Change Research

Change Research is a US-based public benefit corporation that provides public opinion polling, voter sentiment analysis, and digital strategy services for political campaigns and left-leaning organizations. The polling firm utilizes proprietary methodologies, including Dynamic Online Sampling and its recently launched Magnify AI Targeting technology, to measure voter sentiment and inform campaign strategies. Operating at significant scale, the company has surveyed millions of Americans and currently maintains a proprietary database containing over 250,000,000 survey data points to support hundreds of political causes. The organization has provided polling and predictive data for prominent political races, accurately forecasting electoral victories for candidates such as Andrew Gillum and Lori Lightfoot while operating under executives like Nicole Bare and Stephen Clermont. Change Research was officially founded in 2017 by political communications professional Pat Reilly and current chief executive officer Mike Greenfield.

High-Level Overview

Change Research is a public-benefit corporation specializing in innovative public opinion polling, voter targeting, and digital strategies, primarily serving forward-thinking political campaigns, organizations, and causes aligned with a "more humane, scientific, and just world," often left-of-center or Democratic entities.[1][2] Founded in 2017, it disrupts traditional polling with Dynamic Online Sampling—recruiting fresh online respondents per poll for diverse, accurate insights at a fraction of legacy costs—alongside AI-powered tools like Magnify AI Targeting (launched 2023) and qualitative research via Voices Chat.[1][5] In 2021, it launched Embold Research for nonpartisan work with governments, businesses, and nonprofits, enabling rapid, affordable surveys that test messages, creatives, and trends while scaling to millions of responses.[1][3][6]

The company has shown strong growth, accurately predicting underdog wins like Andrew Gillum's Florida primary and Lori Lightfoot's Chicago mayoral race, and now offers integrated services from Spark Polls ($6,000 starting price) to AI-analyzed qualitative polls.[1][5]

Origin Story

Change Research emerged post-2016 U.S. election, when cofounders Mike Greenfield (first data scientist at PayPal and LinkedIn) and Pat Reilly (seasoned political communications expert) bonded over polling failures that missed Donald Trump's win and a drive to make high-quality research accessible.[1][2] Launching in 2017, they pioneered Dynamic Online Sampling to challenge industry norms, quickly gaining traction with accurate calls on races like Kendra Horn in Oklahoma and JD Scholten in Iowa, earning a "hipsters of polling" reputation.[1]

The firm evolved from political focus to broader offerings, launching Embold Research in 2021 for nonpartisan clients and Magnify AI Targeting in 2023, leveraging 250 million survey data points for affordable voter models.[1][3] Leadership shifted with Nicole Bare becoming president and CEO in May 2022, bringing expertise from strategic communications and prior roles at Embold.[2]

Core Differentiators

• Revolutionary Methodology: Dynamic Online Sampling recruits unique, diverse respondents online per poll (via social media ads), avoiding phone polling biases and declining response rates for faster, cheaper, more representative data across ages, ethnicities, politics, and regions.[1][2][5]
• AI and Tech Integration: Magnify AI Targeting uses 250M data points for custom voter models at low cost; qualitative polls employ AI analysis for scalable open-ended insights; Voices Chat enables mobile, unfiltered conversations replacing outdated focus groups.[1][4][5]
• Affordability and Speed: Services like Spark Polls start at $6,000 with standardized questions for quick deployment; custom polling, creative testing (videos/images), and Compass add-ons cost far less than competitors while delivering expert analysis.[1][4][5]
• Selective Impact Focus: Works only with aligned clients sharing its humane, just vision; Embold handles nonpartisan needs; remote team emphasizes innovation, equity, and social impact as a B Corp.[1][2][3]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Change Research rides the wave of AI-driven data analytics and digital voter engagement, transforming sluggish, expensive polling amid rising online behaviors and ad tech precision.[1][5] Its timing capitalizes on post-2016 distrust in traditional polls, social media's dominance for sampling, and AI's maturation for targeting/models, enabling small campaigns to compete with big spenders.[1][2]

Market forces like declining phone response rates and demand for real-time insights favor its online, dynamic approach, influencing the ecosystem by democratizing data—powering frames like Future Majority's "Freedom Frame" and accurate underdog predictions that shape strategies.[1][5] As a B Corp, it pushes ethical tech use in politics, bridging partisan and nonpartisan worlds via Embold while challenging incumbents on cost and accuracy.[2][3]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Change Research is poised to expand its AI suite, integrating more tools from its 250M+ dataset to dominate voter targeting and qualitative insights amid 2024+ cycles and beyond.[1][5] Trends like generative AI for sentiment analysis, mobile-first sampling, and nonpartisan demand (via Embold) will fuel growth, potentially evolving it into a full-stack civic tech platform for global causes.[3][4]

Its influence may grow by setting accuracy benchmarks and affordability standards, empowering underdogs in an era of fragmented media—ultimately advancing its founding mission to make public opinion research a force for a more just world, just as its post-2016 origins disrupted a broken industry.[1]