My Two Cents is Bringing Transparency and Rewards to Smart Speakers
It was nearly 100 years ago that Daniel Starch, a leading pioneer in 1920’s market research, began asking random people on the street if they recalled ads from certain newspapers and magazines. His Starch Test became the gold standard of its time for measuring advertising effectiveness. Over the decades that followed, Starch’s work helped market research become a serious business activity.
Fast forward to today.
“Researchers asking people questions is a fifty-plus-year-old industry,” said Cam Camfield, CEO, and Co-Founder of My Two Cents, “but we haven’t seen major innovation in market research space since the cellphone.”
My Two Cents Is All About Innovation in Using Voice
“Voice is a big enabler from the technology side,” said Camfield, a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in marketing and market research. “Voice can replace many keyboard functions, making it a huge value-add for groups looking to improve user accessibility. There are many businesses and people who want to use their Alexa or Google Home in new and fun ways.”
Camfield created My Two Cents with co-founder James Martinez as a new market research solution for industries that range from consumer goods to political campaign polling. The app offers games and survey options for consumers to engage and give their opinions. Ad agencies, research firms, consultants, and brands can engage with customers to better learn from their target markets.
“My Two Cents is unique because brands get the rich, detailed context that comes from qualitative research, at the scale of a quantitative study,” Camfield said. “We’re learning from customers receiving the true in-home voice of the customer, through questions that are quick and easy to answer.”
With My Two Cents, people will use their favorite voice assistant devices, such as Alexa, to earn cash and gift cards by sharing opinions, playing games, and answering quick survey questions. Participants are compensated for participating with rewards, such as gift cards, cash, charitable donations, or discounts, depending on the number and types of games they play.
“We will email or text new users who could already be customers of the brand, or on an email list, or a vendor-supplied list,” Camfield said. “Users will enable My Two Cents on their device, create a password, and then hop into the experience. You can take a survey or play a game, whichever the brand defines, or the user prefers.
Bringing Transparency and Fair Rewards Back to the Opinion Industry
“We make the experience fun and digestible,” Camfield said. “Users can take their My Two Cents questions, get in and out, and make real money. There is a perception that these connected devices are “listening” to you without your approval or incentive. My Two Cents is bringing back transparency and fair compensation for your data.”
The prototype version of My Two Cents offers multiple creative ways to tease out opinions. There are no right or wrong answers. The following outlines the key features:
- This or that (think red or blue) tends to be polarizing and ideal for A/B or comparative tests.
- Love, hate, neutral, which allows a deep dive into one specific catalyst or topic.
- A “lightning round” asks three to five questions. Based on responses, Alexa can stop or continue the game.
- Complete survey, which allows users to take a traditional survey.
Working currently to build and launch their pilot product, My Two Cents is moving toward the next step of market validation. “Are people interested in getting rewarded for their opinions through voice?” Camfield said. “That’s the theory we’re testing right now.”
Ever the market researcher, Camfield is continuing with more market tests. “The longer you get in the market and see under the hood of so many businesses, you realize you know some things,” he said, “but you sure don’t know it all.”
