2008 flew by through billows of projects and accomplishments. Over the past twelve months, Corona achieved record revenues, expanded our strategic planning practice with new staff, promoted four senior analysts and one senior researcher, invested in top-of-the line online survey software, and completed over 40 projects.

Corona conducted surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews with beer drinkers to law school students, doctors to lip balm users and visually impaired persons.

While we’ve all heard stories about just how fast Santa and his reindeer have to travel to complete his night’s work, we at Corona were wondering how we could help slow him down. 

So, the analysts at Corona set out to create an optimization model to construct Santa’s optimal route across the lower 48 (we don’t mean to ignore Hawaii and Alaska, but hey this is pro bono work). To do so, we used what is often known as a “traveling salesman problem” to find an ideal path through the major population centers. Though only sub-optimal (to calculate a perfectly optimal solution, the model would still be running!), it will give Santa and his reindeer an efficient path to travel. 

We’re hoping that by saving Santa some time he will leave a little something extra in our stockings this year…