OPINION1 January 2011

Sweet smell of success

Opinion

By the time you read this the winners of the Research Magazine Awards will have taken in the congratulations offriends and weathered the tight-lipped smiles of competitors.

By the time you read this the winners of the Research Magazine Awards will have taken in the congratulations of friends and weathered the tight-lipped smiles of competitors.

I’m happy to make clear that this year’s winners were chosen from the strongest-ever field of entrants. If you left the awards dinner with a vaguely dangerous-looking perspex cylinder under your arm, you’ve every right to feel a real sense of achievement. The winners have bucked the economy, looked after their staff and put innovation at the heart of their operation. For those of you who couldn’t make it on the night, here are the winners.

Best Agency: Truth
Two years ago Truth won the Best New Agency award. With a laser-like focus on growth, an innovative approach to ownership and an imaginative eye for positioning, this company was a stand-out winner. It has, within a ridiculously short amount of time, progressed from ‘promising’ to ‘powerhouse’.

Best New Agency: Verve
No faulting the pedigree behind this outfit. Andrew Cooper and Mike Hall, the men behind Research Now and Hall & Partners respectively, were among the very few brave enough to strike out with a new research venture during the recession. In a short amount of time they’ve built an impressive client list and are a confident presence in the research game.

Best Place to Work: BrainJuicer
A creative insight agency that is often given the nod for its research thinking. This time around the Research judges wanted to acknowledge the firm’s work in motivating and recruiting staff. The firm has a strong track record in producing big thinkers and engaging spokespeople. All this is credit to canny hiring and a strong professional development programme.

Best Innovation: Firefish for Fisheye
A nifty data-capture tool that we cannot do full credit to in a single paragraph. It’s a typically creative solution from an unusually creative research house.

Best In-House Research Team: Guardian News and Media
First time around for this award and we couldn’t have had a stronger winner. In a nutshell, the Guardian team scooped the prize because
of the way they were able to influence the wider business using compelling, persuasive and powerfully relevant research.

Congratulations to all the winners. You’re a credit to your industry.

@RESEARCH LIVE

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