Jacqueline Rosales Appointed President of ISA Group

The former SoapBoxSample COO and 25+ year insights industry veteran, Jacqueline has assumed ISA’s top leadership position

Jacqueline Rosales, President of ISA

“I am beyond excited to lead ISA moving forward. We stand on a strong foundation of 38 years of excellence; including capabilities, reputation and staff. Our plan is to integrate and evolve to meet the ongoing needs of our clients and the marketplace. Our continued goal is connecting brands with their consumers in new and exciting ways.”

The ISA Group announced today that Jacqueline Rosales has been promoted to the top leadership role at the company. As ISA President, she will oversee ISA’s four divisions – ISA, Q-insights, SoapBoxSample and icanmakeitbetter. Jacqueline previously served as COO of SoapBoxSample. Founded in 1982, ISA is one of the largest insights firms in the U.S., specializing in quick turn, high-impact custom research solutions.

Jacqueline Rosales joined the ISA Group in 2012, when she was recruited to launch and lead ISA’s online division, SoapBoxSample. With more than 25 years in Market Research and proven success in launching, stabilizing and growing organizations, she quickly gained a reputation for her enthusiasm and unconventional leadership style. Under Jacqueline’s dynamic leadership, SoapBoxSample grew to become the most sizeable division of ISA. After ISA acquired community insight platform icanmakeitbetter in 2016, Jacqueline then took the helm of two divisions — SoapBoxSample and icanmakeitbetter.

Despite the challenges of 2020, Rosales lead the group through a fast and successful shift across the organization resulting in stellar performance in an extremely difficult year.

Anthony Kretzmer, ISA’s current president, will retire at the end of the first quarter, effective March 31, 2021. Anthony has led the ISA Group for nearly 20 years, overseeing the launch of SoapBoxSample in 2012, and the acquisition of icanmakeitbetter in 2016.

“The last 19 years at this wonderful company have been gratifying in the extreme,” relayed Anthony Kretzmer, current President of ISA. “Congratulations to Jacqueline on this well-deserved promotion. I know ISA will continue to flourish and thrive under Jacqueline’s leadership.”

Jacqueline is a thought leader, and sought after speaker, sharing her experiences with entrepreneurship, leadership, research and categorical expertise. Check out her Linkedin page to learn more.

UCI’s Customer Experience Advisory Board Welcomes SoapBoxSample’s COO as Their Newest Member

Image of UCI Campus

Jacqueline Rosales Joins Industry Thought Leaders to Guide the Next Generation of Professionals in CX

August 12, 2020, Los Angeles, CA — Research firm SoapBoxSample announced today that Jacqueline Rosales, COO of SoapBoxSample/icanmakeitbetter, will be joining the Advisory Board for the Customer Experience Program at the University of California-Irvine (UCI). With 25+ years in consumer research, Jacqueline Rosales was a natural fit for the Advisory Board role. Through her leadership at multiple insights firms she has demonstrated expertise in providing top brands with research they need to create great customer experiences. Consistent and collaborative research approaches enable brands to create feedback loops where consumers can feel heard and organizational strategy is supported by market insights.

“I am proud to share my knowledge and experiences with a group that will one day be among the leaders in their industries,” said Jacqueline Rosales. ”I’m excited to take this opportunity to give back to the industry and support the next wave of people who will contribute to the Customer Experience discipline.”

Executives from across the country are carefully selected by UCI to serve on the Advisory Board. They search for people who offer expertise within a multitude of industries in an effort to provide students with insights from industry thought leaders. The Program offers either a four-day, hands-on immersion program or an eight-week online program. Students will learn to apply principles that drive Customer Experience Innovation and the techniques developed by top companies. Jacqueline and other experts in their fields will be guide the students throughout the program.

UCI and SoapBoxSample also collaborated in the Spring of 2020 with a partnership to conduct epidemiological testing in an effort to understand the cumulative incidence of both symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in Orange County, California. With experience in managing serosurveillance testing in Los Angeles County, SoapBoxSample was able to lend their expertise in reaching diverse, multicultural audiences to aid in this crucial research initiative. SoapBoxSample’s COVID-19 research was featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Business Insider, and the KTLA 5 Morning News.

SoapBoxSample’s Cannabis Research Featured in MG Magazine

The August 2020 issue of mg magazine features an article co-authored by Adriana Hemans, Director of Demand and Special Projects for SoapBoxSample. In the spring of 2020, two consumer insights companies, SoapBoxSample and KNow Research, joined forces to explore consumer behaviors, needs, and preferences around the gifting and sharing of cannabis products for special occasions, including holidays. They gained rich insights into the category—ones that can provide gifting options at a wide array of holidays and for a variety of recipients. Here they share what they learned about what brands and retailers can do to make their products relevant, appealing, gift-able, and share-able.

Defining A Gift

Throughout the course of the study, we heard many definitions of “gifting” and what constitutes a “gift.” We came across three main cannabis gifting attitudes:

  1. Traditional Gifter: Some define a gift as something presented, typically in a package with a bow. “I got some chocolate-covered cannabis strawberries for Valentine’s Day from my husband,” one participant said. “There weren’t many. I kind of wanted to save them for myself, so he didn’t get any.”
  2. Shared-experience Gifter: Purchasing something to enjoy together was not necessarily a gift, even if the item was purchased with the holiday in mind. Rather, cannabis often can be a component of a shared experience that makes the holiday special. When asked why they wouldn’t consider cannabis a Valentine’s “gift,” one of these gifters clarified: “It’s more routine than a gift, because my husband and I smoke on a regular basis.” For these gifters, experiencing the cannabis gift together is part of the giftgiving experience.
  3. Altruistic Gifter: Some give without an expectation of sharing. Some used cannabis as a “hostess gift,” so the host or hostess could decide whether he or she wanted to share with guests or save the gift for later. Other altruistic gifters gifted with only the recipient’s pleasure in mind. “My friends and I took a road trip and the driver brought some candies for everyone to have, so she kind of gifted us a little bag of hard candies for each of us, for fun,” one participant revealed.

To gain more cannabis gifting insights, download the full issue of mg Magazine.

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SoapBoxSample Helps Riverside County Gauge the Spread of COVID-19

Antibody Study Shows COVID-19 May Have Infected 5.9% of Riverside County Residents, to Date

August 3, 2020, Los Angeles, CA — In an effort to understand and slow the spread of COVID-19, SoapBoxSample partnered with Riverside University Health Systems to test a representative sample of Riverside County residents for the presence of COVID-19 antibodies in their blood. The study was unique because it included adults and children aged 5 and older. This test was administered to 1,726 county residents to gain a more accurate picture of the spread of the virus in Riverside County.

Based on the county’s study, officials estimate there have been between 118,000 and 175,400 infections in Riverside County. On the low end, that would be 235% higher than confirmed case totals; on the high end, it would mean a confirmed infection prevalence that is 431% higher than the county’s current total number of confirmed cases. Riverside County has about 2.5 million residents.

SoapBoxSample recruited a random sample of Riverside residents through their proprietary sampling techniques, designed to ensure reach and diversity. Study participants were included via invitation only. Residents were not allowed to volunteer to be a part of the study, so that health officials could obtain a representative sample of the community, which is a critical component of the study. The study showed a positivity rate of nearly 6%, and officials used that percentage to estimate how many residents likely had the virus by applying the positivity rate to the overall population. These results emphasize the need to practice safe social distancing by wearing face masks and keeping 6 feet of distance from others.

“It is an honor to work on such impactful point-in-time research. We are incredibly proud of the work we’ve done here, assisting Riverside County with understanding the true spread of COVID-19 within their community. We will continue to partner with county officials, medical professionals, scientists and epidemiologists. We have a lot to learn about antibodies beyond just the prevalence.” said Jacqueline Rosales, SoapBoxSample COO.

“We continue to learn new information about coronavirus, and this survey adds important research to the growing knowledge of COVID-19,” said Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez.

SoapBoxSample attracted attention from the local and national news media last March when the results of their serosurveillance study of Los Angeles County was released. The study, which tested 863 LA County residents, revealing a positivity rate of 4.06%, was conducted in partnership with the University of Southern California and the Los Angeles Department of Health. SoapBoxSample recruited the participants, developed the research instrument and designed the results portals, where residents learn the status of their tests. Read the full article in the Journal of the American Medical Association here.

Business Insider Showcases COVID-19 Antibody Research by SoapBoxSample

SoapBoxSample’s Antibody Study Gets Featured

In an article published on May 22, 2020, Business Insider highlighted the COVID-19 antibody research conducted by Los Angeles-based insights firm SoapBoxSample. Business Insider is a well-respected business news media outlet focusing on tech, finance and American industries.

Article Excerpt:

“In mid-April, Los Angeles tried to understand the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic by asking hundreds of residents to get drive-through blood tests. The results found that estimated infection rates were “28 to 55 times higher” than the number of officially reported cases, but that the virus was also probably much less fatal than previously thought. These tests were the product of an unusual collaboration between the LA County Department of Public Health, the University of Southern California, and 50-year-old consulting firm LRW Group.

LRW Group is best known for consumer sentiment research that clients like Google, Facebook, Disney, and Starbucks never publicize. For example, when an auto company wants to let people test drive a new model and weigh in, or a household goods company needs to see how consumers respond to the smell of a new fabric softener, they often hire LRW Group’s consumer research division SoapBoxSample, according to president Jeff Reynolds.”

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SoapBoxSample’s COVID-19 Antibody Research Featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association

SoapBoxSample Assisted with the Ongoing COVID-19 Antibody Research

Groundbreaking COVID-19 antibody research from SoapBoxSample was featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association, published May 18, 2020. The Journal of the American Medical Association is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biomedicine. The study reviewed in this article was the pilot wave of a research initiative conducted in partnership with the University of Southern California and the LA County Department of Public Health. SoapBoxSample assisted with the ongoing research engagement to test Angelenos for COVID-19 antibodies in their blood. By launching this critical study, researchers and public officials hoped to get closer to answering the question of when society could “get back to normal.” SoapBoxSample designed the research instrument and recruited 865 Angelenos for the initial pilot test. Subsequently, 1015 additional Los Angeles County residents were recruited for wave 2. SoapBoxSample’s expertise in reaching diverse multicultural audiences, and deep roots in the LA community allowed them to efficiently contact and recruit participants. Antibody testing is ongoing in LA County and SoapBoxSample continues to provide data for this important research initiative.

Article Excerpt:

“Inadequate knowledge about the extent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic challenges public health response and planning. Most reports of confirmed cases rely on polymerase chain reaction–based testing of symptomatic patients. These estimates of confirmed cases miss individuals who have recovered from infection, with mild or no symptoms, and individuals with symptoms who have not been tested due to limited availability of tests.

We conducted serologic tests in a community sample to estimate cumulative incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, as serologic tests identify both active and past infections.”

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