eDigitalResearch gains valuable insights from Cowes Week competitors

For the past three years, leading digital market research specialists, eDigitalResearch has been providing the organisers of the world’s best-known sailing regatta, Cowes Week, with mobile survey feedback from competitors with suggestions on how to make improvements to the courses set each day.

2010 looks set to be a record year for the mobile survey response rates at Cowes Week. As more and more consumers embrace mobile technology, the numbers of SMS feedback replies over this summer’s event are expected to rise considerably. 2009 already saw a significant leap in mobile response rates, with the overall average number of text messages received increasing 30% over the whole week on the previous year. The method was so popular that some individual days saw nearly half of competitor’s texting through their daily evaluations.

This year will also see the return of the popular post event live net chats, monitored and hosted by eDigitalResearch with Q&A’s for Cowes Week Limited’s CEO Stuart Quarrie. As before, respondents who complete the post event survey will be given the opportunity to participate in the web discussion, held in September, allowing them to interact directly with the organisers and providing Cowes Week Limited the opportunity to explore and scrutinise issues and suggestions in an easy to analyse format.

Stuart Quarrie, CEO of Cowes Week Limited explains,

“This year we have been able to implement some new changes, after the quality and depth of responses we received following last year’s event and through the broad range of research methodologies that eDigitalResearch were able to provide us with. It is important that we listen to our competitors and visitors, and this year will be no exception, with the continuation of the established online survey, instant SMS mobile feedback and interactive and innovative live net chats, allowing us to engage with people on multiple levels.”