NEWS10 July 2013

‘It motivated and inspired the whole team’

ResearchBods was our Best New Agency winner at last year’s MRS Awards. Co-founder Robin Hilton (right) explains what winning has meant for the online panel business.

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Why did you decide to enter the 2012 awards?
When launching the company in 2011, we were very clear about what we wanted to achieve and we knew we had to stand out among the existing and newly-emerging research panel companies. The Best New Agency Award was a way for us to evidence this, as well as amplify our presence within a fairly crowded market place.

We were also persuaded to enter by our PR agency Greenfields Communications who were very supportive and encouraged us to believe we had a good chance of at least being nominated.

“Clients like to know they are working with the best agencies and the award has certainly helped endorse this”

How did it feel to win your category?
Brilliant. We had no expectations on the night itself and were happy just to be there as nominees, so to win was an added bonus and a great feeling. It’s also quite emotional because the award is an endorsement of what you have, and are trying to achieve, by respected peers within the industry and this means an awful lot to us.

Sharing the award and the evening itself with friends, clients and also competitor agencies was also very special as everybody was so happy for us; it really was a special night.

What has winning meant for the team?
The team has almost doubled since we won the award, but for those that were with us back in December it was a real endorsement of the hard work and dedication they have put in since we started. The award has also helped us attract new members to the team – it helps give people the confidence that they are joining a company that is growing and is recognised as the best new agency out there – and this has certainly motivated and inspired the whole team.

How has winning helped you in your dealings with existing clients?
Clients like to know they are working with the best agencies and the award has certainly helped endorse this. Our immediate client contacts no longer have to explain to their line managers who we are or why they are using us and this has also helped them within their own business. Existing clients are also keen to find other ways to work with us and want to work more closely which has increased the number of opportunities to increase the business with them.

How has winning helped you with your new business development activities?
Being able to put the winning logo on our literature certainly makes us stand out. It is a central talking point at new creds pitches and it helps secure the new business meetings as prospective clients always want to know what’s new and what’s good, and also what they may be missing out on.

Any tips for would-be entrants on crafting an award-winning entry?
Start work on your entry early – we thought we had lots of time to get our entry in but the closing date comes around really quickly. Get people from outside the business to feedback on your entry as the amount of information you can include is limited and you need to be very clear in getting your key points across; again Greenfields were really helpful with this and also in pushing us to meet the deadline.