Inside the Winning Query: Brand Winner Claire Harter

Great queries do not happen by accident. We caught up with our Brand winner Claire Harter, to unpack her experience taking on this year's brief and the strategy behind his winning query:

What was it like tackling this year's brief?

I really enjoyed the challenge because it pushed me to think beyond simply finding the “right” keywords. The brief required translating a nuanced human conversation into search logic, which meant constantly pressure-testing whether the query was capturing the conversation we actually cared about, rather than just generating a large volume of technically relevant mentions. It was a great reminder that strong Boolean search is as much about understanding people, language, and context as it is about syntax.

What was your strategic breakthrough when structuring your syntax and exclusions?

Figuring out the multiple concepts that need to intersect in order to pul relevant results without pulling noise. In this case, my query started out as follows: US + wired/wireless + reasons, and developed into: US + wired/wireless + personal opinion + comparison/reason.

What is your top tip for social intelligence professionals trying to sharpen their Boolean logic?

I always start by breaking down the concepts that need to be included (or excluded) and building + pressure-testing each of those blocks individually to find out if I'm getting the results I need. So with a question like "why are Americans returning to wired headphones over wireless?" there's a few things that I notice right away: the 'reason' piece ("why"), the wired vs. wireless conversation, and the 'American' piece. Each of these blocks needs to be added and tested to make sure it's both comprehensive as well as relevant.

A few words from our judges:

•  Bio proxies nobody else thought of. Alongside states, cities and regional nicknames (NOLA, Windy City), she used political affiliation, American sports and Ivy League institutions as bio signals, required in bio, title, body or a US-specific community. A genuinely original read of what an American profile looks like from the outside, and the reason her geography discriminates instead of merely appearing to.
• She captured the negative case as well as the positive one. The query deliberately collects complaints about wireless, not only preference for wired. Most entrants built only the positive half, and it is a large part of why her set is so rich: "I switched back to wired earbuds today because I am fed up with wireless earbuds being so shitty despite costing so much."
• Colloquial first-person markers as a quality filter - imho, hot take, lowkey - to screen out reposted news and commentary. A cheap, elegant way to keep the set to real people. 93% of her relevant posts are first-person.
• The widest evidence base in the field: 17 distinct sources, with her top platform at 40%. Several posts enumerate more than one reason at once - one lists sound, charging, comfort and cost as A, B, C, D. 64% of her set gives a reason outright, the highest in the competition.
• Exclusions cover ads, affiliates and UK spellings, and her AI use is disclosed and correctly scoped to synonym expansion.

‍A note on relevance

Jeremy, from Unwritten says ideal relevancy targets depend on who is using the collected data:

• End-Users / Non-Experts: An ideal relevancy rate is between 80% to 90%, as non-expert users do not want to sort through irrelevant data.
• Research and Analysis Teams: A lower relevancy rate around 50% may be acceptable if the data is being used for further research and additional cleaning.

And without further ado, here is Viktor's winning query:

Relevancy: 46.8%‍

Query:

Filters:
Language: English
Country: US or Unknown
Source type: Forums, social networks, reviews, and messengers
Post type: Post, comment, extended repost

<<<US Only>>>
(
country:US
OR
author.bio:(democrat OR republican OR " " OR "🏈" OR "ivy league" OR
"United States" OR UnitedState* OR "the US" OR USA OR America* OR Alabama
OR Alaska OR Arizona OR Arkansas OR California OR Colorado OR Connecticut
OR Delaware OR Florida OR Georgia OR Hawaii OR Idaho OR Illinois OR
Indiana OR Iowa OR Kansas OR Kentucky OR Louisiana OR Maine OR Maryland
OR Massachusetts OR Michigan OR Minnesot* OR Mississippi OR Missouri OR
Montana OR Nebraska OR Nevada OR "New Hampshire" OR "New Jersey" OR
"New Mexico" OR "New York" OR "North Carolina" OR "North Dakota" OR
Ohio OR Oklahoma OR Oregon OR Pennsylvania OR "Penn State" OR "UPenn"
OR "Rhode Island" OR "South Carolina" OR "South Dakota" OR Tennessee OR
Texas OR Utah OR Vermont OR Virginia OR Washington OR WestVirginia OR
Wisconsin OR Wyoming OR "District of Columbia" OR Albuquerque OR
Arlington OR Atlanta OR Austin OR Baltimore OR "Bay Area" OR Boston OR
Charlotte OR Chicago OR Columbus OR Dallas OR Denver OR Detroit OR "El
Paso" OR "Fort Worth" OR Fresno OR Houston OR Indianapolis OR Jacksonville
OR "Las Vegas" OR "Long Beach" OR "Los Angeles" OR Louisville OR Memphis
OR Mesa OR Miami OR Milwaukee OR Minneapolis OR Nashville OR "New
Orleans" OR NYC OR Oakland OR Omaha OR Philadelphia OR Philly OR
Phoenix OR Portland OR Raleigh OR Sacramento OR "San Antonio" OR "San
Diego" OR "San Francisco" OR "San Jose" OR Seattle OR Tampa OR Tucson OR
Tulsa OR Wichita OR "Washington DC" OR "Wash DC" OR NOLA OR NorCal
OR SoCal OR "Silicon Valley" OR "New England" OR "Motor City" OR "Music

City" OR "The Big Apple" OR "The Big Easy" OR "City of Angels" OR "Empire
State" OR "Lone Star State" OR "Mile High City" OR "The Sunshine State" OR
"Windy City" OR AK OR AL OR AR OR AZ OR CA OR CO OR CT OR DE
OR FL OR GA OR HI OR IA OR IL OR KS OR KY OR LA OR MA OR MD OR
MI OR MN OR MO OR MS OR MT OR NC OR ND OR NE OR NH OR NJ
OR NM OR NV OR NY OR PA OR RI OR SC OR SD OR TN OR TX OR UT
OR VA OR VT OR WA OR WI OR WV OR WY)
OR
publicationPlace.name:(UnitedState* OR "United States" OR "the US" OR USA OR
America* OR Alabama OR Alaska OR Arizona OR Arkansas OR California OR
Colorado OR Connecticut OR Delaware OR Florida OR Georgia OR Hawaii OR
Idaho OR Illinois OR Indiana OR Iowa OR Kansas OR Kentucky OR Louisiana OR
Maine OR Maryland OR Massachusetts OR Michigan OR Minnesota OR Mississippi
OR Missouri OR Montana OR Nebraska OR Nevada OR "New Hampshire" OR
"New Jersey" OR "New Mexico" OR "New York" OR "North Carolina" OR
"North Dakota" OR Ohio OR Oklahoma OR Oregon OR Pennsylvania OR "Penn
State" OR "UPenn" OR "Rhode Island" OR "South Carolina" OR "South Dakota"
OR Tennessee OR Texas OR Utah OR Vermont OR Virginia OR Washington OR
WestVirginia OR Wisconsin OR Wyoming OR "District of Columbia" OR
Albuquerque OR Arlington OR Atlanta OR Austin OR Baltimore OR "Bay Area"
OR Boston OR Charlotte OR Chicago OR Columbus OR Dallas OR Denver OR
Detroit OR "El Paso" OR "Fort Worth" OR Fresno OR Houston OR Indianapolis
OR Jacksonville OR "Las Vegas" OR "Long Beach" OR "Los Angeles" OR Louisville
OR Memphis OR Mesa OR Miami OR Milwaukee OR Minneapolis OR Nashville
OR "New Orleans" OR NYC OR Oakland OR Omaha OR Philadelphia OR Philly
OR Phoenix OR Portland OR Raleigh OR Sacramento OR "San Antonio" OR "San
Diego" OR "San Francisco" OR "San Jose" OR Seattle OR Tampa OR Tucson OR
Tulsa OR Wichita OR "Washington DC" OR "Wash DC" OR NOLA OR NorCal
OR SoCal OR "Silicon Valley" OR "New England")
OR
(
publicationPlace.nickname:(AskAnAmerican OR AskNYC OR UnitedStates
OR USA OR NewYorkCity OR NYC OR NYCmusic OR NYCmusicians

OR NYCrail OR avesNYC OR LosAngeles OR AtlantaGA OR Austin OR
BayArea OR Baltimore OR BostonMA OR BostonMusic OR
BostonSocialClub OR Chicago OR Denver OR Detroit OR HoustonTX OR
LasVegas OR MiamiFL OR Nashville OR NewOrleans OR NOLA OR
Philadelphia OR Philly OR Phoenix OR Portland OR SanDiego OR
SanFrancisco OR SeattleWA OR WashingtonDC OR MarchMadness OR
CollegeFootball OR NASCAR)
AND
source:(reddit.com)
)
OR
("United States" OR UnitedStates* OR "the US" OR USA OR America* OR
Alabama OR Alaska OR Arizona OR Arkansas OR California OR Colorado OR
Connecticut OR Delaware OR Florida OR Georgia OR Hawaii OR Idaho OR
Illinois OR Indiana OR Iowa OR Kansas OR Kentucky OR Louisiana OR Maine
OR Maryland OR Massachusetts OR Michigan OR Minnesota OR Mississippi OR
Missouri OR Montana OR Nebraska OR Nevada OR "New Hampshire" OR "New
Jersey" OR "New Mexico" OR "New York" OR NewYork* OR Manhattan OR
"Staten Island" OR Williamsburg OR "North Carolina" OR "North Dakota" OR
Ohio OR Oklahoma OR Oregon OR Pennsylvania OR "Rhode Island" OR "South
Carolina" OR "South Dakota" OR Tennessee OR Texas OR Utah OR Vermont OR
Virginia OR Washington OR WestVirginia OR Wisconsin OR Wyoming OR
NYC OR "Big Apple" OR "Los Angeles" OR LosAngeles* OR Hollywood OR
"Beverly Hills" OR Chicago OR "Windy City" OR Houston OR Phoenix OR
Philadelphia OR Philly OR "San Antonio" OR SanAntonio* OR Alamo OR "San
Diego" OR SanDiego* OR Dallas OR "San Jose" OR "Silicon Valley" OR Austin
OR Jacksonville OR "Fort Worth" OR Cowtown OR Columbus OR Charlotte OR
"San Francisco" OR "San Fran" OR SanFran* OR "Bay Area" OR Indianapolis OR
Seattle OR Denver OR "Washington DC" OR "D.C." OR "New England" OR
Pittsburgh OR Baltimore OR "New Orleans" OR NOLA OR Boston OR Brooklyn
OR Milwaukee OR Bronx OR Atlanta OR Detroit OR Albuquerque OR Arlington
OR Fresno OR Louisville OR Memphis OR Mesa OR Miami OR Minneapolis OR
Nashville OR Oakland OR Omaha OR Portland OR Raleigh OR Sacramento OR

Tampa OR Tucson OR Tulsa OR Wichita OR NorCal OR SoCal OR "South
Florida" OR "Motor City" OR "Music City" OR "City of Angels" OR "Empire
State" OR "Lone Star State" OR "Mile High City" OR "fourth of july" OR "4th of
july" OR DMV OR Medicaid OR Medicare OR Tricare OR SSN OR "social
security" OR "ZIP code" OR "state ID" OR "REAL ID" OR Obamacare OR HMO
OR PPO OR "COBRA coverage" OR FAFSA OR "community college" OR
communitycollege* OR "Black Friday" OR BlackFriday OR "Super Bowl" OR
superbowl* OR "401k" OR "401(k)" OR EBT OR UnitedHealth* OR "United
Health" OR "United Healthcare" OR Aetna OR BCBS OR "Blue Cross" OR
BlueCross* OR Humana OR Cigna OR "Kaiser Permanente" OR "Dollar Tree" OR
"Hidden Valley" OR "Wells Fargo" OR Kroger OR "Fred Meyer" OR "y'all" OR
yall OR lbs OR Fahrenheit OR splendor* OR harbor* OR color* OR multicolor* OR
honor* OR favor* OR analyz* OR organiz* OR center OR defense OR jewelry OR
glamor* OR labor* OR disfavor* OR neighbor*)
)
AND
<<<Wired v. Wireless>>>
<<<Text>>>
(
<<<Wired>>>
(
wiredheadpho* OR wiredear* OR "ear pod" OR "ear pods" OR earpod* OR
cordedheadph* OR cordedearph*
OR
(
(wired OR wires OR cord OR cords OR “with cables” OR “has cables” OR
corded OR plug*)
/1
(earbud OR earbuds OR "ear buds" OR “ear bud” OR “iems” OR “iem” OR
“in ear monitor” OR “in ear monitors” OR inearmonitor* OR headphon* OR
"head phone" OR "head phones" OR earphon* OR "ear phones" OR earpiece*
OR “ear piece” OR “ear pieces” OR headset OR headsets OR “head set” OR
“head sets”)

)
)
/14
<<<Wireless>>>
(((
bluetooth OR "blue tooth" OR “cord free” OR “cable free” OR cablefree* OR
cordfree* OR “wire free” OR wirefree* OR cordless* OR wireless OR wireless* OR
bluetooth* OR airpod* OR “air pods” OR “air pod” OR “wi fi” OR wifi*
)
/13
<<<Reasons>>>
(
why OR bc OR bcos OR bcuz OR becaus* OR cuz OR cos OR caus* OR "due to"
OR reason OR reason* OR since OR "given that" OR "given my" OR "owing to"
OR "seeing that" OR "seeing as"
))
/12
<<<Comparison>>>
(
better OR best OR compar* OR "I love" OR prefer* OR “opt for” OR “opted for”
OR advantag* OR disadvantag* OR overrated OR underrated OR "don't like" OR
"dont like" OR worst OR worse OR back OR comeback OR vs OR versus OR
switch*
))
)
AND
<<<Personal Opinion>>>
(
i OR my OR me OR myself OR mine OR ive OR im OR imho OR imo OR imnsho OR
tbh OR ngl OR fwiw OR istg OR "hot take" OR "cold take" OR iirc OR afaik OR ymmv
OR personally OR storytime OR lowk OR highk OR lowkey OR highkey OR "just
saying" OR "just sayin" OR afaic OR jmo OR idk OR idc OR ikr OR eli5 OR

explainlikeim*
)
AND NOT
<<<Exclusions>>>
(
(
#ad OR affiliate OR affiliates OR "best deal" OR "best deals" OR giveaway OR
subscribe OR "give away" OR "buy now" OR buynow OR ufo OR alien* OR
#HorrorStory OR #HorrorStories OR Anime OR #AnimeStory OR #whatsinmybag
OR "on sale" OR onsale OR "shopping cart" OR police OR policebodycam OR
bodycam OR "body cam" OR amendment OR "welcome back" OR "aux to
bluetooth" OR "aux to blue tooth" OR "link in bio" OR "link in description" OR
"link in the description"
)
OR
title:(#ad OR affiliate OR affiliates OR "best deal" OR "best deals" OR giveaway OR
subscribe OR "give away" OR "buy now" OR buynow OR ufo OR alien* OR
#HorrorStory OR #HorrorStories OR Anime OR #AnimeStory OR #whatsinmybag
OR "on sale" OR onsale OR cart OR police OR policebodycam OR bodycam OR
"body cam" OR amendment OR "back to school" OR "aux to bluetooth" OR "aux to
blue tooth" OR "link in bio" OR "link in description" OR "Link in the description")
OR
(“brummie” OR “brum” OR “bruv” OR "£" OR "pound coin" OR "pound coins"
OR “GBP” OR colour* OR harbour* OR splendour* OR multicolour* OR honour*
OR analyse* OR organis* OR centre OR centres OR defence OR favour* OR
jewellery OR tyre OR cheque OR labour* OR disfavour* OR neighbour* OR UK
OR "United Kingdom" OR Britain OR "Amazon.co.uk" OR Argos OR Currys OR
"John Lewis" OR "Royal Mail" OR “high street” OR “TK Maxx” OR #ad OR
affiliate OR affiliates OR "best deal" OR "best deals" OR giveaway OR "give away"
OR "buy now" OR buynow OR ufo OR alien* OR #HorrorStory OR
#HorrorStories OR Anime OR #AnimeStory)
OR

publicationPlace.name:(casualUK OR MounjaroUK OR WegovyUK OR Britain
OR GreatBritain OR UKPersonalFinance OR AskUK OR LondonUK OR
ManchesterUK OR IndiaFood OR China OR PremierLeague OR LaLiga)
OR
publicationPlace.nickname:(casualUK OR MounjaroUK OR WegovyUK OR
UKPersonalFinance OR AskUK OR LondonUK OR ManchesterUK OR IndiaFood
OR PremierLeague OR LaLiga OR AskABrit OR AskBrits OR unitedkingdom OR
Britain OR England OR Scotland OR Wales OR northernireland OR
BritishProblems OR BritishSuccess OR UKPersonalFinance OR UKFrugal OR
UKTechDeals OR ukdeals OR HardwareSwapUK OR LegalAdviceUK OR
cscareerquestionsuk OR UKTravel OR London OR brum OR Manchester OR
Liverpool OR Bristol OR Leeds OR Sheffield OR Nottingham OR
NewcastleUponTyne OR Edinburgh OR Glasgow OR Cardiff OR Belfast OR
Brighton OR Cambridge OR Oxford OR York OR Southampton OR Portsmouth
OR Plymouth OR Exeter OR Bath OR Leicester OR Coventry OR Norwich OR
Aberdeen OR Dundee OR Swansea OR Hull OR Chester OR Carlisle OR Cumbria
OR Lancaster_uk OR DurhamUK OR Sunderland OR Teesside OR Bradford OR
Harrogate OR Huddersfield OR Lincolnshire OR ScarboroughUK OR Wakefield
OR Australia OR Australian OR Australians OR straya OR AussieCasual OR Aussie
OR Melbourne OR MelbourneTrains OR Sydney OR SydneyTrains)
)

‍