Datassential
Datassential provides foodservice market research and insights that help businesses understand consumer preferences and make better product decisions.
The Challenge
TURF (Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency) analysis helps research teams identify the combination of products or offerings that reaches the largest number of people.
However, running TURF studies can become complex when research involves large datasets, multiple product categories, and different survey routing rules.
The analysis needed to handle several challenges:
- Processing large research datasets with thousands of respondents and variables
- Supporting studies where respondents were routed to different product modules
- Calculating total reach, incremental reach, and the additional reach contributed by each item
- Identifying the best combination of items within a defined portfolio size
- Presenting the results in a clear format that research teams could review and explain
Datassential needed a solution that could handle these study requirements while making the analysis and results easier to work with.
How We Helped
We developed a custom Excel-based TURF analysis solution using VBA, designed around Datassential’s research workflow.
The solution included:
- Custom study configuration: Created a configurable setup for mapping survey questions, product items, category routing, filters, locked items, and portfolio size while keeping the core analysis engine reusable.
- Large dataset processing: Built the workflow to work with large research files containing thousands of respondents and variables.
- Flexible optimization methods: Implemented exhaustive search for smaller solution spaces and a greedy optimization approach with swap improvements for larger ones.
- Reach and frequency calculations: Calculated individual-item reach, cumulative reach, and the incremental reach contributed by each additional item.
- Category-routed study support: Handled studies where respondents answered detailed product questions based on their assigned category or survey route.
- Research outputs and visualization: Built structured results showing item rankings, category, reach counts, reach percentages, added reach, and portfolio-level reach.
- PowerPoint reporting: Automated the export of TURF results into a branded PowerPoint presentation using Datassential’s presentation theme, including a stacked chart that separates existing reach from the additional reach contributed by each item.
We also refined the presentation of the results so that cumulative reach and incremental contributions were easier to distinguish, helping make the analysis more understandable for the people reviewing it.
Results
- Created a reusable TURF analysis workflow for different research study configurations
- Supported complex studies involving multiple product categories and survey routing
- Automated key reach calculations and portfolio optimization steps
- Made it easier to compare individual items and understand their incremental contribution to total reach
- Streamlined the transfer of analysis results from Excel into presentation-ready PowerPoint slides
- Delivered a workflow tailored to Datassential’s research process rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all solution
The result was a custom research analysis tool that brings together TURF optimization, reach calculations, and presentation-ready reporting in a workflow built for Datassential’s needs.
