New Feature : Recommended Incentive Settings (FAQ) – Panel Partners

What are Recommended Incentive Settings?

Recommended Incentive Settings offers panel owners a way to automatically leverage proprietary data to optimize incentives offered to their panelists on the Open Exchange. It can boost profitability, improve participation volume and conversion, remove guesswork from panel optimization, and enhance panelist retention.

This innovative system moves beyond traditional fixed incentives by providing a stable base incentive combined with a variable boost. This structure directly aligns a panelist's earnings with the survey's profitability and enables panel owners to capture more surveys.

How do Recommended Incentive Settings work?

The Recommended Incentive Settings automatically assess base incentives, minimum target margins, and margin-sharing percentages, calculating how they should be distributed across survey clusters to maximize total revenue. This ensures maximum total revenue by considering the volume of participations, conversion rate, survey length, variations across countries and currencies, and the average Revenue Per Interview (RPI).

Understanding Clusters and Incentive Logic To maximize survey conversion and panelist satisfaction, the platform organizes opportunities into Clusters—groups of surveys defined by Length of Interview (LOI) and Minimum Revenue Per Interview (Min RPI).

Smart Clustering: Clusters are arranged sequentially (e.g., 0–5 mins, then 6–10 mins) to prevent overlap. If a panelist cannot find a match within a specific cluster, a Rerouting Safety Net overrides the time limits (resetting the minimum LOI to 0) to ensure they are presented with available surveys rather than a "no surveys" message.
The Incentive Model: The financial structure consists of a Base Incentive (a guaranteed fixed amount) and a Boost Incentive (a bonus calculated from the profit margin).
Revenue Logic: The system ensures profitability via the Target Margin (minimum acceptable profit) and Min RPI (Base Incentive + Target Margin). By keeping the Base Incentive lower and offering a Boost, the required RPI drops. This unlocks more survey inventory, increases conversion rates, and ensures panelists are fairly compensated through performance-based rewards.

Understanding Boost Incentive Tiers Boost incentives allow you to share a percentage of your survey margin (Revenue Per Interview minus Base Incentive) with panelists to increase engagement. The platform categorizes these incentives into three tiers based on the percentage you choose:

Fixed Reward (0% - Green Icon): The panelist receives only the base incentive. Your target margin equals your total profit per interview.
Reward Boost (1% to 50% - Blue Icon): A variable reward system where panelists receive the base incentive plus a bonus calculated from the margin upon completion.

Premium Boost (>50% - Orange Icon): A high-value variable reward designed for longer or difficult surveys. While this lowers your profit margin per interview, the attractive bonus drives higher conversion rates, ultimately increasing overall revenue volume.

How do I enable Recommended Incentive Settings for my panel?

Recommended Incentive Settings are enabled for your panel by default. If you have opted out of having these settings enabled, you can turn them on with one click.

In Cint Engage:

Navigate to your panel’s settings.
Click Incentives and margins on the left-hand-side menu.
Click on the Auto-optimise settings toggle to enable the recommended settings.

Can I reward my panellists for non-completes?

Yes, to encourage engagement, you can set a fixed reward for screen-outs and full quotas. You can enable those settings at the bottom of the page and set a custom amount.

You can disable this option at any time, but panellists who have earned these incentives will still be able to pay them out.

Can I deactivate Recommended Incentive Settings?

You can deactivate Recommended Incentive Settings at any time by clicking on the ‘Auto-optimize settings’ toggle. You will not be able to deactivate Recommended Incentive Settings if it is the only incentive model enabled for your panel.

Please note that any incentives earned by panelists before disabling Recommended Incentive Settings will still be payable once the buyer has reconciled in the Cint Exchange.

What is the panelists’ experience when completing surveys with Recommended Incentive Settings enabled?

Panelists will encounter a more dynamic offerwall experience designed to encourage participation. Surveys featuring Recommended Incentive Settings are flagged with special tags to draw the eye. The system uses a simple colour logic: Green icons indicate standard fixed rewards, while Blue icons signal a variable boost of up to 50%. For the highest earning potential, the Yellow icons alert panellists to "Premium Boost" opportunities greater than 50%.

Once a panelist completes a survey, they will see a clear breakdown of their earnings - their fixed reward amount and the reward boost. Panelists will be able to withdraw their incentives once the buyer has reconciled the survey in the Cint Exchange.