Aug 24, 2006
Simon Lidington, MRS Chair
Sponsored by 
Simon Lidington is smart, passionate and engaging and so perfect podcast material. He was recently elected to the chair of the MRS and so is arguably one of the most influential players in the $2bn UK research industry. In this podcast, hear his fresh vision, ideas and priorities as he speaks openly with key industry figure Ruth McNeil. He also talks about his other life as the founder of new startup The Insight Exchange
STARRING
- Simon Lidington, MRS Chair, and CEO and founder, The Insight Exchange
- Ruth McNeil, co-founder, Response Consulting, and author of Business to Business Market Research (Host)
- Richard Ide, former Head of Volkswagen UK (Contributor)
- Nicky Buss, Director of Advertiser Development, ITV (Contributor)
- Jeremy Hicks, Head of Audi UK (Contributor)
PODCAST
At the age of 31, Simon Lidington started his first research agency.
Four years later, he bought into and jointly-built Quadrangle, a management consultancy. There he successfully led the research effort to drive the re-positioning of the Skoda brand in the UK (forgive the pun).
In 2004, Simon became the CEO of Research International UK, and at the end of 2005 decided to move onto his next venture, The Insight Exchange.
Shortly after, and in the face of tough competition, he was awarded the chair of the Market Research Society. It’s this challenging role that we discuss with him today.
Please let us know what you think of this podcast.
TIMELINE [27m05s]
00m00s Introduction.
02m25s Why did Simon want to be MRS chair?
03m14s Winning the election against Leslie Sopp.
04m14s Is there a conflict in the visions of diversity of unification?
04m48s What should the MRS should stand for?
05m52s “A unique talent” – Richard Ide, ex. Head of Volkswagen Group UK.
06m48s “A research visionary and a rebel” – Nicky Buss, Director of Advertiser Development, ITV.
07m33s “A good listener and very selfless” – Jeremy Hicks, Head of Audi UK.
08m19s The MRS’s mission.
09m41s Is the MRS commercial enough?
09m56s Can the MRS influence industry growth rates?
10m51s Medium-term challenges for MR.
11m40s Engaging those on the periphery of research (data miners, analysts etc.)
12m50s Is the name ‘MR’ limiting the industry vision?
15m45s Simon’s top priorities as MRS chair.
16m58s Specific initiatives to better promote the MR industry.
20m08s Including people on the edge of the industry.
21m42s The role of ‘Research’ magazine.
23m21s The thinking behind Simon’s new venture, The Insight Exchange.
24m49s What his time at Research International contributed to his world view.
25m37s What Simon would like his legacy to be.
NOTABLE MENTIONS
Casro.
CBI.
Christine Hastings (Quadrangle).
David Barr (MRS).
Eamonn Santry (Network Research).
EFAMRO.
ESOMAR.
ESRC (Cultures of Consumption).
Evan Davies (BBC).
Forrester Research.
Dr Frank Trentmann (Birkbeck College).
Jeremy Bullmore.
John Gambles (Quadrangle).
Jupiter Research.
Leslie Sopp (Age Concern).
Marc Brenner (Research magazine).
Peter Greenwood (Research magazine).
Quadrangle.
Research International.
Glazer, Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research.
QUOTES
On the level of clientside representation: “I don’t think that we’ve got enough clientside representation and I’m not sure that actually stands us in the best stead…there is a danger of an increasing separation between the agency definition of MR and how clients see it.”
On the MRS’s purpose: “What binds us going forward? In the past it has largely been primary data collection and I don’t think that’s enough.”
On changing the MRS’s focus: “Perhaps the MRS has felt somewhat hampered by being a membership organisation rather than a trade body. Now I see that shifting, although I don’t think we’ll ever be just a trade body.”
On the MRS being more commercial: “I would expect to see a fairly major push on this over the next year or couple of years.”
On becoming an inclusive industry (e.g. including data miners): “I don’t see that behavioural data, no matter how it is collected, is anathema to the MR industry…bringing those things together is a hugely powerful force for businesses…it’s to be celebrated and something that we should actively be pursuing.”
On reaching out to the Jupiter and Forrester Researchs of the world: “There is a fairly active debate within the industry as to whether the MRS should embrace those consultancies. My own personal feeling is that we should.”
On changing the industry name: “I’ve always thought that name changes are to be carefully considered.”
On a key priority: “The MRS is a UK organisation…but the MR industry is global. And I think that we have resisted collaboration with international organisations and I would like to see that change. I have already instituted changes in our policy…I would like to see us play our part on the international stage.”
On specific initiatives to better promote MR: “…the use just of media PR isn’t going to solve the problem…there are a number of things that we have to do to find our way into the minds and hearts of those people who use and apply research…it could be that we need to talk to the CBI.”
On ‘Research’ magazine: “It has been suggested as a possibility that it’s hived off. I’m not sure I would support that.”
On the rationale for his new startup: “The large, global research agencies have done a marvelous job in creating large engines which are about analysis…for smaller companies the opportunities are much more in the humanity of it, the bringing of wisdom, the bringing of ingenuity to a client’s issues…”
Music courtesy of: 2006 Pl@stic Soul and The Blue Mile from the PMN
Thanks to K D Consulting for sponsoring this podcast.
Series:Sponsored
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