About

For over 25 years, David Binder Research has provided research and insight to political, government, and private sector clients.

Our strength lies in our pioneering use of new research technologies, our hybrid qualitative and quantitative techniques, and our ability to devise innovative, customizable services that suit the specifications of each individual client.

DBR is currently working on behalf of the DNC to support the Biden administration, and we enjoyed a long-term research and consultation relationship with Barack Obama’s White House and both of his presidential campaigns.

Learn a little more about who we are and what we do – and let us help you achieve measurable impact.

Services

As our name suggests, the cornerstone of DBR’s capabilities is research, and a lot of it. We pride ourselves on learning everything there is to know about the issue at hand, so that we can ask the right questions about it – thus engendering the most effective and illuminating response for our clients.

DBR’s methodology encompasses traditional and cutting-edge strategies, qualitative and quantitative techniques – and everything in between. We take a holistic view of your needs, which is why our approaches are often multifaceted.

Below is a list of some of our services. Think of it as a starting point for discussion; our only objective is to meet your needs, and we’ll tailor our methods accordingly once we get to know you.

Clients

The proof of DBR’s capabilities lies in our successful partnerships with clients in every sector – from political campaigners to policy advocates, major auto manufacturers to disruptive startups, television channels to professional sports teams. Browse our list of representative clients below.

Note that this is by no means a complete list – it’s just a selection of some of the people and causes we’ve had the pleasure of assisting over the years. Here is a more complete list of DBR clients, past and present:

Political Campaigns

Presidential

Barack Obama 2008
Barack Obama 2012

Senate and House races

Alaska
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Indiana
Kentucky
Michigan
Missouri
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania

Statewide and State Legislatures

California
Delaware
Illinois
Nevada
New Mexico
New York

State and Local Propositions

Alabama
California
Colorado
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
New York
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Tennessee
Washington
West Virginia

Numerous County and Municipal Ballot Propositions

Speciality Areas

Committees

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic National Committee
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

Labor

AFL-CIO
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
California Alliance for Jobs
California Correctional Police Officers Association (CCPOA)
California Faculty Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Labor Federation
California Professional Firefighters (CPF)
California State Employees Association (CSEA)
California Teachers Association (CTA)
Directors Guild of America (DGA)
International Association of Firefighters (IAFF)
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
International Cinematographers Guild
International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
National Education Association (NEA)
SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild)
San Francisco Labor Council
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
United Federation of Teachers (UFT)
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA)

Education

Association of California School Administrators
California Faculty Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
California School Employees Association
California State University
California Teacher's Association (CTA)
National Education Association
National Labor College
Northern Arizona Alumni Association
San Francisco City College
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)
University of California

Advocacy Groups and Foundations

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Battleground Texas
California Applicant Attorneys Association
California Association of Realtors
California Ballot Initiative Reform
California Homebuilding Foundation
California Hospital Association
California Retailers Association
California State Automobile Association
Consumer Healthcare Products Association
Courage Campaign
Golden Gate Restaurant Association
iVote
Napa Valley Vintners Association
National Restaurant Association
National Soft Drink Association
The Partnership at Drugfree.org
RATE Coalition
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Francisco Committee on Jobs
San Francisco Parks Trust
San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)
Vulcan

Health Organizations

American College of Emergency Physicians
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
Belmont Village Assisted Living Communities
Blue Cross Blue Shield
California Association of Health Plans
California Hospital Association
California Medical Association
California Pacific Medical Center
California Wellness Foundation
Evergreen Health
Face it TOGETHER
Kaiser Permanente
Let's Move!
Oakland Children's Hospital and Research Center
St. Luke's Hospital

Agencies

BART
California Public Utilities Commission
Golden Gate Transportation District
East Bay Municipal Utilities District
San Francisco Department of the Environment
San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI)
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)

Environmental

Better World Group
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Greenbelt Alliance
Energy Foundation
Environmental Defense Fund
National Resources Defense Council
Oceana
Presidio Trust
Save the Bay
Sierra Club
Trust for Public Land
Union of Concerned Scientists
US Green Building Council

Advertising and Media Firms

AMHC Political Consulting
Analytics Media Group
AKPD
Doner
GMMB
Goddard Claussen Strategic Advocacy
Gogerty Marriott
Kaufman Campaign Consultants
Ketchum
Link Strategies
MSLGROUP
Pickett Advertising
Porter Novelli
Public Strategies Inc.
Red Horse Strategies
Richie Ross Communications
SS+K
The Strategy Group
Tribal Worldwide

Businesses

Alliant Energy
AT&T
Clorox
Costco
CVS
DirecTV
Duke Energy
Elsevier Sciences
GAP
General Motors
Home Depot
hotels.com
Insurance.com
Lennar Homes
Magic Leap
Microsoft
Norcal Waste Systems
Safeway
The Princeton Review
Trader Joe's
Walgreens
Xcel Energy
Yahoo!

Sports, Entertainment and Media

AMC Television
Cablevision
CBS Films
ESPN
FilmL.A., Inc.
Golden Gate Warriors
Legendary Pictures
MGM Mirage
MTV
NBC News
New Regency Pictures
Sacramento Kings
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco Magazine
Univision
World Wrestling Entertainment

Arts and Culture

Asian Art Museum
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Burbank Public Library
California Library Association
Glendale Public Library
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Randall Museum
San Francisco Fine Arts Museums: M. H. De Young Museum and Palace of Legion of Honor
San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Zoo

Team

We’re progressive thinkers, analysts, strategists, statisticians, mathematicians, marketers, consultants, and advocates. We’re fanatical about helping our clients succeed, and we truly enjoy what we do. Learn a little more about our team members. We’re looking forward to learning more about you.

David Binder

David Binder has over thirty years of experience in qualitative and quantitative research. Born in the Hog Capitol of the World, Kewanee, Illinois, David received his undergraduate education at Colgate University and Syracuse University and obtained a Masters of Business Administration at Cornell University.

After several years as a freelance pollster and focus group moderator, David founded David Binder Research in San Francisco in 1994, a company that now has employees in seven states around the country.

David is a nationally recognized focus group moderator who has personally moderated what he thinks are over ten thousand focus groups, but he never really counted. David’s clients include a broad range of political, government, business, labor, health care, communications and advertising firms, as well as non-profit organizations and foundations. He is a frequent commentator on public opinion research for media groups around the country.

David traces his love for quantitative data to his childhood when he took to sorting a package of M&Ms into subgroups by color, tallying up which color had the most, and noting trends from package to package. His mother put a quick stop to the practice for health reasons, but David remains a consumer of all things data to this day.

William Gudelunas

Will has developed innovative research methodologies with DBR since 1999, merging qualitative research with predictive analytics, to optimize television and online ads and political messaging. He conducted research for the Obama 2008 and 2012 campaigns, as well as for the Obama White House. In 2012, he initiated the first online research community used in a presidential campaign. His research findings have appeared in various national media outlets.

Will spends his downtime in the water, swimming and bodysurfing. He earned his MA in politics from Lehigh University.

Seiji Carpenter

Seiji Carpenter has been with DBR for over a decade, working from San Francisco, Washington, DC, and New York City, where he currently resides. With his extensive background in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, he helps to create new research methodologies that more accurately identify underlying attitudes and opinions.

Prior to working with DBR, Seiji completed a Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs.

Shanan Alper

Shanan Alper has been with DBR since 2005, after spending years involved in a variety of political causes and campaigns. He conducts in-depth statistical analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, presenting his findings to community leaders and elected officials. He is an experienced moderator of both online and in-person focus groups. Shanan is particularly focused on ensuring the research provides actionable outcomes for the campaign and using methodologies that reach a representative set of the population. Living in San Francisco with three kids, Shanan is committed to working on projects that continually make California and our country a fairer and more just place to live and work.

Ethan Axelrod

Ethan has been with DBR since 2014, during which time he has led numerous research projects incorporating a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. His work has delved deeply into public opinion on behalf of local, national and statewide campaigns, non-profit advocacy organizations, and private sector clients. An experienced focus group moderator, Ethan prides himself on exploring the nuances of public opinion to inform messaging and strategy.

He lives in Denver, CO with his wife and son.

Ben Meyers

Ben facilitates all areas of quantitative and qualitative research at DBR. His keen attention to detail ensures that both our internal operations and our research projects run smoothly. Basically, he does a bit of everything.

Ben is the proud father of a beautiful little girl and spends his spare time teaching her the joys of NBA basketball, books, and NPR.

Erin Dixon

Longtime associate Erin Dixon is our lead data coordinator. Only David Binder himself has been with the firm longer. A pioneering telecommuter, Erin works remotely and is rarely seen in the office.

Though she doesn’t reveal much about her personal life, Erin’s data work speaks for itself: concise, transparent, and always on target.

Spencer Dixon-Word

Spencer joined the DBR team in 2013. A veritable data wizard, he manages the lifecycle of the survey data process – first by ensuring that proper samples are drawn and quotas are met, and then by providing an advanced layer of statistical analysis to maximize survey information impact.

Spencer graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2013. In his free time, he likes to spend time in the city and meet new people.

Carol Gailey

Carol Gailey brings over 25 years of marketing research expertise to her role as special consultant to DBR. Her experience includes strategic research projects for

Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, MCA Records, Marriott Corporation, Dole Food, Hardee’s, and The Principal Financial Group. Carol has a strong background in new product development and launch, including key product management responsibility at Hallmark Cards. She is a member of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association.

Outside of work, Carol is an avid reader and painter, and loves spending time with her cat and two dogs.

David Kordus

David Kordus leads quantitative and qualitative research projects at DBR. He regularly evaluates the performance of our survey research methods and tests new approaches for collecting data and presenting what we’ve learned.

Before joining DBR, David worked at the Public Policy Institute of California, at the National Opinion Research Center, and as a campaign data analyst—on the 2012 Obama campaign and as statewide GOTV data director in Wisconsin. He holds MAs in political science and communication from Marquette University.

Case Studies

Obama for America / Organizing for Action

DBR Role

DBR has been the sole research and online testing facilitator for OFA since 2006 – conducting focus groups, in-home interviews, dial tests, online communities, control-treatment tests, and phone surveys for the organization.

Research Innovation

Conducted online control-treatment studies to measure the impact of advertisements.
Conducted statistical analysis to establish the most critical metrics in determining vote choice.
Analyzed advertisement effectiveness in responding to specific opponent attacks.
Conducted an in-home study to determine actual television viewing behaviors – and which advertisements are most likely to be noticed.
Utilized online communities to determine what stories and advertisements average voters noticed.

Impact

DBR provides OFA with up-to-the-minute awareness of the stories that voters follow, questions they have, and the impact of ads and other communications on voter opinion.

Let’s Move

DBR Role

DBR spearheaded two rounds of qualitative research.

Research Innovation

Pinpointed the most motivating aspect of an anti-childhood obesity campaign.
Provided specific feedback to help characterize the campaign.

Impact

DBR determined the most effective themes to encourage action, as well as helping to maintain a positive brand identity for Michelle Obama and the campaign.

Marriage Equality

DBR Role

DBR conducted qualitative and quantitative research online, in person, and by phone, as well as organizing national research studies for foundations and nonprofit clients. DBR also joined the front lines, working on marriage equality campaigns in California, Maine, and Minnesota.

Research Innovation

Conducted parent and child, husband and wife, and mini-group dyads with small groups.
Used focus groups and online tests to determine the most effective responses to opponent attack ads.

Impact

Identified message framework (and effective messengers) to argue for marriage equality, as well as determining potential message vulnerabilities and how best to counteract them.

California Proposition 30: Temporary Taxes To Fund Education

DBR Role

DBR conducted qualitative and quantitative research online, in person, and by phone.

Research Innovation

Used online heat map technology and control-treatment studies to determine the specific language that was most effective in ballot arguments and advertisements.

Impact

Identified language that emphasized the importance of accountability, revealed the importance of the temporary tax language, and highlighted the importance of the messenger in communicating that money would go directly to classroom spending. Advertisement tests determined the most effective advertisements at different points during the campaign.

Contact

44 Page Street, Suite 404
San Francisco CA 94102

415 621 7655

415 621 7663

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Careers

David Binder Research is always looking for talented, experienced researchers.

Get in touch