The nine-strong Research, Insight and Strategy Hub (RISH) will be led by director of advertising strategy Mathew Watkins, and will use a panel of readers to identify consumer habits and patterns.

The findings will be passed on to the advertising finance team, who will use them to establish an overview of the paper’s readership and their behaviour. RISH has already completed its first project – a study into how the recession is affecting readers’ spending habits. A key finding was that 70% of respondents looked in the newspaper for offers and discounts, which has allowed TMG to target relevant advertisers.

Mathew Watkins said: “Information leading to clear strategy is the lifeblood of media sales teams. This is an innovative move away from the traditional newspaper research department. Rather than looking back and analysing trends that are happening now, RISH will look to the future to identify patterns and trends in emerging markets and look to capitalise on new opportunities in increasingly innovative ways.”