How It Works

USA TouchPoints™ is the only consumer insight and cross-platform syndicated research study of American consumers’ daily lives. Data is used to guide integrated marketing communications that reach consumers in the right place at the right time and when they’re in the right frame of mind.

Our nationally representative sample of 2,000 respondents, aged 18-64, was selected from GfK MRI’s 21,000 strong respondent base that has completed the Survey of the American Consumer.

By recruiting in this way and then ascribing our data back to the full GfK MRI sample, our nationally projectable insights are rounded out with magazine audience levels, category and product usage, as well as consumer attitudes.  This combination creates a more granular and comprehensive view of the consumer than ever before.

App-Based Data Gathering

The core of the USA TouchPoints data collection method is an iPhone-based electronic media and life context App which respondents carry and complete over a 10-day period, making entries in 30-minute increments throughout the day.  Consumers without their own iPhone are sent one for research purposes. The iPhone-based system is easy to use, convenient to carry, prompts for timely entries, and provides real-time monitoring to ensure a high degree of compliance.

Learn more about our process for Gathering the Data

Data Integration

Plans call for USA TouchPoints data to be matched against a growing range of data sets to provide linkages between consumer behaviors, product purchase and use, magazine ratings, TV program viewing, online behavior and word of mouth.

In the coming months, additional data integration will be announced, including those addressing digital place-based and mobile media.

Familiar Points of Access

USA TouchPoints has been developed to be accessible to subscribers in the tools that planners and content owners already use. Through our relationships with software providers such as GfK MRI, Nielsen, Pointlogic and Telmar, users can access USA TouchPoints through a tool they are already familiar with (separate license required).

Learn more about Accessing the Data.

User Guide

The goal of this User Guide is to inspire ideas and guide discussion in the explorations of the USA TouchPoints data. While by no means exhaustive, this list will guide the user through a variety of capabilities that USA TouchPoints brings to media and consumer research.

Take a look at some of the interesting Facts and Insights that have been revealed by analysis of the USA TouchPoints data.