IC Template for Consumer Media Benchmarking

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of
Qualitative Feedback on the Service Delivery of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau” (OMB Control Number: 3170-0024)
1. TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Consumer Media Benchmarking
2. PURPOSE: This survey will benchmark the effectiveness of the consumer communications
developed for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its tools, specifically
against relevant paid media creative within the financial services and/or government sectors.
This research will allow the CFPB to quantitatively benchmark the effectiveness of specific
paid media executions and ensure the most effective use of public funds for direct to
consumer paid communications.
3. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:
National online survey of 600 adults, age 30 to 65 who are either the sole financial decisionmaker or share financial decision-making in their household.
- N=400 between the ages of 30 to 44
-

N=200 between the ages of 45 to 65

4. TYPE OF COLLECTION (ADMINISTRATION OF THE INSTRUMENT):
a.

How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media
[ ] In-person
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[ ] Other, Explain ______________________

[ ] Telephone
[ ] Mail
[ ] Focus Group

b. Will interviewers or facilitators be used?
[ ] Yes [X] No [ ] Not Applicable

5. FOCUS GROUP OR SURVEY:
If you plan to conduct a focus group or survey, please provide answers to the following
questions:
a. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential
respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?
[X] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not Applicable
b. If the answer is yes, please provide a description below. If the answer is no, please
provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and
how you will select them?
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The researchers will recruit participants using pre-recruited national online panels. Respondents
will be screened to be in between the ages of 30 and 65, with 400 being between the ages of 30 to
44. All respondents will be screened to either be the sole financial decision-maker or share
financial decision-making in their household.
The recruiting of survey respondents is subcontracted by GMMB to independent panel
companies. These companies own and manage proprietary, national databases of potential
respondents who have opted in to participate in surveys. At no point in the process will GMMB
or CFPB have access to the respondents’ names, mailing addresses, email addresses, phone
numbers or any other information that would make it possible to identify or contact the
individuals. GMMB and CFPB will only have access to the demographic, attitudinal and
behavioral category data that comprise the contents of the survey questionnaire.
6. PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION:
a. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [] No

b. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to
the Privacy Act of 1974? [X] Yes [ ] No [] Not Applicable
If applicable, what is the link to the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)?
Consumer Experience Research PIA - pp. 4-5 specifically calls out User Testing
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201406_cfpb_consumer-experience-research_pia.pdf

c. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice (SORN) been published?
[ ] Yes [ ] No [X] Not Applicable
If Yes, provide Federal Register citation for the SORN __ FR ______.

7. INCENTIVES:
a. Is an incentive provided to participants? [X] Yes [ ] No
b. If Yes, provide the amount or value of the incentive? “Reward Points” are
provided to participants, which can be redeemed for items such as merchandise and
gift cards. Given the variety of redemption options, a dollar value is not assigned to
the points. The vendor will determine the amount of points participants will receive
for taking the survey, based on the vendor’s determination of what is necessary to
collect the targeted number of responses for the agreed upon sample set. The
approximate value of the points is less than 5 (five) dollars.
c. If Yes, provide a statement justifying the use and amount of the incentive.
d. For this type of voluntary survey being given to respondents who have opted in to
respond to such surveys, it is normal practice to provide a small incentive to survey
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participants. Such incentives help to ensure the organization receives a large enough
number of responses to provide valuable data.

8. BURDEN ESTIMATES:
Information Collection

Number of
Respondents

Screener
Web-based survey
Totals

Frequency

800
1
600
1
800 //////////////////////

Number of
Annual
Responses

Response
Time
(hours)

Burden
Hours

800
0.1 hours
600
0.33 hours
1,400 ////////////////////////////

80 hours
198 hours
278 hours

* The 600 respondents who take the web-based survey are a subset of those who took the screener; therefore, the
total estimated number of respondents is 800.

9. FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is

$30,000.00

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10. CERTIFICATIONS:
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 5 CFR 1320.9, AND THE RELATED PROVISIONS
OF 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3) :
By submitting this document, the Bureau certifies the following to be true:
(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
(c) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous terminology that is understandable to
respondents;
(d) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and
recordkeeping practices;
(e) It indicates the retention period for recordkeeping requirements;
(f) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3):
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
(g) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and
effective management and use of the information to be collected;
(h) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology; and
(i) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

CERTIFICATION FOR INFORMATION COLLECTIONS SUBMITTED UNDER A
GENERIC INFORMATION COLLECTION PLAN
By submitting this document, the Bureau certifies the following to be true:
 The collection is voluntary.
 The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.
 The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal
agencies.
 The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.
 Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential
policy decisions.
 The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have
experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.
 The data collection is not statistically significant, the sample is not intended to be
representative, and the results will not be used to make inferences beyond the survey
sample.
The results will not be used to measure regulatory compliance or for program evaluation

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