CASE STUDY: Public Opinion Research

• The Client

This project was conducted for a prominent New England-based development corporation.

• The Objectives

The client had submitted a proposal to build a $40 million shopping development that would encompass more than 50 acres and include more than 450,000 square feet of retail space in a New England city. As a preliminary step in the development process, the client wanted to gauge public opinion regarding the project and assess support levels in the general population. Opponents of the proposal had organized a referendum designed to nullify an earlier municipal ruling that had zoned the land in question for retail development. The client wanted to gather statistically significant public opinion data and develop messaging for this referendum.

• The Process

A random sample of 400 citizens (likely voters) was surveyed. The sample was segmented to be representative of the city's electoral districts so that data could be used in assessing likely voting patterns by district. The sample size allowed for a margin of error of ±4.9% at the 95% confidence level. The 400 citizens sampled and surveyed were randomly selected from the overall population of "likely voters."

Results were broken out by various demographic segments of the population in order to better understand public opinion regarding the issues in question. More than two-thirds of respondents said that they supported the project and a strong majority indicated that they would vote against the referendum put forth by opponents of the project.

• The Outcome

Bolstered by these research findings and other information obtained in the course of our research, the client moved forward with development plans. Budgets and marketing plans were finalized with the knowledge that a majority of citizens were likely to support the plan. Following on a successful outcome to the referendum, the project received planning approvals and is currently in the final stages of development.

>>Learn more about our public opinion research process