natural way of learning.

While the company has experienced tremendous success for a start-up, it wasn’t always so easy. Lingokids had limited success with in-home and out-of-home media campaigns, so they set their sights on developing a focused press release campaign to grow brand awareness. To do so, they needed to generate stories that drew on data. The right data would generate media attention and simultaneously allow them to create stories that would address the needs and interests of their target market with precision.

For a start-up, though, hiring a full- service market research firm was out of the question. “Traditional market research can get quite expensive,”
said Michael Martocci, market research account manager at Pollfish.said

Michael Martocci, market research account manager at Pollfish. “Over the last 10 years there’s been a lot of companies like Lingokids taking things in-house and empowering themselves to do research. The traditional model cried out for a more agile and affordable research platform. That’s where Pollfish comes into the ecosystem.”

Pollfish brings market research into the digital age,

Not only is traditional market research expensive, it’s also stuck in the past. While there are many self-service survey platforms available, they continue to hobble on the crutch of the traditional market research model: panels, or “professional survey takers,” as Mr. Martocci likes to say. Relying on a panel of survey takers creates a number of obstacles on the road to producing quality market intelligence. For example:

  •  Panel fatigue (panelists filling out surveys by rotei);
  •  Panel conditioning (panelists frequently surveyed on specific topics develop sophisticated opinions about those topics, so no longer represent the general populationii);
  •  “Non-organic” environments (if panelists take surveys on a survey website, for example, this takes them out of their natural (read “organic”) environment and risks inaccuracyiii).

With its development of Random Device Engagement (RDE), Pollfish has developed a new standard for self-service market research.

“Pollfish is leveraging the power of mobile devices,” said Mr. Martocci. “Instead of going to a panel, we reach real consumers in real-time on the devices they use every day.” How do they do it? Pollfish partners with over 120,000 app developers worldwide to create a global network of over half a billion potential respondents.
In fact, with numbers like that and Pollfish’s screening capability you can easily target virtually every demographic group with precision. And, Pollfish guarantees all completed surveys will fit 100% of your targeting criteria.

What’s great about Pollfish is that people take surveys inside apps they use every day.
~ Mr. Martocci

This native integration allows people to seamlessly respond to surveys within their natural environments. All these factors combine to make Pollfish the leading market research innovator in the digital age.

Helping Lingokids succeed locally and globally:“I’ve seen amazing results”

In 2019, Lingokids started launching Pollfish surveys in Spain to generate data and stories for press releases. “Stories with data work really well. For example, we launched a survey that asked parents ‘Who are your children’s idols?’

It turned out that it wasn’t singers, actors, or influencers—their parents were number one. So that was a great headline and was picked up a lot. With coverage like that our brand awareness has grown exponentially. In Spain, over 50% of people in our target market know about Lingokids,” said Ms. Mateos-Aparicio.

But Lingokids’ success is not limited to Spain. “I’ve seen amazing results. If I put together all the press releases based on Pollfish data, not only in Spain, but in the US, Mexico, and other countries, I would say we’ve gotten over a hundred stories in tier 1, 2, and 3 media. That’s pretty good for a start-up.”

As a Spanish company, however, understanding the US market has posed several challenges. But survey data from Pollfish has paid off. “Lingokids is a data driven company,” said Ms. Mateos-Aparicio, and they have strategically used their survey data in several ways.

For example, when Lingokids ran media campaigns in California and New York, survey data helped them measure impact pre- and post-campaign. In this context, turnaround time is important. Looking into Lingokids’ survey results, Mr. Martocci said, “Those surveys turned around in three to four days, but Lingokids has also had 800 survey responses in as little as 24 hours. It depends on the market and how granular the targeting is.”

What’s great about Pollfish is that people take surveys inside apps they use every day.
~ Mr. Martocci

This native integration allows people to seamlessly respond to surveys within their natural environments. All these factors combine to make Pollfish the leading market research innovator in the digital age.

Helping Lingokids succeed locally and globally:“I’ve seen amazing results”

In 2019, Lingokids started launching Pollfish surveys in Spain to generate data and stories for press releases. “Stories with data work really well. For example, we launched a survey that asked parents ‘Who are your children’s idols?’

It turned out that it wasn’t singers, actors, or influencers—their parents were number one. So that was a great headline and was picked up a lot. With coverage like that our brand awareness has grown exponentially. In Spain, over 50% of people in our target market know about Lingokids,” said Ms. Mateos-Aparicio.

But Lingokids’ success is not limited to Spain. “I’ve seen amazing results. If I put together all the press releases based on Pollfish data, not only in Spain, but in the US, Mexico, and other countries, I would say we’ve gotten over a hundred stories in tier 1, 2, and 3 media. That’s pretty good for a start-up.”

As a Spanish company, however, understanding the US market has posed several challenges. But survey data from Pollfish has paid off. “Lingokids is a data driven company,” said Ms. Mateos-Aparicio, and they have strategically used their survey data in several ways.

For example, when Lingokids ran media campaigns in California and New York, survey data helped them measure impact pre- and post-campaign. In this context, turnaround time is important. Looking into Lingokids’ survey results, Mr. Martocci said, “Those surveys turned around in three to four days, but Lingokids has also had 800 survey responses in as little as 24 hours. It depends on the market and how granular the targeting is.”

In addition, Lingokids was able not only to measure and grow brand awareness, but develop a sense of how to help it grow by analyzing what types of media work best to reach their target market in different countries.

Survey data also helped them learn about their competition. “We knew about ABCmouse,” Ms. Mateos-Aparicio said, “but didn’t know PBS Kids is another competitor that we have to keep our eye on. So now, thanks to Pollfish we can include PBS Kids in our brand awareness surveys and learn what they do to grow brand awareness in the US.”

Capturing the big picture like this has been critical for Lingokids, but they have also been able to mine compelling and subtle insights into the culture of the US market. For example, Lingokids learned that children’s safety with learning apps concerned US parents more than parents in many other countries. “Okay, so then we know to launch a campaign in the US that centers on safety,” said Ms. Mateos-Aparicio.
With payoffs like this and more international growth on the horizon, Lingokids knew they would be launching more surveys. That’s when they decided to upgrade from Pollfish’s Business Plan to the Elite Plan. That delivered a significant cost savings.

The customer success team:“The best by far”

Asked to point to one of her favorite things about Pollfish, Ms. Mateos-Aparicio didn’t hesitate: “Their customer success team is the best I’ve ever worked with, by far. From the 24/7 live chat to the one-on-one calls with my account manager,you have all your answers in minutes.”

Constructing a survey is complex and the logic can be challenging. But Pollfish reviews and edits every survey before it’s launched.

They make sure your survey is going to work perfectly, and you’re going to get all the data and insight you need,
~ Ms. Mateos-Aparicio.

“Other self-service survey platforms leave people on their own—there’s no one to reach out to if you have a problem. That’s one of the big differentiators for Pollfish,” Account manager Michael Martocci said, “Our live chat is great for the Basic plan, there’s always a person there, no robots. And for the subscription plans, you get a dedicated account manager like me. I’m an expert on the platform and I have a background in market research. I help my clients with any questions they have, especially on more complicated or robust surveys.”

Pollfish has customer support available by phone, as well as live chat, 24/7. Ultimately, people like to do business with people. Not only does Pollfish deliver critical market insights for a company like Lingokids, but they do it with a human face. “It’s not just that they’re quick and efficient, they’re also really nice people,” said Ms. Mateos-Aparicio. “And that’s something that I really appreciate.” Overall, Lingokids’ experience with Pollfish has been very beneficial: “I think it’s a great tool with a great customer success team,” Ms. Mateos-Aparicio said, “in fact, that’s why I’m doing this interview. Pollfish has played an important role in our ability to grow in Spain and internationally as well.”