John Hoctor, who was previously Mintel’s MD for Asia Pacific, launched the firm in Australia in February last year, working mainly for clients in the FMCG sector.

After a year in Australia and with several multinational clients added to the roster, Alistair Vince (pictured), formerly global CMO of Mintel, was brought on board to operate the UK arm of the business. The launch was brought forward, he told Research, because of demand from clients in Australia for a presence in the country.

Vince said: “We are from a traditional research background, although more on the commercial side, and we saw an opportunity to capture observations, behavioural research and things like that in a more relaxed way.” For respondents, filming themselves is “more comfortable”, he said, and offers the opportunity to capture behaviour in and out of home and provide what Vince calls “accidental insight”.

Watch Me Think provides clients with videos that typically last from between 30 seconds and three minutes. The firm already has a panel of respondents, and recruits others depending on the task at hand.