COVID-19 Antibody Testing and More with Jacqueline Rosales | Ep.97

Today, Jacqueline Rosales, the Chief Operating Officer of SoapboxSample, joins Sima to talk about market research, entrepreneurship, COVID-19 research, and cannabis.

Jacqueline heads up multiple research divisions at the ISA Group, including SoapboxSample and icanmakeitbetter.   

SoapboxSample recently celebrated eight years. About three or four years ago, they made a strategic decision to acquire icanmakeitbetter because their focus was on digital agility and that could help Soapbox to stay flexible, nimble, and at the forefront as it continued to grow.

Some background  

In 2012, Jacqueline was asked to join the ISA Group to build a panel company. It seemed a little odd, as she had done that several years before. But what it came down to was that there were certain areas of business that still could not be covered by either traditional or new methodologies. So they decided to position themselves online with the idea of evolving into the digital space and entering the business of legally buying and selling people.

Working with academic researchers and scientists

Since the onset of COVID-19, Jacqueline has been working with academic researchers and scientists. She’s shared with them the history and evolution of market research and the consumer industry, and she’s also explained to them how the industry engages with people electronically, digitally, and telephonically. That’s where Soapbox shines because they do all three. And that put them in a very good position, two years ago, to go all-in on cannabis.

Current research

This has been a very interesting time for Jacqueline. Currently, even though Soapbox still has its typical clients, they are working mainly on cannabis and Covid-related research.

What Jacqueline is enjoying

One of the things that Jacqueline is enjoying right now is working on projects that would otherwise seem very challenging. Although these projects are still a challenge, she’s been finding that everyone is now on an equal playing field because the walls between client and partner have come down. So now they are all simply partners.

Looking at things from the data collection perspective

All the collected data forms the foundation for research. So Soapbox now has the brands, the universities, and even the big media organizations knocking on their door and asking for advice about how to collect data.

Collecting data for Covid research

Soapbox has done a lot of traditional-style Covid research, and that positioned them to move into some antibody testing research.

Also, some academic researchers needed to get a representative population of the LA County, which is very diverse, but they didn’t know how to reach everyone, so they asked Soapbox to assist them in reaching all of the various groups within the LA population.

The trick was that they needed to get people to show up at a testing site where they could drive through and have a finger-prick-based antibody test. So Soapbox had to build a system that allowed them to go through that entire process.

Significant media coverage

People got wind of what was happening with the antibody research, so after Soapbox’s pilot was released, they got some very significant local and national media coverage.

As a result, people started writing to Jacqueline and telling her their stories.

An interesting process  

Collecting data for Covid research has been a very interesting process. Soapbox was in the right place at the right time, and their nimbleness was very important in allowing them to collect the data for the Covid research.

They were able to take the information that they had, apply it to something different, and then do with it what they already knew how to do.