Knit Head of Sales, Logan Pernikoff, joined TLC Political & The Fertilizer Institute for a discussion on how AI-Driven Polling is revolutionizing advocacy strategy in '24. The panel explored how you can leverage the power of AI and video to uncover deep insights and make your campaigns more targeted, effective, and impactful.
July 30, 2024
Virtual
When people think about what separates a successful advocacy effort from a middling one, they often assume the problem is money or reach. But more often, it’s not a problem of resources or marketing; it's just hard for organizatoins to know what their audience actually thinks. The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) started where everyone starts: with assumptions. They thought they knew. Then they used Knit.
Problem:
TFI initially built their campaigns using assumptions about public awareness and interests around fertilizer, environmental issues, clean water, and more. But when they tested those assumptions, they realized they were pretty far off.
Knit's Solution:
By capturing both quantitative data and video responses, Knit revealed actual public perceptions and knowledge gaps so TFI could pivot accordingly.
“We absolutely were going on gut and assumptions — and we weren’t right… This was really, really great.”
— Chris Glenn, Vice President of Public Affairs & Communications at TFI
Problem:
Traditional polling and focus groups were cost-prohibitive, especially for mid-sized associations like TFI.
Knit's Solution:
Knit offered a much more cost-effective approach, delivering statistically significant data and rich video insight at a fraction of the cost of national polls or in-person focus groups.
“We didn’t have to plunk out $100,000 to do some national poll... This had a lot of value.”
— Chris Glenn
Problem:
Typical polling or focus groups took weeks or even months, which isn’t a viable option for fast-paced advocacy campaigns.
Knit's Solution:
Knit turned around regional survey data — including video responses — within days, giving TFI real-time access to insights through an interactive dashboard.
“It took us six business days from question design to being in market… never had that experience before.”
— Lindsay Donnelly, Senior Vice President, Advocacy at TLC Political
Problem:
In-person focus groups were expensive, logistically difficult, and often produced biased results due to peer pressure or social desirability.
Knit's Solution:
Asynchronous video responses allowed participants to answer more honestly and privately, removing human and peer biases.
“It removes those biases… they’re not talking to a human or surrounded by peers who might judge them.”
— Lindsay Donnelly
Problem:
It was hard for TFI to communicate insights or justify campaign pivots using only cross tabs and static slides.
Knit's Solution:
Video verbatims gave a human face to the data, making it easier to communicate findings and gain board-level buy-in.
“When we were able to show them those videos… it was eye-opening.”
— Chris Glenn
Problem:
Old survey reports and focus group findings often became obsolete quickly and weren't easy to revisit.
Knit's Solution:
With an evergreen video dashboard, TFI could return to the dataset anytime, extract new insights, and even build new clips for future presentations or campaigns.
“It’s kind of evergreen… if I needed to go back a year later, the video is right there.”
— Eric Rosdahl
Problem:
There was internal skepticism around the use of AI and whether it could deliver trustworthy, understandable results.
Knit's Solution:
Knit’s transparent platform allowed users to trace insights directly to source videos, helping TFI trust and verify findings — and get support from real researchers when needed.
