You can read the highlights here, but in this piece I wanted to share with you what the judges had to say about each of our winners.

Best Agency: Sparkler
“Sparkler could not be outdone – it impressed us on many different levels. Across the board, the firm delivers – for its clients and for its staff. As the best agency, its commitment to trying new things and succeeding wherever it does so demonstrates what the industry as a whole is capable of – having a positive impact on the bottom line while driving innovation. A well-deserved accolade.”

Best In-house Research Team: The Co-operative Group
“Outstanding in its strategic approach, the food/commercial customer insight and marketing intelligence team at The Co-operative is responsible for driving cultural change within the business – and it has succeeded beyond expectations. Innovative approaches to online and community research – and a strong focus on understanding where the brand can fit in the context of the customer’s daily life – puts this team at the top of its game. A real achievement.”
Highly commended: Everything Everywhere

Best New Agency: Boxclever
“Despite a harsh economic climate, Boxclever has enjoyed a strong and confident start with all the signs of a sustainable, successful business. It is a focused agency with an excellent reputation and a staggering client list – it’s gone well beyond what new agencies usually achieve and should continue to prosper.”
Highly commended: Brand Potential

Best Place to Work: FreshMinds Research
“FreshMinds really stood out, with the breadth of its personal development offer and its focus on supporting long-term career development. Its openness about its finances, its willingness to let staff share in the spoils and its commitment to and respect for employees made it a clear winner.”
Highly commended: Flamingo

Best Innovation: Ipsos and Lumi Mobile for MobiLive
“This beautifully simple and clever offering from Ipsos and Lumi Mobile – MobiLive – stood out bar none. It demonstrated the real potential of mobile research – that is, allowing companies to get close to the consumer and to gauge their reaction to events as they happen. And respondents seem to like it too. Congratulations.”
Highly commended: Conquest for Metaphorix2

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow judges:

• Robert Bain, deputy editor, Research
• Patrick Hourihan, head of UK trade research, Yahoo
• Tim Macer, MD, Meaning
• Claire McAlpine, research manager, MediaCom Real World Insight
• Ian Theo, deputy director research, COI
• Phil Tysoe, insight and analysis manager, Argos
• Neil Wholey, head of research and customer insight, Westminster City Council

Year on year the competition gets tougher and the 2011 Awards are testament to all the hard work that is going on in the sector. Quality remained excellent throughout and the entries were strong – demonstrating just how much research has to offer as a business tool.

This was particularly true of the Best In-house Team award – the entries clearly show a group of researchers who are out to make a big impact on the companies they work for and to prove that good research is a commercial imperative.

As for the agencies, the awards show that innovation and impact often go hand in hand. Big or small, the research firms with a commitment to delivering powerful new tools and insights to their clients are the ones best placed to succeed in a market that, while tough, remains full of opportunity.

Congratulations to all our winners.