2017 Preview: companies most likely to succeed

“Amazon, of course. Those that zero in on the moments that matter most, rather than trying to do a bit of everything with the result that they don’t do anything particularly well.” Will Galgey, UK CEO, Kantar TNS

“Google looks set to have another strong year. Following the announcement of its new headquarters in London, the first release of its own mobile and the advancements in its machine learning, artificial intelligence and automated cars.” Christian Dubreuil managing director EMEA, Research Now

“Tesla will continue to impress and surprise us, Amazon will continue to disrupt and dominate.” Jane Bloomfield, head of UK marketing, Kantar Millward Brown

“Apple – clarity and simplicity.” Ben Page, chief executive, Ipsos

“Unilever will continue to do well. Its growth is strong and it’s outpacing the market. Its message of ‘making sustainable living commonplace’ is becoming more recognised by consumers too.” Julian Highley, global director of customer knowledge, dunnhumby

“The Liberal Democrats – ‘bravely’ championing the ‘voiceless’ 48%. For once even they can’t fail to capitalise. Traditional, timeless brands that offer illusions of refuge from ‘this storm’.” Peter Totman, qualitative director, Jigsaw Research

“Any brand or company that can facilitate a creative and compelling peer to peer business model. Who’d have thought we’d all now be using Uber and AirBnB five years ago.” David Day, global CEO & president, Lightspeed

And newer kids on the block…

“Wiley Fox. The choice of smart dissenters everywhere.” Matt Lynch, chief strategy officer, Big Sofa

“Fever Tree will continue to go from strength to strength.” Kirsty Fuller co-founder and CEO, Flamingo Group

those in the research world

“Vision Critical, MESH Experience, ZappiStore, Living Lens.” Ray Poynter, managing director, The Future Place

“ZappiStore and Voxpopme will continue to soar, but watch out for new data collection company Viga (excellent team, excellent product), and Verve with the recent addition of Nick Baker and Emma Beech.” Ben Hogg, managing director EMEA, Lucid

 “This will be the year that mid-sized agencies come to the fore. We are seeing that traditional approaches to research no longer work and clients desire alternative methods to reach consumers where, and when, they want to be contacted. Large agencies lack nimbleness and struggle to move quickly enough to respond to current client needs. These companies are super tankers that move slowly, while mid-sized agencies can boast scale but react with far more flexibility.” Crispin Beale, CEO, Chime Insight & Engagement Group

“Companies that fuse both research and technology expertise will continue excel going forward.” Jamin Brazil, CEO, FocusVision

“Research companies that will succeed in 2017 will be the ones that push themselves to deliver more than just data, and more even than just insight. We need to be having strong opinions and the ability to ensure our recommendations are taken seriously by senior stakeholders.” Anna Cliffe, joint managing director, Trinity McQueen

“The companies that succeed in market research in 2017 will be those that embrace the benefits of new technologies and adapt their skills to meet changing market requirements. There is an abundance of information/data available however being able to collect the relevant data, analyse and interpret it to help our clients solve their business problems has never been more important.” Susan Vidler, head of research, Harris Interactive

“Those prepared to be agile and disruptive, and to focus on people and not just the numbers. If 2016 has shown us anything, it’s that numbers can mask the real issues and stop us asking the most important questions.” Jane Frost, CEO, MRS

And a final thought for all walks of life – business, political and personal.

“Those that understand this phenomenon – we all spend too much time listening to people who think like we think.” Deborah Mattinson, founder director, Britain Thinks

Tomorrow we will look at the buzzwords for 2017.