President’s Letter March 2025
President’s Letter: Fueling Innovation
The Market Research Council is the world’s oldest market research organization, but while we celebrate our industry’s rich history, we are even more committed to fueling its innovation. Case in point: our members have elected Josh Chasin (KnotSimpler) and Simon Chadwick (Cambiar) to the Hall of Fame as our 2025 Active Practitioner and Lifetime Achievement honorees. Get your tickets or a friends table today! Josh and Simon are recognized industry leaders and have recently addressed the MRC concerning critical changes in our industry – Josh on the rise of alternative media measurement currencies and Simon on the dramatic increase of private equity and venture capital investment in research.
Our recent events have similarly focused on innovation in market research. From synthetic data to new methods in polling and February’s session on how insights leaders at top brands approach the challenges and opportunities of AI, the MRC continues to come together around the hottest topics in market research. In case you missed it, we have a replay in our members-only LinkedIn area of our session with MRC members Ritanbara Mundrey (Nestlē), Deb Campbell (Verizon), Lisa Courtade(Organon), and Snigdha Santra (Chugai) in conversation with Lucy Davison(Keen as Mustard Marketing). Even if you were there, you might enjoy an encore viewing!
Our March event (details below) is similarly focused on innovation. We’ll hear from public opinion experts Ashley Grosse (YouGov) and Hall of Famer Diane Hessan (C-Space) on how polling might evolve to better predict electoral outcomes.
Finally, the MRC demonstrates its commitment to fueling innovation by recruiting new members from the leading lights of our industry. In the past several weeks we have welcomed true allstars: Tyler McMullen(MarketVision), Kerry Hecht (10k Ecosystem), James Endersby (Opinium), and Oscar Carlsson (Milo Advisory). Please reach out to these new members to welcome them to the MRC!
The only constant in market research is change and our network of industry leaders enables us to stay at the vanguard of innovation. Are you working on the next frontier of market research? Let us know! Have you encountered an innovator that should join our ranks? Nominate them!
Let’s work together to make the future of market research and the MRC exceptionally bright!
MARCH VIRTUAL EVENT
27 March – Rethinking the Future of Polling: Lessons Learned in 2024
Contrary to some accounts, the polls were not wrong in 2024, but every state deemed too close to call ended up going to Trump, many at wider margins than in previous elections. In our March MRC meeting we will talk to two members who are experts in public opinion, Ashley Grosse (YouGov) and Hall of Famer Diane Hessan (C-Space), about their experience polling and talking to voters in 2024. Find out what Diane and Ashley think needs to happen to improve election polling in the future.
Learn more at https://mrcouncil.org/event/rethinking-the-future-of-polling-lessons-learned-in-2024/ or RSVP to info@mrcouncil.org. Also, consider bringing a non-member guest (send a note to info@mrcouncil.org to use your free guest pass).
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 25 – Meet the Author: Simon Chadwick
Join us for the next installment of our Meet the Author series hosted by J. Walker Smith (Kantar). He will be joined in April by Simon Chadwick, our 2025 Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame honoree and expert in research strategy and operations. Simon will speak about his book, For the People: A Citizen’s Manifesto to Shaping Our Nation’s Future (River Grove).
July 25 – Hall of Fame Luncheon in NYC
Join us at Arno Ristorante in Midtown to raise a glass to our 2025 Hall of Fame inductees, Josh Chasin, Active Practitioner, and Simon Chadwick, Lifetime Achievement. We will also announce at a later date additional awards, including a Research Innovator and Research Ambassador to be honored at the Hall of Fame Luncheon. Get your tickets or a friends table today! There are also limited sponsorship opportunities available; reach out to info@mrcoucil.org for details.
MEMBER NEWS
Congratulations to Lucy Davison on her election to the ESOMAR Council for the 2025-2028 term and to Jim Whaley for being chosen as President-Elect of the Market Research Institute International.
We also extend best wishes to past-president Bruce Friend on his appointment as Managing Director at Wordibly and to Clint Taylor for being named CTO at Veridata.
If you have news to share with the MRC, please let us know at info@mrcouncil.org.
