Independents’ Day: Resurgence
27 September 2017

The finalists have been revealed for the 2017 MRS/ICG Award for independent consultants.

Launched in 2016 and open to MRS and ICG members, the Award is designed to recognise the contribution of researchers who choose to work as micro-businesses. The judges look for entries which best demonstrate skill, expertise and experience in the delivery of research projects, the application of novel research methods or contributions made to the success of a client’s business.

Bad Babysitter Productions’ submission Plus Size Fashion for Women: What happens when pop culture stereotypes creep into a clothing retailer’s business decisions? demonstrated how video-based ethnography identified ‘a huge business opportunity for growth hiding in plain sight.’ Over 50 hours of video were analysed to contextualize and humanize the shopping experience for plus-sized customers, taking the client’s leaders beyond conjecture and providing an immediate consensus on the way forward.

In Grow Funeralcare; using insight to unlock strategic opportunities in an ever-growing marketplace, Compass Research Limited undertook fieldwork in an incredibly sensitive market with a team of their qualitative and quantitative Associates which directly influenced the creation of a commercially achievable, long-term brand strategy and target operating structure for their client.

Feeling Mutual and The Box Plus Network effectively harnessed social media to support robust primary research with a hard-to-reach Millennial audience in How Behavioural Recruitment helped The Box Plus Network understand Millennials’ love of music video. Their results informed diverse parts of client’s business, from content to scheduling, marketing and advertising, and they described the work as ‘affirming and enlightening in equal measure.’

Doing more, with less: utilising the Money Advice Service’s existing research to take insight further showcased how Shed Research Consulting used focused CHAID analysis to unpick the factors driving specific issues around our ageing population’s significant financial capability issues. Their review of existing research, external research and re-analysed data, along with a small number of quasi-ethnographic, qualitative interviews to add further context, delivered a lean and cost-effective piece of research for the client.

The winner will be revealed at the MRS Awards Dinner at Supernova London on 4 December. More details and booking information can be found here.