Virtual Incentives and research-platform provider icanmakeitbetter have detailed their partnership for automated participant rewards. The August 13, 2015 announcement says the relationship began the previous year and had expanded the incentives available to research communities.

Before the partnership, icanmakeitbetter offered a single type of reward. Chief operating officer Matt Thurston said that became limiting as the company served a wider range of consumer and business audiences internationally.

Virtual Incentives supplied an API connection for automated gift card delivery and fulfillment. The two companies also customized the available rewards, developed additional offerings and worked on the administration process for research clients.

The partners reported improvements in response rates and engagement, without giving numerical results in the announcement. They attributed the broader appeal to giving participants a choice of rewards and to reducing the delay and administrative effort involved in delivery.

Thurston said the arrangement allowed clients to spend more time interpreting research and less time resolving incentive issues. The companies planned to continue developing fulfillment options and reward formats together.

icanmakeitbetter's platform included surveys, live chat, focus groups, discussion forums, digital journals and panel management. Virtual Incentives provided prepaid and virtual reward fulfillment, making the API connection the link between research participation and delivery of the incentive.