2024 agency of the year: Opinium

Opinium won the Research Live award for agency of the year at the 2024 MRS Awards.

The Opinium team at the MRS Awards 2024

Strategic insight agency Opinium had its strongest financial performance to date during the year leading up to July 2024.

Driven by investment in AI, research technology and training and development, the company retained 80% of its top 50 clients and won 50 new clients, representing £2.5m.

Opinium grew its headcount by 10% with 25 new hires and retained 85% of staff ( 100% at director level). The company also promoted 78% of the team and awarded equity to 10 new partners, and returned 23% of its profit to staff in bi-annual bonuses.

In other staff developments, Opinium hired a leadership coach, wellbeing coach and sports psychologist and doubled its spend on employee initiatives.

The company contributed discounted or pro-bono research worth £145,000 across 24 charities, and as of July 2024, has been a certified B-Corp.

In the year prior to submitting for the award, the company presented at or chaired 27 events, across nine categories. It debriefed 27 politicians, informed seven government consultations and continued to act as Labour’s insight agency.

Almost one third ( 31%) of Opinium’s revenues were delivered by new research technology (restech) solutions – up 24% year-on-year. In one example, the company developed a self-learning piece of code for an energy company, controlling the flow of journeys through a survey structure, across 64 markets, 57 languages and 250,000 interviews annually. It reduced survey length, increased participant engagement by 11%, and allowed the client to see impact of their master brand on sub-brands across categories and markets for the first time.

Additionally, the company offered 71 free training modules for clients to develop their team’s research skills, and offered bolt-on complimentary stakeholder training sessions for a client with sudden reduced headcount.

To win the Research Live agency of the year award, a company must demonstrate strong financial performance, research innovation and client retention and growth, as well as a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows staff to develop professionally and personally. The judges also want to see a strong sense of brand values within the business and a positive contribution to championing research.

The judges said: "While standards across the board were sky high, Opinium really stood out to the judges. An agency going from strength to strength, it’s at the top of its game – from its finances to its research to its people-focused culture."

"The MRS Awards mean so much to the Opinium team", said James Endersby, chief executive, Opinium. "To be able to showcase and recognise the hard work of our colleagues and clients, and to come together in celebration of our sector, is incredibly important to us. We know that recognising excellence is more than a celebration; it’s a necessity for progress. To win agency of the year in 2021 and now again in 2024 is testament to everyone at Opinium’s drive, passion, and another exciting moment on the Opinium journey."

This article is based on information within Opinium’s awards submission as part of the entry process for the MRS Awards 2024.

The full list of 2024 MRS Awards winners can be found on the MRS website here

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

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