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I'm trying to interpret the hotspot data for Greenvale. When I look at the suburb results compared to the public report the hotspot data changes - as though the results are different for the same location. Should I request a custom location for my neighbourhood so that I know it is accurate?
The Greenvale report is one of our public locations - the way to 'split it up' would be to request additional custom boundaries for your more specific smaller areas. However the results for Greenvale as a whole is still correct. The difference that you see when you flick between the other locations is due to the scaling of the results. The colour scales on the results are 'bracketed' based on the percentile results for the data capture area. This means that 'very high' is the top 15 percent of all results within that data capture boundary. So if the boundary is bigger or smaller, the range shown is bigger or smaller.
To illustrate this point a little further, another example would be if we looked at the whole of Australia in one view, probably only Sydney and Melbourne would appear 'very high' with the rest of Australia appearing 'normal' or even 'low'. If you want to discuss this further, then just let us know. If you'd like to request an additional custom location you can go ahead and do so through your Add ons cart in your Upgrade portal. The new location could be processed within 1 business day if you are still working to a tight deadline.
Can I zoom out and see multiple activity centres?
Depending on what data sets you are most keen to compare across different locations, there are different ways to do this.The Insights Reports are always one location at a time, and while you can toggle between locations (in the 'Reports' menu) to see how they compare, you cannot ' zoom out' to see more than 1 location in a single report. This is because each report is 'scaled' to itself - meaning 'high' activity in one location may be different to 'high' in another. For behavioural data (activity hotspots of visitation) you can easily compare locations to one another in the Discover tool. This interface allows you to click across different suburbs to see how the results change. For amenities mapping (to attractions) you can use the Explorer tool to compare custom locations to one another. Just utilise the 'compare mode' toggle, and this will allow you to select more than 1 location for comparisons and ranking.
How will I know if the custom locations we have in mind are suitable for the custom boundaries? I know there are size restrictions and if it’s too small a space then it might not be possible, so it would be good to check this.
Here is some guidance on how to choose the best custom location size and shape. But if you're still unsure on whether your locations will provide good results, just send me through the locations and I can pass them on to our team to confirm their viability for use as custom boundaries.
Best size: Depending on your geographic area, custom locations smaller than 3km2 (2km2 in CBD locations) may yield limited data due to a smaller sample size, potentially affecting the robustness of your findings. Some of our data results have an error of up to 50m, so shapes that are too 'narrow' can be problematic. In instances where you are seeking to analyse the lifestyle around a specific location - such as a shopping centre or park - we recommend including a 1-block radius around this location to ensure you pick up all relevant activity.
Best shape: The strength of our data is to provide you with the ‘context’ around your focus area. For this reason the best shape for a data boundary is usually a circle around your area of focus. We recommend a 1km radius for typical neighbourhoods, smaller for CBD locations, and larger for regional locations. The exception for this, is where there is a point of interest within your context that you wish to exclude from analysis so that it does not ‘contaminate’ your data. For example, if you are trying to understand visitation to your town centre, and there is a hospital on the town’s edge, you may wish to exclude the hospital from the analysis so that your visitation results reflect town centre visitors, and not the hospital visitors.
Our Help Centre also includes articles on how to request a custom location or choose the best comparison locations.
I think I know what we need at the moment. There may however be additional elements we want to add further down the line as we develop our projects and get a better feel for what we can do with the data – I take it we would be able to add features and reports easily enough in the future?
Yes, you can easily add 'Add ons' to your account at any time. Add ons include custom boundaries, Archive Reports, or premium data such as Activity Trends. To do this, simply log into your account, then use the 'Purchase Add ons' button on your Account portal to select the add ons you would like.
I’m thinking about the custom boundaries and historic data. Basically, we can use the standard information available through the ‘Pro’ subscription but want to also create 2-3 customer boundaries for projects that are soon to be starting. However, we have more projects in the pipeline but they aren’t as far advanced so we aren’t ready to consider these yet.So for now we are keen to sign up for the year ‘Pro’ subscription and include 3 custom boundaries, but then add some more later and just want to make sure the invoice reflects this.
You can absolutely start by purchasing the Pro subscription and three custom boundaries now and can add additional custom boundaries as they progress further in your pipeline; that is no issue at all. Custom boundaries can be purchased through our platform as an "Add on". To request additional custom boundaries, check out our Purchasing Guide in the Help Centre. This guide walks you through how you can build your own quote directly in our platform, as well as add "Add Ons" to your account. The Help Centre also includes articles on how to request a custom location or choose the best comparison locations.