National Consumer Panel · Consumer research panels · UGC-driven acquisition & paid media · 2026
How National Consumer Panel replaced vendor recruitment with UGC
Outsourced panel recruitment is a margin problem disguised as a convenience.
30%
decrease in cost per install
after moving off external vendors
The results, up top — every number is in the strip below
30%
decrease in cost per install
after the model change
20%
decrease in CPA
owning the creative
10%
increase in conversion rate
testable messaging
In-house
engine, not vendors
control of the funnel
Always-on
performance creative
continuous improvement
01 — The challenge
Panel recruitment dependent on external vendors.
National Consumer Panel recruited panelists largely through external vendor relationships — reliable, expensive, and impossible to optimise from the inside.
Without control of the creative, there is no lever to pull when costs rise.
“We were paying vendors to find panelists and had no idea which message actually convinced anyone. There was nothing to improve.”
So recruitment was rebuilt as an in-house UGC-powered performance engine.
02 — Our approach
A structured UGC engine replacing vendor dependence.
Recruitment moved to a structured, UGC-powered performance model with always-on creative production, so the creative that recruits panelists could be tested and improved directly.
Cost per install fell 30%, cost per acquisition fell 20%, and conversion rate rose 10% — the compounding effect of owning the funnel.
03 — What we did
What the campaign actually consisted of.
The working parts behind the National Consumer Panel numbers above.
Vendor to in-house
Control of the creative
Recruitment moved from external vendors to an owned performance engine.
Reported programme structure
Always-on UGC
Continuously testable
Creative production ran continuously so messaging could be improved on evidence.
Creator asset grid
CPI down 30%
Cheaper to recruit
Cost per install fell 30% under the new model.
Reported campaign metrics
CPA −20%, CVR +10%
Efficiency and conversion together
Cost per acquisition fell 20% while conversion rate rose 10%.
Reported efficiency metrics
The stack we ran it on
Meta Ads Manager
Paid social
TikTok Ads Manager
Paid social
Creator sourcing
Casting
Spark Ads & whitelisting
Amplification
Frame.io
Creative review
Canva
Creative
GA4
Analytics
Looker Studio
Dashboards
“Web Tonic did in six weeks what our last two agencies couldn't in a year — and for the first time we could see every dollar of it”
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