Member Article

Consumer research agency completes Manchester move

Consumer research agency Join the Dots is celebrating both a boom in business and its relocation to new office space in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

The firm employs 80 staff at its new headquarter at one of the city’s creative hubs, The Hive. It has won £1 million of new client business and has seen a 20% growth in 2013.

Originally founded in Hook, Hampshire, the 15 year old company moved its headquarters to Manchester in 2004, staffed by just two team members.

For Managing Director Quentin Ashby, the move marks the start of a new era for the business. He said: “Next year sees the tenth anniversary of our move to Manchester. To be able to do that with an 80-stong team, on the back of major client wins in 2013, is just fantastic.”

In the past year Join the Dots has won business from major brands including The Co-operative Group, Unilever, British Airways and GlaxoSmithKline. With long term clients including easyJet, McDonalds, Diageo and Next, the company stands tall in its field.

For Mr Asnby, the client list is clear evidence that you don’t have to be a London-based agency to secure new business from great organisations.

He said: “We still have satellite offices in London and the south-of-England but our emphasis has always been on our northern headquarters. Years ago location mattered and, for our industry in particular, if you weren’t down south you missed out on the national and international clients. It just isn’t true anymore.

“Now, clients don’t care about where you are they care about what you do. We’re proud to be a northern business that focuses on quality and innovation with a client list that rivals any other.”

Join the Dots was the first UK agency to develop online insight communities in 2006. Having secured numerous industry awards for its expertise, the firm has continued its record of innovation with the implementation of a new community platform this year.

In 2011 Join the Dots launched ‘The Comley Report’, the first in a series of publications which highlight consumer trends, uncovered by Join the Dots through its broad experience across insight communities, mobile research, website usability, and other customer experience projects.

The business is on track to achieve a £5 million turnover by the end of the financial year and plans are in place to employ 140 staff by 2016. Key business development plans are now in place for 2014, including the launch of a graduate scheme.

Mr Ashby added: “You can never tell exactly what the future holds in this industry but what you can do is get the right building blocks in place to move forward and I’m confident that is exactly what we have done.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .