Online Community / MROC

Also known as: MROC, Online Community, Consumer Community, Insight Community

Digital platform where a selected group of consumers interact for days or weeks to co-create insights with the brand.

An Online Research Community (MROC, Market Research Online Community) is a private digital platform where a group of selected consumers—typically 50-300 people—interact with each other and with the research team over an extended period (days, weeks, or months).

Unlike a point-in-time focus group, the community allows: behavioral observation over time, trust-building that facilitates more authentic responses, iterative co-creation activities, and discussion of complex topics with greater depth.

Activities in an MROC can include: moderated discussions, consumption diaries, concept evaluation, idea co-creation, and trend analysis. AI is making MROCs more scalable: automated moderation, real-time sentiment analysis, and insight synthesis.

Atlantia uses online communities for innovation and product development projects where iterative consumer input over time is needed.