Ipsos Strategy3 is a leading brand, marketing and innovation consultancy, powered by the research capabilities of Ipsos. It has been nominated for the Best New Consultancy Award because of its unprecedented growth in revenue, profits, staff and major clients; all whilst building an efficient practice that has already made meaningful impact through its projects.
In the three years since its inception, Strategy3 has grown to over forty-four people across five offices around the world, with an annual turnover for 2018 of around $10m. The UK operation has more than doubled this year, and will soon break the million-dollar annual turnover mark. Recent projects include brand positioning for Coca-Cola, market entry in LatAm for Uber, customer segmentation for McDonalds and the future of retail for Starbucks.
There are two priorities fundamental to Strategy3’s success:
1. A differentiated offering that answers unmet client needs
2. A team that delivers on this offering better than others
In terms of offering, Strategy3 was founded on the belief that businesses and brands need a new type of advisory service. Management consultancies do not delve deep enough into the world of the customer, while creative firms are not leveraging the power of research for their ideas. To grow, businesses need a new type of partner; one that leads with strategy, is focused on activation, and is driven by a deep understanding of customers. For many clients this is a unique and innovative proposition, and as the Brand, Marketing and Innovation roles within companies grow in importance, the need for a research driven strategy consultancy has never been clearer.
The people that deliver on these needs are central to building the right type of business. The team is interdisciplinary in expertise and background, comprised of inventors, marketing managers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, journalists and more – not just consultants.
Strategy3 has worked with a wide range of clients and challenges, creating highly valued outcomes. Other clients include P&G, Nordstrom, Samsung and Google, on projects such asbrand positioning, consumer segmentation, innovation strategy and market entry. This ability to work with clients on such diverse business challenges stems from a deep focus on understanding their actual needs, and then working from first principles to determine an approach, rather than trying to sell existing solutions.
The company values – integrity, curiosity, collaboration, client first and entrepreneurial spirt – are not just words on a page but lived out in the work and culture. It’s team effort, and all employees able to affect change. While job roles are naturally hierarchical, the culture is flat – all can give feedback upwards, engage with senior leadership, and take extra initiative on projects of interest. Employees are engaged on a range of initiatives, such as charity volunteering days, innovation committees and thought leadership, and there is excellent investment in development.
Strategy3 hopes the examples cited in this submission give a flavour of the culture and achievements that have been created in such a small space of time, and would welcome the opportunity to introduce these to the judges in more detail.