Finding the funny: recruiting audiences for a new comedy concept
When a research consultancy approached Angelfish Fieldwork to support a study for a media company developing a new UK comedy show, they already had confidence in our approach. They had recently seen our recruitment in action on another project and had been impressed by the quality of the participants, which gave them confidence that we could find the right people for this brief too.
This was not a case of simply filling four online focus groups. The client needed engaged media market research participants who were willing to read script excerpts in advance, complete a pre-task and then come ready to share thoughtful, honest feedback in a live discussion.
We recruited 20 participants aged 24–59 across four online focus groups, each exploring audience reactions to the new comedy concept. Because comedy is so personal, participant quality really mattered. The research needed people who would properly engage with the material, think about their responses and feel comfortable discussing what did, and did not, land for them.
We worked closely with our client from the start, reviewing the screener together and using that conversation to shape the recruitment approach for each audience group. This helped make sure we were not just finding people who matched the criteria, but participants who could genuinely engage with the comedy concept and bring useful, considered feedback to the discussion.
Once recruitment was underway our team kept a close eye on participant engagement. We managed communications, consent forms, attendance checks and pre-task completion, while making sure participants had the information and support they needed to take part. When homework was outstanding, we followed up. When queries came in, we answered them quickly. And when two participants withdrew before fieldwork began, the team acted straight away to source replacements.
The result was 100% attendance across all four focus groups, with our client praising the clarity of communication, the quality of the participants and the strength of the discussions.
This project shows why good media market research recruitment is about more than finding people who fit a brief. It is about keeping them engaged, prepared and supported throughout, so clients get the rich, honest feedback they need.
5/5
Client Communication Rating
100%
Attendance
Timely, clear – and the fact we have a shared system to keep docs updates instead of attachments is far superior. Feel totally listened to and backed. Things happened on time, I was never left hanging, and some really great people in the sample.
Tony Laverty
Services provided: Pre-task Management, Recruitment, Consent Form/NDA Management
