LRW Group Partners with USC and Los Angeles County to Discover the True Spread of COVID-19 Across L.A.

LOS ANGELES, April 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketing services firm LRW Group today announced a coordinated effort with USC's Price School of Public Policy and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to recruit and test 1,000 Los Angeles residents to discover the true spread of COVID-19 across the county. The blood tests, known as serological testing, will determine if the participants now carry or have ever carried the virus. The results of these tests expect to shed new light on just how widespread the virus is across the county, and are a critical touchpoint to determine when residents can return to "normal life."

LRW Group's role in this effort is to identify and recruit a representative sample of Los Angeles residents to participate in the study. Both healthy and sick residents will be asked to participate to gain a more accurate picture of just how far the virus has penetrated the community. LRW Group is providing these services at no cost to L.A. County.

"Much like everyone else across the world, we were eager to find a way to help fight the spread of COVID-19," said LRW Group President and COO Jeff Reynolds. "Our work is typically focused on helping businesses develop new customer insights and help them put those insights into action. We realized that we could apply our sampling and analytical expertise toward understanding the spread of the virus. When we identified an opportunity to support the LA community with this crucial antibody study, we moved quickly to provide them with the participants they needed to make this important research initiative a success."

The first round of testing begins today and continues through Saturday evening, where hundreds of local community members will be invited to six testing locations throughout the city of Los Angeles. Ensuing tests will take place every two weeks in Los Angeles County, at rotating locations across the city. 

Participants will be invited to drive up to testing locations for a pin-prick blood test conducted inside their cars. Unlike the common nasal swab test that reveals whether a person currently has the virus, the serological test measures the presence of antibodies in the blood and can determine whether the test subject previously had the virus. An understanding of what percentage of the population is carrying the virus, and how many people have already recovered can give researchers and governments the tools they need to evaluate social distancing measures and help answer the question of when people can return to their normal routines. 

"Since the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, we've worked hard to deliver useful insights about how the virus is impacting our world," said Jacqueline Rosales, COO of SoapBoxSample, LRW Group's survey sampling and online research arm. "Now we get to take our efforts one step further by having a direct role in a solution that will get our society back on a path to normal life. It's an honor to be part of this research initiative that could potentially have a game-changing impact on our community."

Los Angeles County residents interested in participating in future COVID-19 studies should visit http://join.mysoapbox.com/covid19/.

About LRW Group

LRW Group is an integrated marketing services company offering clients a wide variety of capabilities to solve complex problems for the world's most remarkable businesses. Operating two core divisions – Perspective and Action – LRW Group provides a wide range of solutions with an emphasis on strategy, branding, communications, innovation, product development, and customer experience. Our proprietary approach goes beyond data analysis to build businesses from the insight out.  LRW Group companies include LRW, Kelton Global, ISA, SoapBoxSample, LRWTonic, LRWMotiveQuest, LRWGreenberg, Strativity, Killer Visual Strategies, Karma Agency, Salt Branding, Q-insights, and icanmakeitbetter. The group is headquartered in Los Angeles with seventeen offices or facilities in New York, Chicago, London, Seattle, Orange County, Philadelphia, Austin, Las Vegas, Charlotte, and Atlanta.

About SoapBoxSample

You Don't Know What You Don't Know. Brands need insights that lead to great ideas. We help you turn your business questions into actionable insights. Whether your company is a legacy brand, or part of an emerging market like cannabis, we have a suite of customizable research tools for any project size. Our team of super likable humans combines decades of research experience with a nimble and disruptive start-up mind-set. We believe in making your life easier, saying no even when you don't want to hear it and giving you a research experience that improves your business' bottom line. Offering a FRESH blend of research and technology, our suite of services includes: community insight platform (icanmakeitbetter); online data collection; and full-service design and analytics. To learn more about SoapBoxSample visit SoapBoxSample.com. The SoapBox trademark is owned by Calign, Inc and used under license.

SOURCE LRW Group