×
Home > survey-reviews > Brand Institute Paid Survey Review: It’s Not Just for Doctors

Brand Institute Paid Survey Review: It’s Not Just for Doctors

editUpdated on: August 24, 2018 by anvitalis

Brand Institute isn’t new to the paid survey world, but it also isn’t as well-known as some of the others. Many are under the impression this panel is only for those in the medical profession, but we found out otherwise. Here’s what you need to know.You many have recently seen Brand Institute’s advertisement on Bloomberg Television.  Did it peak your interest?  Can you really make money taking surveys?  Yes, you can.

According to the BBB, Brand Institute has been around for 22 years.  They have several files open under a few different addresses.  None of them show that this is a BBB accredited business, and most of them are listed as Not Rated.

There is a North Carolina address that has them with an A+ rating, and none of the files have any reviews or complaints.

This is good, because bad BBB ratings and complaints are common in this industry.

What is Brand Institute?

Brand Institute was founded in 1993 with the purpose of providing high-quality name development services.

As part of this mission, they also offer brand strategy, trademark screening, market and safety research, design, and regulatory affairs.

They do focus primarily on pharmaceuticals.  This is why there is a misconception that they only accept those in the medical profession as panelists.

Many of their products are consumer products. There are just more pharmaceuticals than others.

In addition, many of their surveys related to over the counter medications and other types of medical information require non-medical professionals.

They also help to name, or brand, these types of products.  One example of a well-known product they named is MotrinMax.

Who Can Sign Up?

They have panelists from all over the world.  Of course, due to the medical slant, if you do happen to be a medical professional, you could stand to get more, higher paying opportunities.

Their Facebook page has comments in many different languages, and I noticed one from a doctor in Germany.

Someone else from Sweden said they had been a panelist for years.  When you sign up, you are given a comprehensive list of languages to choose from as those in which you would feel comfortable taking surveys.

Sign Up Process

It starts out pretty standard.  You enter you contact information and such.  It asked for my phone number but it wasn’t required to continue through the form.

I was taken aback when it asked for my social security number.  I was relieved it was not required to continue either, but I did click the link to find out why they were asking for it.

It was as I suspected.  They need it to send you a form 1099 for tax purposes, but only if you make more than $600 within one year.

If you happen to make that much, you will have to provide your social security number.

Surveys

Survey invitations are sent by email only to those panelists that fit the criteria to take a particular survey.  There is no survey list on your account.

I haven’t received an invitation yet, but others say the surveys are fun and interesting.  Some reviewers even use the term “unique.”

How Much Money Can I Make?

It all depends on how many surveys you get to take.  Apparently, they are hard to qualify for due to the specific demographic requirements on most of the surveys, likely due to their medical nature.

Even though they have surveys for non-medical professionals as well, those who tend to get the most action on this site are the ones with a medical background.

This isn’t just doctor’s however.  There are paid medical surveys for nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other types of medical professionals.

According to Brand Institute, surveys pay an average of $15 each.  The amount of time each one takes varies greatly based on a number of factors such as the topic and purpose.

How Do They Pay?

The payment process differs greatly from that of other survey sites.  First, there are no points, and there is no minimum cash out balance.  You are paid individually for each survey.

Payments are made for each survey at once, after the survey reaches its quota, and all the data is processed.  You can check the status of your payment for a particular survey on your account.

There are four different payment stages:

  • Survey Open– The survey has not yet reached its quota and is still open to panelists.
  • Survey Closed/ Processing Responses– The survey is closed, and the responses are being evaluated. Only valid data will be eligible for payment.
  • Payment processing– Payments for this survey are currently being processed
  • Payment posted– Your payment has been posted and should appear in your account within the week.

There are only two payout options, check or PayPal. You will have to choose which one you prefer when you sign up.

Account

Even though you cannot access surveys from your account, there are a number of things you can do there.  The first and most obvious is tracking payments.

However, there are a number of profile questions you can answer as well.  Filling these out completely could increase your chances of being invited to a survey.

You can also see your survey invite history.  If you get several, this could come in handy as far as keeping things organized.

Reviews

Since there were no BBB reviews, I headed over to their Facebook page to see what people were thinking.

They have a 4.5-star rating on Facebook.  Generally, their panelists seem to be happy.

There were several recent comments about not as many surveys being available.

This could be for several reasons, but the most likely is that these particular panelists happened to fit what was needed for several surveys at once and do not fit what is needed for the surveys that are currently available.

Is Brand Survey Panel Legit or a Scam?

They are not a scam.  This is an established company that works primarily with the medical community.

They pay as promised and never charge money or even ask for credit card information.

Conclusion

This is a good one.  Sign up for it so that if you do qualify for a survey you will get a shot.  If you happen to be a medical professional, you are more likely to be chosen for higher paying surveys, so definitely get your name in there.

Even if you are not a medical professional, you should still sign up.  There are options for you too.  Just remember that no one, whether or not in the medical field, is going to get rich taking surveys.

If you want to increase the money, you make taking surveys, be sure to sign up for several panels.  In addition to this one, Swagbucks and MySurvey are also highly recommended.