juicybrainspanel.com

~~ UPDATED DECEMBER 2008 ~~

'''From the 10th December 2008 JuicyBrains Panel has been closed. It's been replaced by JuicyBrains Community, which is no longer a survey site but a "Think Tank" for new products/services for the existing brands and companies. Membership of JuicyBrains Community has no individual incentives but prizes for those coming up with the best ideas.'''

_The review below is about JuicyBrains ...
...had no idea that there was such a thing as the Juicy Brains Panel until I read an online review about it a year or so ago. Sure, I'd taken a few of their BrainJuicer surveys - courteously of other survey companies (usually Global Test Market), but I had no idea that they ran their own paid online survey panel. I therefore hot footed it over to the Juicy Brains website (www.juicybrainspanel.com), in order to see what I had been missing out on.
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~~ UPDATED DECEMBER 2008 ~~

'''From the 10th December 2008 JuicyBrains Panel has been closed. It's been replaced by JuicyBrains Community, which is no longer a survey site but a "Think Tank" for new products/services for the existing brands and companies. Membership of JuicyBrains Community has no individual incentives but prizes for those coming up with the best ideas.'''

The review below is about JuicyBrains Panel before it ceased to exist:-

I had no idea that there was such a thing as the Juicy Brains Panel until I read an online review about it a year or so ago. Sure, I'd taken a few of their BrainJuicer surveys - courteously of other survey companies (usually Global Test Market), but I had no idea that they ran their own paid online survey panel. I therefore hot footed it over to the Juicy Brains website (www.juicybrainspanel.com), in order to see what I had been missing out on.

** WHAT IS BRAINJUICER AND THE JUICY BRAINS PANEL ? **
No, it's not a band! The Juicy Brains Panel is run by www.brainjuicer.com a UK market research company that offer their clients quick market research results through their unique BrainJuicer powered surveys. BrainJuicer is a patented software programme invented by the company themselves to conduct internet-based market research projects. The idea behind BrainJuicer is to offer faster and better value market research their clients. I would guess they tagged it BrainJuicer because they try and squeeze information from their panelists' brains.

Set up in 2000, their range of clients include an impressive roster of household names such as Boots, Cadburys, Easyjet, Nectar, Masterfoods and Dell, to name but a fraction. BrainJuicer employs 40 people and claims to be one of Europe's leading online research agencies. Although initially based in UK, they have now expanded into Holland, and have plans to open offices in New York and Shanghai very soon. Their turnover was £2.6m in 2004, and they have ambitious plans to double their business every year.

** CAN ANYONE JOIN THE JUICY BRAINS PANEL ? **
Brainjuicer offer free membership on their Juicy Brains Panel for anyone over 16 residing in either US, UK and most other EEC member countries. They only allow one applicant per household. Basically you sign up with the Juicy Brains Panel and agree to give your paid online opinion on a variety of topics and products.

Their website shrieks out at you in bold tangerine and red. You will be greeted on each page by Cedric - a rather bizarre looking cartoon caricature of a brain, with eyes, nose and a mouth. Despite the rather lurid colours of the website and the cartoon brain, don't be lulled into thinking this is some kind of amateurish website aimed at children. It's a professionally run outfit, and it really is quite good fun. It tells you everything you need to know and is clearly and concisely laid out. Although Cedric "talks" to you in cartoon fashion….you know, a bubble out the side of his mouth, it does make this website very interactive and less dull than a lot of other paid online survey sites.

** WHAT'S IN FOR YOU? **
Rewards for those taking surveys are paid in "juice" - that's pounds sterling to you and me. Obviously they pay out in US dollars for US members and in euros for European members. Surveys tend to reward you with anything between 25p to £1.25, depending on their length and whether you qualify for full survey. They'll often give you 25p for doing the pre-screener so at least you don't come away totally empty-handed if you fall at the first fence. At £5.00 you can exchange them for vouchers at www.amazon.co.uk.

** HOW DO I SIGN UP? **
So you've decided you quite like the look of Cedric, and you'd like to join his panel? The registration process is simple. It's six pages long but only takes about ten minutes to complete as it is mostly drop down answers. First, choose your country of origin, and then input your name. You will then be taken to a second page and asked what sort of survey work you are interested in (i.e. telephone surveys, focus groups, product testing or just plain online surveys). You can also choose whether to receive email invites from them in text or HTML format. The registration form then continues in the usual format asking straightforward questions about yourself - address, age, email, marital status and gender. You will also be asked to choose a password on your new account. Next they will ask you about your role in the household (i.e. who does the shopping, cooking and so on). Finally, information on other members of your household is required. That's the lot. You are now a fully fledged member of the Juicy Brains Panel, and Cedric will credit your account with £1.00 just for joining. Thank you, Cedric.

** WEBSITE **
Once registered you can log into your individual account using your email address and personal password. Cedric the talking brain will always welcome you, and show your current balance. It's quite a busy website page, and there seems to be a lot going on. However, it is fairly easy to navigate and get the details you need.

There is a section to the left where you can view or change your profile. Occasionally there will be a couple of surveys you can take - some paying and others just for fun (but it is clearly marked). To the right of the screen, you can view your "Juicing History" - which is a record of the surveys taken and incentives paid out to you.

Underneath, there is also a section called "Cash in your Juice" - once you reach £5.00 you can complete a very, very simple form for your Amazon voucher. The code will be emailed to you within a rather impressive 24 hours.

There is a good privacy policy with promises of no spam, no advertising and no passing of your details to any third party. The FAQ is comprehensive and detailed with lots of pictorial guides to show how the Juicy Brains panel and their surveys work. There is also a link to the www.BrainJuicer.com website from this page. It's worth going in and having a browse. It will even let you have a go on a couple of sample BrainJuicer surveys, just so you can see if your PC (and you) like them.

** WHAT DO I THINK OF THE JUICY BRAINS PANEL ? **
Surveys are reasonably frequent - approximately one or two a month. The average survey pays from 25p to £1.25. Juicy Brains seem to do a lot of surveys on new food products. I've been asked my opinion on rice, low fat spreads, gravy, fizzy drinks and desserts to name but a few. Other subjects I have been quizzed on include loyalty cards, toilet rolls and foreign travel.

Survey invites always come by email from cedric@brainjuicer.com. They are always addressed to "Dear Juicy Brain" and invite you to "Earn Some Juice!" The email doesn't usually tell you what the survey is about, but it will tell you the amount of reward on offer (usually £1.00). The link to the survey is also given in the email, and as soon as you click on it, it will tell you how long the survey will take. In my experience, they quote most surveys as taking 12 to 14 minutes, but they can be easily completed in less than 10 minutes once you get used to their format.

If you have popup blocker enabled on your browser then you will need to disable it to take part in BrainJuicer surveys. You will need to allow pop ups on your PC, as their surveys often involve about 3 different windows being open at the same time. There is often an image of the product you are surveying in one window, the survey questions themselves in a second window, and a third window telling you it is loading BrainJuicer. Sometimes the survey pages can be incredibly slow to load, even on broadband. Answering the survey questions is quick and easy, but waiting for the next page to load can be painful.

All of the surveys are, of course, run by Cedric, the "talking" brain. He will ask you questions at the top of the window and you are required to complete drop down boxes underneath. The answers are really not difficult to complete; you can choose one of a dozen pre-formatted answers or you can write your own responses. It's very untaxing and easy to follow. Juicy Brains credit the money into your account as soon as you complete the survey - so no irritating chasing up or waiting for payment.

There is the occasional survey for a prize draw entry only, but it is entirely up to you whether you respond or not. I tend to ignore any surveys that don't pay out cash or points, as my online time is better spent elsewhere than in doing something with a negligible chance of winning.

There is a monthly newsletter which is emailed to you. It tells you what's new at Juicy Brains and BrainJuicer. There are usually a couple of fun surveys or "Topical Juicers" you can take part in. These tend to offer a free prize draw entry to win one of three £100 Amazon vouchers. They sometimes give the results of previous surveys too.

** REFERRAL PROGRAMME **
There is also an opportunity to earn more cash by referring your friends and family to the Juicy Brains Panel. For each successful referral that joins their Panel, Cedric will credit your account with 20p. On your account home page, simply click the link entitled "Tell Us More About Yourself", and there is a new section called "Refer A Friend", where you can enter their email addresses, and Cedric will do the rest.

** RECOMMENDATION **
As with any online survey work, Juicy Brains Panel won't make you a fortune, but the odd £1 here and there soon adds up. The surveys are fun, reasonably quick to do, and it really doesn't take very long to build up enough money for the minimum payment threshold. Yes, the website is lurid and hard on your eyes, but it is run in a light-hearted friendly way, and makes a pleasant change from other more serious market research sites. Go on, pop by…say hello to Cedric and get juicing!

** CONTACT DETAILS **
Juicy Brains Panel
Juicing Centre
77 Oxford Street
London
W1D 2ES, UK

Email: cedric@brainjuicer.com
Website: www.juicybrainspanel.com or www.BrainJuicer.com
Telephone: 0207-659-2400 

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