Abstract:

The old model of the research industry - selling data or information and throwing in analysis for free - is obsolete. In the new world, where a great deal of a traditional researcher's job can be done by a robot assisted by an algorithm, and where data is freely available, marketing researchers must rate and sell the added-value consulting they do, in order to survive. Clients say agencies are hard to distinguish from each other. The visual and verbal language of the industry is not distinctive. This means it is time to escape from the current price-driven, product/commodity trap and emerge into the world of B2B brands. Behaving like a brand means agencies in the future will be increasingly niche and specialist, working as consultants with clearly defined philosophies and messages.