A global research agency partnered with Acumen to recruit participants for a series of online focus groups exploring consumer attitudes toward spirits, with a particular focus on Southern Comfort drinkers.
The study required 28 participants across four online groups, with quotas spanning age, gender, location, social grade, and socialising habits. Alongside the logistical complexity, the project came with a tight turnaround and a particularly challenging recruitment requirement: finding participants with a genuine affinity toward a specific spirit brand, rather than people who simply fell loosely into the category.
Consumer recruitment often looks straightforward on paper. In reality, the difference between an average group and a genuinely valuable discussion usually comes down to participant quality.
For this project, the challenge wasn’t simply identifying people who drank spirits occasionally. The client needed participants who had a meaningful connection with the category and could speak naturally and confidently about their preferences, behaviours, and perceptions.
Traditional screening approaches can sometimes flatten nuance, particularly in FMCG and consumer brand research. A simple “yes/no” response to brand usage or preference rarely tells the full story, especially when working with socially influenced categories like alcohol, where recognition and genuine affinity are not always the same thing.
Combined with detailed quotas and last-minute timelines, the project required a recruitment approach that was thoughtful, responsive, and highly collaborative from the outset.
Rather than relying on a rigid screener process, the Acumen team adapted the recruitment methodology to better reflect the nuance behind consumer behaviour.
Instead of asking participants whether they liked Southern Comfort in a binary way, we reframed the question using a scaled affinity model. Participants were asked to rate their relationship with the brand on a spectrum, allowing us to identify varying levels of engagement and distinguish genuine fans from lighter or more casual consumers.
This small but important adjustment created a much richer understanding of participant suitability and significantly improved the overall quality of the sample. It also helped create stronger group chemistry during the discussions themselves, with participants able to engage more naturally and meaningfully with the subject matter.
To meet the project timelines, Acumen used a blended sourcing approach, combining recruitment from our existing engaged participant network with targeted outreach to broaden the sample where needed. Throughout recruitment, quotas were monitored closely and adjusted dynamically to ensure balance across all required demographics and social behaviours.
The project was managed collaboratively throughout, with regular communication, rapid problem-solving, and a flexible approach helping the study stay on track despite the compressed timelines.
All 28 participants were successfully recruited and scheduled across four online focus groups within the required timeframe.
The sessions ran smoothly, quotas were achieved in full, and the client was particularly pleased with the overall participant quality and level of engagement within the discussions.
Most importantly, the groups delivered the kind of nuanced conversation the client was looking for, demonstrating the value of careful screening design and recruitment methodologies that go beyond surface-level qualification criteria.
This project demonstrated that successful recruitment is rarely just about speed or volume. It’s about understanding the difference between someone who technically qualifies for research and someone who genuinely belongs in the conversation.
By combining flexible thinking, nuanced screening techniques, and hands-on quota management, Acumen was able to deliver a high-quality sample under pressure without compromising on participant fit or research integrity.
Delivering complex, high-sensitivity recruitment for a UK-wide study on bowel screening behaviours
Background
When our client set out to explore the barriers to bowel screening among UK adults aged 50–75, this was never going to be a straightforward recruitment exercise. The study required a carefully balanced sample of those who had engaged with screening and those who hadn’t, alongside attitudinally segmented group discussions designed to get beneath the surface of decision-making.
But the real nuance sat in who needed to be part of the conversation.
The audience spanned lower socio-economic groups and a range of ethnic communities, with a topic that’s often difficult to talk about, let alone volunteer for. This wasn’t just about finding people. It was about reaching them in the right way, with the right tone, and building enough trust for them to take part.
The recruitment challenge
The brief came with multiple layers, each one tightening the funnel:
With IMD and ethnicity quotas fixed, the available pool narrowed quickly, particularly within older age groups. Add to that a four-week rolling timeline, and the margin for error disappeared entirely.
Acumen’s approach
This is where thoughtful recruitment from our healthcare team did the heavy lifting.
We built a strategy that was both precise and flexible, combining targeted outreach with a more human, community-led approach.
Alongside this, we worked in close partnership with the client to introduce considered flexibility on secondary quotas such as age, gender, and household income, protecting what mattered most while keeping delivery on track.
What made it work
One of the most effective elements wasn’t a tool or a platform, but people.
By tapping into family and community networks, we were able to extend our reach in a way that felt natural rather than intrusive. Younger participants became trusted connectors, opening the door to audiences who are often missed by traditional recruitment methods.
This allowed us to:
And crucially, this didn’t come at the expense of quality. Engagement, reliability, and depth of contribution remained consistently high across all groups.
Outcome
The result was a project delivered with both rigour and care:
Complex healthcare audiences deserve a thoughtful approach. Speak to Alan Shirley about how we can help.
When our client approached us to recruit participants currently using GLP-1 weight management medications for an anonymous online survey, the brief was clear, but far from simple.
Working within a sensitive health space always requires a careful balance. It’s not just about reaching the right audience, but doing so in a way that protects participant experience, maintains trust, and delivers data you can genuinely rely on.
In these contexts, a wide net isn’t always the right approach. What matters more is being deliberate in who you reach, how you engage them, and how their data is handled from start to finish.
Recruiting people actively using GLP-1 medications meant navigating both specificity and sensitivity.
On one hand, we needed to reach a clearly defined medical cohort. On the other, we needed to ensure that every response came from a real, engaged individual, not someone rushing through a survey for the incentive.
In a space that’s growing quickly, with increasing public awareness and demand, maintaining that level of authenticity becomes even more important. It also means recognising that participants aren’t just data points, they’re individuals sharing something personal, and the process needs to reflect that.
We kept the entire recruitment process in-house, drawing from our network of over 270,000 participants. That decision wasn’t just operational, it was intentional. For a topic like this, control matters. It allows us to be more selective in how we reach people, more thoughtful in how we engage them, and more confident in the quality of the data that comes back.
Rather than pushing the study out broadly, we were careful and considered in how it was distributed within our network. That more targeted approach helps ensure participants feel comfortable taking part, while also protecting the integrity of the responses.
Our healthcare specialists supported on survey wording and data handling protocols, helping to ensure the research was not only robust, but appropriate for the audience. It meant we weren’t just collecting data, we were doing it in a way that respected the people behind it.
Alongside this, our Data Specialist carried out detailed quality checks post-fieldwork, removing and replacing any responses that didn’t meet our standards. It’s a step we build in as standard, but one that becomes even more important when working within sensitive subject areas where trust and accuracy go hand in hand.
While a full week had been allocated for data collection, the required completes were achieved within just three days. We then allowed time for thorough quality control before delivering the final dataset, complete with data tables, a full day ahead of schedule.
More importantly, the quality held up. The client received a clean, reliable dataset and the confidence that the participants behind it were exactly who they needed them to be.
This project is a good example of what happens when you treat fieldwork as more than just a numbers exercise.
Keeping recruitment in-house gave us control. Bringing in healthcare expertise ensured the research was handled appropriately. Building in robust quality checks meant the final output could be trusted.
Just as importantly, it reflects the kind of relationship we aim to build with our clients. Not transactional, but collaborative.
When you’re working with a partner who understands the nuances of your audience and the responsibility that comes with sensitive research, it allows you to focus on the insight itself, rather than worrying about how the data was gathered.
When our client approached us with a brief to recruit just six participants, it sounded straightforward on paper. In reality, it was anything but.
This project involved recruiting specific telecomms customers for 3.5-hour filmed sessions in their homes, complete with professional film crews. The sessions were designed to explore specific consumer segments in depth, so the recruitment criteria were understandably precise. But as the brief unfolded, the layers of complexity quickly became clear.
Participants needed to match specific client segments through a segmentation tool, agree with ten statements associated with that segment, and fall within a very specific age and family stage profile. On top of that, there was a logistical constraint: each participant needed to live within a 30-minute drive of the previous household to keep filming schedules manageable.
As Project Manager Sam Garlick explains:
“Finding people who matched the segment via the tool was just the first hurdle. They also had to agree with ten relevant statements, be the right age and family stage, and then live close enough to the other participants for filming logistics. It was definitely a puzzle.”
Rather than chasing an impossible idea of “perfect”, the Acumen team focused on practical problem-solving and close collaboration with the client. For each segment, we presented several strong candidates who met the brief closely, even if they weren’t an exact match in every single detail.
This approach allowed the project to move forward efficiently while still maintaining the integrity of the segmentation criteria.
The client team were equally pragmatic. In some cases, they flexed slightly on individual factors, such as accepting participants who didn’t pay for TV packages but matched every other requirement, or allowing travel distances to stretch a little further to secure the right household.
Regular conversations between the Acumen team and our client helped speed up decisions and keep recruitment moving smoothly within the tight timeframe.
Despite the complexity behind the scenes, the end result was exactly what the client needed: six carefully selected customers who reflected the required segments and were comfortable hosting extended filmed research in their homes.
Projects like this highlight what recruitment really involves. It’s rarely just about demographics. It’s about understanding the nuances of a brief, navigating practical constraints, and working closely with clients to find the best possible participants.
It’s just what we do.
GLP-1 medications may be dominating headlines, but the most meaningful shifts are happening away from the spotlight, in the quiet adjustments people are making to their everyday lives.
When we speak to individuals who are actually using these medications, the conversation rarely centres on dramatic transformation. Instead, it revolves around a change in pace and perception. Appetite feels different. Cravings are less urgent. Decisions that once felt automatic, particularly around food and spending, become more considered. That recalibration of instinct might seem subtle on an individual level, yet when experienced at scale, it begins to reshape patterns of consumption in ways that brands cannot afford to ignore.
For organisations operating across food, drink, retail, beauty and healthcare, this is not simply a weight management trend to monitor from a distance. It represents a behavioural shift unfolding in real time. Basket composition evolves. Portion expectations adjust. Indulgence, functionality and value are being reassessed through a different lens. What feels relevant in a world of reduced impulse may not look the same as it did even two years ago.
At the same time, the surrounding landscape adds further complexity. Private prescribing continues to grow, NHS capacity remains stretched, and alternative supply routes are emerging with their own ethical and regulatory concerns. Meanwhile, secondary markets are forming around side effects, aesthetic changes and nutritional optimisation, signalling that GLP-1 is influencing far more than appetite alone.
What makes this moment particularly significant is its steadiness. These are not overnight shifts driven by hype. They are incremental behavioural adjustments that, taken together, have meaningful commercial and cultural implications.
In our latest podcast episode, we explore what people are really telling us about life on GLP-1 medications and what those lived experiences mean for brands seeking to remain relevant in a changing environment.
Over the past 20 years, we’ve delivered all our healthcare research under the wider Acumen umbrella. From patient studies to work involving healthcare professionals and clinical environments, it’s been some of the most complex, sensitive and rewarding fieldwork we’ve supported.
What became increasingly clear is that healthcare isn’t just another sector sitting neatly alongside the rest. It operates differently to the consumer market. The regulatory landscape is tighter, the documentation requirements are more rigorous, and the conversations themselves often carry real emotional weight.
Rather than treating healthcare fieldwork as a bolt-on specialism, we decided it deserved its own focus.
That’s why we’ve launched Acumen Health.
Acumen Health is our dedicated arm built specifically for healthcare fieldwork, underpinned by compliance-led processes, in-house project delivery and teams who understand the nuance of working in clinical and regulated settings.
For us, this isn’t about creating something separate from who we are. It’s about refining and strengthening what we were already doing well. The principles of our fieldwork haven’t changed, meticulous recruitment, secure data practices and rigorous delivery have always been part of how we work. Acumen Health simply gives that expertise a clearer home.
At the same time, we’re conscious that healthcare research must never lose its human core. Behind every brief are patients, professionals and lived experiences that deserve respect. The operational side matters enormously, but so does tone, sensitivity and trust.
Acumen Health brings those elements together in one clear, intentional offer. It represents our continued investment in raising standards within healthcare fieldwork, and our commitment to delivering research that is rigorous, responsible and genuinely people-first.
We’re incredibly proud to see it formally launch and excited about what comes next.
You can visit Acumen Health by clicking here.
Overview
We were commissioned to recruit 10 pairs of Parkinson’s patients and their carers for paired interviews trialling a new “care companion” support app.
The goal was to understand how patients and carers communicate day-to-day and explore how digital tools could improve connection, coordination, and care.
The Challenge
This wasn’t your average recruitment brief.
We needed to find pairs who:
Reaching this audience required sensitivity, trust, and creativity, especially when approaching those in later stages of Parkinson’s or outside of established research networks.
Our Approach
We combined the reach of our in-house online community of over 275,000 participants with targeted outreach through Parkinson’s charities, local support groups, and community organisations.
Tailored social media campaigns also helped us to connect with patients and carers where they already engage, from Facebook groups to local community pages.
At every stage, we prioritised sensitivity, transparency and accessibility to ensure participants felt comfortable and supported.
The Outcome
Despite the complex brief, we successfully recruited all 10 pairs to specification. Each participant was eager to contribute to a project that could help improve daily life for people living with Parkinson’s and their carers.
Beyond the numbers, this project reinforced what fieldwork is really about: connection, empathy, and persistence.
When you take the time to reach the right people and create a safe space for sharing their experiences, that’s when the most meaningful insights naturally emerge.
Overview
In 2024, we were commissioned by Verian Group to recruit 600 young people aged 9–22 to take part in face-to-face interviews for Module 8 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. The study explored how children and young people experienced the pandemic, how they adapted to change, and its impact on their lives.
Approach
The first 300 participants represented a broad mix of ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, disabilities, and special educational needs. The second phase focused on seldom-heard voices, including those in care, detention, temporary or overcrowded housing, or engaging with social services, mental-health or justice systems, or seeking asylum.
Recruiting such vulnerable audiences required a highly considered, mixed-method strategy. Alongside our 250,000-plus participant database, our team partnered with youth organisations, community centres, charities, councils, and public spaces. Additional support and guidance came from safeguarding officers, social workers, and other relevant professionals.
To extend reach, we used social-media groups, personal contacts, and outreach to schools and colleges. Phone calls, Zoom meetings, and in-person visits with organisations helped verify the project’s legitimacy, answer questions, and build trust. Communication style was key to reaching guarded communities, prioritising comfort, transparency, and participant autonomy.
Specialised training equipped the team to manage sensitive conversations empathetically and safely. Breaks were offered during screening calls when needed, and a clear safeguarding process was followed throughout. Inclusive, age-appropriate language was used in collaboration with the client, with weekly video calls ensuring alignment and transparency.
Results
The project received overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants and families. Many expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share their experiences and contribute to national understanding of the pandemic’s effects. Post-session surveys highlighted appreciation for the respectful, comfortable environment and a sense of purpose in contributing to potential policy change.
One testimonial summed it up:
“Well handled, with careful consideration for the welfare of all involved. A professional and worthy research project with staff at all levels offering excellent communication, authentic knowledge, and empathy.”
In September 2025, the Inquiry published this landmark report, featuring the powerful stories shared by young people across the UK.
Read the full report here.
It was a privilege for us to contribute to such a historic study and help ensure that the voices of resilient and inspiring young people were heard.
Background
We’ve been working with Hannah and Jude at Wren Insight since April 2023, and since then we have built up a strong partnership, supporting with their recruitment needs.
The project
The project, run for Wren Insight’s client, a major book publisher, aimed to help them better understand the behaviours, motivations, and preferences of different types of readers. Working in partnership with Wren Insight, our team recruited participants for a series of four online customer closeness sessions via Zoom, designed to dig deeper into how people engage with books.
The sessions were structured around clearly defined reader segments, from very light readers (who may only pick up a book once a year) to heavy, highbrow readers who enjoy intellectually challenging content. The publisher was interested in everything from where readers get inspiration for new books, to what draws them away from reading and what might entice them to read more.
Following these sessions, there was also a large in-person customer closeness event at the publisher’s offices. Around 50 internal stakeholders attended, with a selection of participants forming a live panel to discuss their reading habits and answer questions. The success of this event relied heavily on the quality and accuracy of the recruitment throughout the earlier rounds.
The challenge and how we overcame it
While each round only required six participants, the recruitment was highly complex due to the specificity of the client’s reader segments. Participants needed to go far beyond basic eligibility, they had to truly reflect nuanced reading behaviours, motivations, and lifestyles defined by the client.
Although screeners included quantifiable measures (e.g., number of books read annually, fiction vs. nonfiction preference, audiobook use), this wasn’t enough to guarantee a match. In many cases, participants looked ideal on paper but didn’t fit once spoken to either by us or Wren. This required multiple rounds of checking and shortlisting, particularly for segments involving more highbrow or literary readers.
To address this, we introduced an additional step: collecting a list of favourite books from potential participants and sharing it with Wren for pre-selection before any calls took place. Despite this, further filtering sometimes occurred based on the quality of these follow-up conversations. Meaning the process evolved into a longer exchange that encouraged participants to be highly engaged, responsive, and approach the experience with openness and flexibility.
A further layer of complexity was introduced through the requirement for all participants to complete a detailed homework task (selfie-style videos explaining their book choices and reading habits) prior to the sessions. While this significantly increased participant quality and buy-in, it also required rigorous follow-up, reminders, and occasionally replacements.
Despite these challenges, having a long lead time and close collaboration between Acumen and Wren meant recruitment could be carefully paced and highly tailored, with no dropouts or no-shows across the entire project
There was very little room for error in this project, the recruitment had to be right. Each participant went through a two-step screening process: first with our team, then with Wren, ensuring they fit their assigned reader segment, understood the nature of the sessions (including the panel format), and were fully prepared to complete the pre-task homework.
Having run a similar project in 2023, both Acumen and Wren were aware of how crucial participant quality was.
A participant couldn’t simply be “close enough.” They had to be replaced quickly and seamlessly, which made the upfront screening and engagement process all the more critical.
Fortunately, all sessions ran without issue, and Wren provided positive feedback after every round, a clear indication the recruitment had delivered exactly what the client needed.
Benefits/results
All quotas were filled for each round. While some segments were trickier than others to recruit for, we worked closely with Wren throughout to flag challenges early and identify where there was room to flex without compromising on participant quality.
Thanks to this close collaboration and clear communication, all segments were recruited successfully, and sessions ran smoothly.
From the original recruitment we carried out for them in 2023, the book publisher returned to Wren and asked for the same format again in 2024 which suggests they gained useful insights from the previous sessions and saw enough impact to justify repeating the approach.
The ultimate goal for them is to better understand and reach their different reader segments, tailoring how books are marketed and promoted to drive greater engagement and sales.
Repeat business, especially for a high-stakes project like this, is a strong result in itself.
Testimonial
“We are always so impressed with Acumen’s recruitment services, and this project was no exception. The spec was complex, requiring more of a qualitative approach to recruitment vs regular recruitment against quantitative measures.
The participants had to ‘feel’ like their segments, which can be a tricky recruitment ask, as well as be suitable for a client-facing, in person event. The team adopted a number of approaches to achieve this including in depth screening calls with potential participants to get to know them personally, proactively adding extra screening questions to get to bullseye segment representatives and iterative briefing calls with us to understand segment nuance.
As a result, we ran a series of engaging customer closeness sessions – some virtual and one face to face event. For this to be a success, participants needed to not only be 100% on-spec, but to also bring energy and personality to the sessions, which these recruits delivered.
We appreciated Acumen’s flexibility and patience as the project (and spec!) evolved.”
