Thomson previously worked with Ed Keller and Brad Fay at Roper ASW, which was later bought by GfK NOP.

More recently Thomson was a director of the Ipsos consumer goods practice. He said: “Word-of-mouth is hugely important to marketers, and Keller Fay is pre-eminent in the field. I’m excited to be leading Keller Fay’s expansion into Europe, and looking forward to showing British companies how best to leverage WOM to their advantage.”

Keller Fay made in-roads into the UK last year with its work on the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s Touchpoints 3 study and with the launch of a British version of its TalkTrack service – a continuous study measuring the brand conversations people have with their friends and relatives.

The UK office will offer data from TalkTrack Britain alongside a range of custom research solutions.