Reshaping Research
for a Changing Asia

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Asking Asia

Asking AsiaTM is the first comprehensive monthly survey platform that allows clients to field questions both flexibly and cost-efficiently anywhere and everywhere across Asia. Learn More

Dial Testing Technology

Dial testing is a critical tool for communications professionals, whether it is for campaigns or for evaluating advertising and public relations strategies. Learn More

Research Communities

Custom-built consumer communities can gather quick and easy feedback on your brand, products and campaigns. Rely on these same communities to road-test ideas. Learn More

Social Media Synthesis

We combine survey findings with social media metrics, providing clients with blended analytics that join the dots for better insight. Learn More

Blackbox
Asking Asia
Dial Testing Technology
Research Communities
Social Media Synthesis

The Latest Research Technologies

The Latest Research Technologies

First Class Research From a First Class Team

First Class Research From a First Class Team

Asia-wide Knowledge and Research

Asia-wide Knowledge and Research
Latest tweets@blackboxr

Research has evolved beyond traditional surveys and focus groups. By leveraging the latest digital and online technologies, Blackbox has developed research approaches that are better suited to today’s consumers.

The team at Blackbox are first and foremost committed researchers with a proven track record of success. Our staff are multi-disciplined, multi-national and well equipped to handle research tasks of the greatest complexity.

Blackbox has over a decade’s experience in carrying out research across Asia. We will help you to contextualise local insights and build a better comparative understanding across a complex and diverse region.

Featured

Read older
Singapore Lifestyle Study Reveals a few Surprises | December 27, 2013

How are Singaporeans living in 2013? When Blackbox decided to take a look at Singaporean lifestyles recently, we found out that while affordability remains a challenge for many Singaporeans, this is not stopping everyone from engaging and spending money on a vast array of things. Read more | Posted in Infographics
The Digital Heartland: Social Media and the Political Transformation in Singapore | November 6, 2013

Blackbox Managing Director David Black has co-written an article entitled "The Digital Heartland: Social Media and the Political Transformation in Singapore" in a new book about social media and elections in Asia-Pacific. Read more | Posted in News

Company

About Blackbox Research

Blackbox is a Singapore-based, award-winning agency operating since 2002. Proficient across both commercial and public policy research, Blackbox offers communications research expertise and innovative digital research services across the Asia Pacific region.

Want to know what makes us different?

Speak to a consultant today

Key Management Team

David Black

Managing Director

David’s two decades of communications and research experience have seen him manage numerous commercial and public sector research projects across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. As the managing director of Blackbox Research, he has conducted key strategic studies for both government and non-government institutions, including overseeing international opinion leader research for the Singapore government as well as the IOC’s research programme during the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

David has a background in public policy and government, having worked as a political speechwriter and policy expert in the Australian Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet. As a polling specialist, David has been taking the pulse of the Singapore community for over a decade.

David holds degrees in business and law. For his achievements with Blackbox Research, he was a winner of the 2007 Spirit of Enterprise Award that recognises enterprise and entrepreneurship in Singapore. He is regionally renowned as a communications research authority.

Rachel Zhou

Executive Director

A native of Shanghai, Rachel has a Master’s in Applied Commerce from the University of Melbourne along with a decade’s experience in the market research and advertising industry in Shanghai, Melbourne and Singapore.

At Blackbox, Rachel’s quantitative research experience has helped local and international clients with diverse needs including concept evaluation, usage and attitude studies, brand tracking, community perception and stakeholder satisfaction measurement. Rachel specialises in studies related to financial services, insurance, banking, payment cards as well as travel research.

When not sitting in front of numbers, Rachel enjoys spending her time with a good book and a latte in a cosy local café.

Gracie Igaya

Executive Director

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the University of the Philippines, Gracie has over 15 years’ experience in market research, working across FMCG, telecommunications, financial services and government studies for both local and regional clients. She began her career in the Philippines with Nielsen before moving to Hong Kong and Singapore, specialising in brand health, brand and advertising tracking, and customer satisfaction studies. Her clients have included  P&G, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson and Kimberly Clark.

At Blackbox, Gracie oversees both FMCG and Government projects and provides strategic help on our expanding field capabilities.

Outside of work, Gracie continues her exploration of all things new – places to eat, interesting books to read, and places to explore.

Keegan Goh

Operations Director

Keegan holds an Honours Degree in Management from the University of London and moved to Blackbox with over 10 years of experience in the market research industry, including time with leading global research agency, GfK.

Keegan supervises all field operations for Blackbox. His qualitative and quantitative fieldwork capabilities encompasses a wide variety of industries that include the consumer electronics, telecommunication, automotive, property, information technology, entertainment and financial sectors both internationally and domestically.

Joyce Atendido

Senior Research Manager

Born and bred in the Philippines, Joyce graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics at the University of the Philippines. She started her career with The Nielsen Company and has over a decade of market research experience.

Her extensive background in consumer research methodologies have given her perceptive insights into public awareness & perception, customer satisfaction & behaviour, mystery shopping, market sizing, concept & product testing and campaign evaluation, among others.

Apart from managing key accounts, Joyce is also helping to build and strengthen the education portfolio for Blackbox.

Joyce has simple joys of spending time with family and friends and gathers the biggest fulfillment in motherhood.

Susan Lee

Administrative Manager

Susan is a Blackbox pioneer since our early days. Today, she is its administration manager and is usually the first point of contact for staff and clients new to the company. Susan’s natural ability to build relationships, bubbly personality, and cheerful, engaging manner makes her the unofficial poster girl for Blackbox, while her unrivalled bookkeeping skills and unwavering commitment in ensuring operations run smoothly makes her the backbone of the company.

Family and friends are paramount to Susan, and her favourite pastimes include movies, rock concerts, volunteer services, spa visits and meditation retreats.
David Black Rachel Zhou Gracie Igaya Keegan Goh Joyce Atendido Susan Lee

Thinking

Thinking

Blackbox enjoys such a diverse range of global and Asian clients because of our ability to both custom design studies that satisfy specific objectives and bring additional capabilities to projects.

Our team’s expert backgrounds in communications, advertising and public policy allows us the opportunity to provide strategic guidance on major campaigns and also work closely with policy makers and regulators across a variety of areas. We approach research in a collaborative manner so that client expertise and past experience is both examined and factored into our studies, thus building on existing knowledge and not merely replicating previous learning.

We provide critical consultation services in areas ranging from advertising and messaging development to public policy development and legislation.

To see how we’ve applied our thinking: View Our Case Studies

National
Marketing
Action Committee
Case Study

NTUC Income
Case Study

Mendaki
Case Study

Insights

Insights

Whether your needs are “big picture” or entirely specific, Blackbox ensures that our insights are not only provided in proper context but are relevant to the problem or issues at hand.

Brand & Communications

Market Landscape

Government

The idea of what constitutes “branding” has evolved somewhat since the “Mad Men” era and has become even more critical in the age of social media and instant opinion.

Blackbox has worked with many major global and local brand names and helped them in areas such as brand positioning, brand analysis, communications development and tracking as well as specific-needs research.

Brand & Communications studies include:

  • Messaging Development
  • Campaign Evaluation
  • Channel Buy Advisory

Getting the lay of the land very often forms the foundation for critical business decisions in today’s fast changing market landscape.

Blackbox’s success lies in our ability to provide insight that is timely and accurate, providing our clients with research that is relevant and actionable today.

Market Landscape studies include:

  • Market Intelligence
  • Market Sizing & Segmentation
  • Usage & Attitudes Studies

Blackbox has one of the most well established public policy research practices in Singapore and counts our work in this area as a core agency competency.

With an emphasis on providing strategic advice based on current citizen insights, our work consistently helps government clients to better understand and, where necessary, recalibrate key policies to meet the needs of a fast changing Singapore society.

Government studies include:

  • Public Opinion
  • Impact Studies
  • Government Communications

Products & Services

Consumer Experience

Specific Audiences

Ultimately, great business are built on great products and services. Yet how can we make a good idea, truly great?

Blackbox’s research tools are able to deliver authoritative insight for our clients to ensure optimized product development, guided innovation and tailored launch strategies.

Products & Services studies include:

  • Product Pricing
  • Product Testing & Development
  • User Experience Research

At Blackbox, we understand that a consumer is not merely a statistic in dollars and cents. A consumer exists in a wider world where their personal motivations, fears and biases drive everyday decisions.

Blackbox regularly helps our clients develop a holistic understanding of their target consumer, from in-store purchase and service touch point research, to satisfaction and loyalty studies.

Consumer Experience studies include:

  • Satisfaction
  • Loyalty
  • Accompanied shopping

Stakeholder research requires both an ability to reach audiences who may otherwise be difficult to find or even define, as well as experience and sensitivity in order to derive critical insights.

Many of our projects involve research amongst diverse stakeholder audiences including local communities, corporate and employee audiences, trendsetters/influencers and opinion leaders.

Specific Audiences studies include:

  • Business Stakeholders
  • Opinion Leaders
  • Media
  • Developers

Data

In-House Data Collection

In a fast-changing digital era, we are constantly striving to ensure that research methodologies match respondent habits. We look beyond established data collection techniques to find the most effective and efficient way to capture the best quality data for our clients. This is always underscored by intelligent research design that produces meaningful data, and not simply a set of numbers or verbatims.


See something you’re interested in?

Contact us

Asking Asia

Asking Asia is the first comprehensive monthly survey vehicle that allows you to field questions flexibly and cost-efficiently across Asia. With Asia’s share of global GDP likely to rise to above 40% by 2025, the value of better understanding the entire region has never been more important.

The Asking Asia Survey is conducted across 12 regional markets twice a month with 1000 completes per country wave. You can hop on the omnibus with one or more questions, choosing either single or multi-country options. We also provide bite-sized mini-tracking for clients with tight purse strings.

For full details: Download the Latest Asking Asia April Brochure

Asking Asia includes:

  • Question Design
  • Data Tables with standard banners by relevant demographics
  • Key Insight Highlights
  • Infographics (additional cost involved)
  • Media/Publicity Consultation

Dial Testing Technology

Dial testing is a critical tool for communications professionals, used in political campaigns, evaluating advertising or public relations strategies. Major US media outlets like CNN and Fox broadcast live viewer sentiment on screen during political debates and convention speeches, derived through a dial-testing system that is now available in Singapore.

Key uses of Dial-Testing include:

  • Evaluate appeal of advertising material
  • Review television & broadcast programming
  • Refine communication messaging… amongst many others


To find out more: Download Perception Analyzer Brochure

Key Measures in Dial-Testing

  • Moment-to-Moment reactions to video
    (e.g. speeches, broadcast ads or programmes)
  • Comparison testing between two items
    (e.g. products, concepts, messaging)
  • Scale ratings to quantify reactions
    to test materials (ad testing or
    campaign evaluation)

Social Media Synthesis

Communications professionals these days need research that connects the dots between emerging online monitoring diagnostics as well as established primary research insights.

Our Social Media Synthesis approach helps clients to blend these two different types of analytics for both measurement and message development purposes, producing an unprecedented depth of consumer insight. The practice is underscored by the use of leading online monitoring engines and keyword best practices.

To find out more: Download Social Media Synthesis Brochure

Our online monitoring
diagnostics can cover:

  • Engagement Metrics
  • Buzz Metrics
  • Conversation Analysis
  • Content/Channel Review
  • Influencer Profiling
  • Competitor Review

Research Communities

Research communities will give you an active panel of your own customers who will answer your questions or give you ideas whenever you need. Here at Blackbox, we can help you build and manage your own research community, created out of your own customer base.

These communities are a two-way engagement platform. You can not only conduct surveys or discussions spontaneously, but also use it as a interactive platform to better engage your customers and transform them into advocates of your brand or product.

Blackbox Research
Communities provide:

  • Panel building
  • Monthly panel management
  • Ad-hoc research design
  • Survey / Discussion administration
  • Insights Analysis
Asking Asia Dial Testing Technology Social Media Synthesis Research Communities

Digital Data Collection

High-Quality Field

Our online research methodologies are increasingly important in a connected world. For markets with medium to high Internet penetration, we offer digital methodologies that are key in reaching out to respondents who are at home in an online environment.

Our Digital Data Collection services include:

  • Online surveys via our own platform, Black Coffee
  • Smartphone or mobile surveys
  • Digital ethnography: mobile diaries, social network interfacing, blogging
  • Online focus groups and interviews: text-chat, video-chat
  • Online monitoring and social media listening

We offer high-quality offline methodologies, a crucial component to complete our full-service offering. In-person interviewing or surveys are essential for valuable stakeholder audiences, or when target segments are not digitally savvy.

Our High Quality Field services include:

 

Quantitative

  • Door to door via PAPI/ tablets*
  • Street intercept via PAPI/ tablets
  • Phone interviewing (including CAPI)
  • Mailed survey (Ensuring 70% response rate by follow-up calls)
  • Traffic count / Accompanied shopper observations

*We have compiled a representative proprietary sampling frame for Singapore residents.

 Qualitative*:

  • Focus groups: full to mini
  • In-depth interviews: 1-on-1, dyad, triad
  • Ethnography: video recording or in-context interviews
  • Usability testing
  • Mystery shopping across age groups
  • Client workshops

*Covering stakeholder audiences from consumer audiences to opinion influencers

Our Quality Promise

Blackbox is responsible for all its own data collection and control. We provide a range of data collection options and work closely with clients to select both the most efficient and cost effective methodology. We maintain a high quality, well supervised field support team covering both qualitative and quantitative research. Questionnaires are both tested internally and externally to identify further refinements before the project goes into field. During fieldwork, at least 20% of returned surveys are validated via telephone call-backs. In qualitative recruitment, several steps are taken to ensure that focus groups are conducted accurately and efficiently. All potential participants are screened and validated by our supervisors to ensure their identities are verified.

Blackbox is a member of the Market Research Society Singapore and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research. We abide strictly by ESOMAR regulations in all the research that we carry out. We are also industry-recognized, being awarded Local Hero in Market Research in Marketing Magazine’s Agency of the Year 2013 awards.

 

MRSS AOTY 2013 Local Hero MR Banner - Blackbox

 
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