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, Toronto
Canada's largest province, Ontario, had an election on October 11 that allowed Ipsos Reid to conduct parallel research study to determine the winner for its media partner Global Television. This exclusive Ipsos-Reid election day poll technology, used for the first time in Ontario history, drew its results from Ipsos Interactive Service online panel in Canada.
The voting booths closed at 9:00 pm and at 9:01Global Television did something no media outlet has ever done: immediately declare who won the election, in this case a Liberal majority government. The other two networks were left spinning their wheels.
The research was based on an online poll that was conducted throughout the day on the I - Say Ipsos Interactive Services online panel. After voting, 7210 Ontarions logged in and expressed their opinion about the election online. The results of this poll not only accurately predicted the outcome down to the last percentage point, but also got behind the minds of voters by asking why they voted the way they did, and a series of other questions that were then displayed throughout the night on a "smart board".
Troy Reeb, Vice President, News Operations, CanWest Mediaworks (Global Television): Thanks for changing political reporting forever!
Darrell Bricker, Ipsos Reid Public Affairs COO: We couldn't have made it without the support of IIS management, especially Andrei Postoaca, CEO.
Rob Berger, IIS Client Service Canada VP: The dedicated effort by the IIS team of project managers, script writers and client service was key to the success of this project. This poll and its stunning results prove that online panels can be used very effectively for Public Affairs projects and in a representative manner.
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The IIS panels currently count more than 1,7 million panelists covering 24 of most important markets around the world.
The IIS Candian online panel, I-Say Panel, counts 182,201 panelists (at individual level, October 2007).
For more information please write to: communication@ipsos-interactive.com.