Virtual Incentives' October 10, 2015 article revisits an informal poll about the most appealing survey incentive. The same poll and original graphics had already appeared in investigator Leonard Murphy's Greenbook account on October 14, 2013. The prose rounds the sample to 1,500 consumers, while the graphic reports 1,521 responses; exact fieldwork dates are not given. [S02]

The poll used Google Consumer Surveys and offered incentive models covering Visa cash or gift cards, virtual cash or gift cards, content access, drawings and points. Only five choices were shown to any respondent. Although the prose describes balancing to the US Census, the displayed graphic explicitly says weighted data are unavailable for that view. Virtual Incentives calls the exercise unscientific. [S02]

The original graphic places Visa cash or gift cards first at 40.9%, followed by access to content at 23.5%; virtual cash or gift cards are separate at 12.8%. The broad claim that all gift-card options were almost twice as appealing as alternatives therefore overstates this result. These are stated preferences, not measured survey completion gains. [S02]

The original unweighted graphic reports 1,521 responses and the five named choices below; a 4.6% open-answer group is omitted. Its displayed error ranges are 38.5–43.4%, 21.4–25.7%, 11.2–14.6%, 9.9–13.1% and 5.6–8.2%, respectively. The confidence level and calculation are not disclosed. These historical US preferences cannot establish how current audiences would respond. [S02]

The data behind the story

Most appealing survey incentive model in the original poll

Publicly reported by October 14, 2013; exact fieldwork dates unknown. Reused in October 2015 commentary.

% of displayed responses
Source
Investigator's 2013 original account and graphics

Historical informal poll; unweighted displayed results, not measured completion or current population estimates. Five named choices shown; open-answer group omitted. Error ranges are in the text; confidence level undisclosed.

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Most appealing survey incentive model in the original poll (% of displayed responses)
Category% of displayed responses
Visa cash or gift card40.9 % of displayed responses
Access to content23.5 % of displayed responses
Virtual cash or gift card12.8 % of displayed responses
Lottery or drawing11.4 % of displayed responses
Points for later redemption6.8 % of displayed responses

Virtual Incentives used the poll to recommend choosing a reward that the target audience can use and regards as valuable. It also suggested considering virtual delivery to avoid physical fulfillment costs, alongside the total incentive budget.

Virtual Incentives sells card options discussed in the article, and Murphy identifies himself as a collaborator in conducting the poll. His account supplies original evidence, rather than independent replication. The 2015 commentary applies an earlier informal result to reward selection; it does not establish a new 2015 study or a universally preferred incentive. [S02]