Enterprise brands rely on market research to make informed decisions about customer needs, market opportunities and business growth.
Yet a 2025 Qualtrics study found that two-thirds of senior marketing and insights executives still rely on gut instinct for critical decisions.
The right research agency can help close that gap. It can translate findings into decisions your teams can act on, from audience targeting and product development to campaign planning.
In this guide, we compare 12 market research agencies based on their capabilities, delivery models, and how they help enterprise brands turn insights into action. The goal is to help you find the right partner for your research needs.
Market research agencies help enterprise brands understand customers, evaluate market opportunities, and make informed business decisions. They design studies, collect and analyze data, and turn findings into recommendations. For large organizations, this often involves coordinating research across markets, customer segments, and internal teams.
Depending on the scope, an agency may provide:
For enterprise brands, the value also depends on how effectively findings reach decision-makers across departments. Before commissioning research, agree on deliverables, decision owners and how teams will use the results.
We evaluated each agency against four criteria using publicly available service descriptions, case studies and client examples. Our assessment focused on research capabilities, enterprise suitability and evidence that findings supported business decisions.
Disclosure: Fieldtrip publishes this article and is included in the comparison. We assessed Fieldtrip using the same four criteria as the other agencies.
Compare the market research companies below by location, delivery model, and the decision each is best suited to support.
| Agency | Location | Where the research goes next | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material | New York | Brand identity, creative, paid and social campaigns | Segmentation to campaign under one roof |
| Ipsos Strategy3 | Paris | Growth, brand and innovation strategy; CRM targeting | Multi-market strategy |
| Fieldtrip | New York | Creative, media buying, measurement | Research tied to execution |
| Kantar | London | Brand growth roadmaps, brand valuation | Brand equity and portfolio decisions |
| Hotspex | Toronto | Media planning and buying via Hotspex Media | Positioning plus media |
| Escalent | Livonia, MI | Activation toolkits, embedded consultants | Regulated and technical sectors |
| Circana | Chicago | Category roadmaps, retail media activation | CPG and retail |
| Hall & Partners | New York office | Campaign ideas, creative development | Comms development and tracking |
| System1 | London | Ad edits before launch | Creative pre-testing |
| Crowd DNA | London | Creative ideas, workshops, film and events | Cultural repositioning |
| The Harris Poll | New York | Earned media, reputation tracking | Corporate reputation |
| Hanover Research | Arlington, VA | Workshops, brand platforms | Subscription research capacity |
Below, we share 12 market research agencies for enterprise brands, with their capabilities, best-fit projects and client examples to help you build a shortlist.
Material runs the full chain from segmentation to shipped campaign inside one company. Formerly Lieberman Research Worldwide, it combines consumer insights, brand strategy, design, and paid and social execution. For the USTA, Material built the coaching segmentation, designed the brand identity, and ran the "Serve Your Passion" campaign across paid, social, influencer, and on-site activations at the 2025 US Open.
Its newest framework, Brand Fidelity, was validated on roughly 24,000 consumers and 229 brands. Chief Strategy Officer Oscar Yuan previously ran Ipsos Strategy3, and the strategy team frames research as a business decision from the first workshop.
Strategy3 is the consulting arm of Ipsos, founded in 2015 to turn the group's research into market, brand, and innovation strategy. Its pitch is access: consultants draw on Ipsos's consumer and citizen data across 90 markets before recommending where to compete. Forbes has listed it among the World's Best Management Consulting Firms five years running, including 2026.
For VodafoneZiggo, Strategy3 led cross-functional planning to connect survey segments with customer data and test retention interventions. Kelly Beaver became CEO of the Ipsos group in July 2026.
Fieldtrip treats research as the first stage of work it then builds. Its strategy team covers qualitative and quantitative market research, consumer segmentation and market sizing, competitive intelligence, cultural trend analysis and media planning. The same network produces the creative, buys the media and runs measurement, with frameworks reviewed weekly.
For YouTube, Fieldtrip conducted influencer market research on trends, audience fit and creator opportunities to inform the YouTube Shorts launch. Fieldtrip says most new engagements can move into audit and planning within 10 to 15 business days, depending on scope, access, and internal approvals.
Kantar's brand growth work is built around one measurable idea: brands grow when they're meaningful, different and salient. That MDS framework is certified by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board, which matters when finance asks how brand work ties to revenue. Its Blueprint Diagnostic runs through client workshops and ends with an 18- to 24-month brand growth roadmap.
Kantar says BrandZ draws on a research database of more than 4.6 million consumer interviews across 54 markets. Kantar has sold Kantar Media to H.I.G. Capital and moved Worldpanel under Numerator, and The Times reported in August 2026 that the remaining business is being prepared for sale.
Hotspex is a Toronto group that sells research and media buying side by side, so a positioning study can become a media plan without a vendor change. Its Brand Singularity approach runs diagnose, define, prototype, launch, and repeat, using tools like Emotional Mapping, a Virtual Buying Studio, and a Simulated Market Test. Hotspex Media then applies Reticle, an emotional contextual targeting product with more than 20 emotional segments.
The group reported C$51 million in 2025 revenue and appointed Anik Karimjee president of Hotspex Research North America in July 2026, according to MrWeb.
Escalent is a Michigan research group of about 1,600 people that pairs sector-specialist research with dedicated implementation staff. Its Storytelling and Activation team produces short films, activation toolkits, and live events so findings travel past the insights team.
For one Fortune 100 client, embedded implementation consultants cut execution time by 50% and saved $1.2 million in vendor costs in 2022, by Escalent's account. Its BeSci x AI model scores six behavioral dimensions. Escalent also owns C Space and Hall & Partners, both acquired from Omnicom in 2023.
Circana sits closest to the shelf. Formed from the 2022 merger of IRI and NPD, it tracks sales, pricing, and promotion for more than 7,000 client brands across 26 industries. Its Growth Consulting team works as a managed service, producing category roadmaps and P&L recommendations, and its media business plans, activates and measures campaigns against retail outcomes.
In 2025, it acquired NCSolutions and Nielsen's marketing mix modeling business, and in September 2026 it announced Analysis Builder for Unify+, with global availability planned for early Q4.
Hall & Partners specializes in the stretch between a brand brief and a finished campaign. Its See, Feel, Think, Do framework structures how communications are developed and tracked, and one aviation client embedded the framework into its own comms process.
The team uses semiotic analysis and AI-assisted interviews to find a campaign's central idea before pre-testing, then tracks performance once it runs. It acquired marketing-science specialist The Modellers and runs the Enlyta brand intelligence platform. Since 2023 it has operated as a separate brand inside Escalent.
System1 predicts how an ad will perform before media money goes behind it. Its Test Your Ad platform scores creative on Star (long-term brand growth), Spike (short-term sales), and Fluency ratings, using a database of more than 120,000 ads and over 5 million emotional responses.
Results arrive within 24 hours, and the Guidance and Audit tiers add specific edits and a consult with a creative expert. System1's Orlando Wood wrote the IPA books Lemon and Look Out. The company reports 600+ clients, including 48 of the world's top 100 brands by media spend.
Crowd DNA researches culture and then helps brands act on it. Its four practices split the work: Insight, Futures for trends and semiotics, KIN for its tastemaker network, and Studio for design, film and events.
For Peroni Nastro Azzurro, semiotic work defined a "Genuine Italian Charisma" code, then a 10-day online community across five markets shaped the creative idea with JWT and fed the "Vite Con Stile" campaign. Founded in 2008, it works across 70+ markets, including London, New York, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Sydney.
The Harris Poll turns research into reputation. Its thought leadership process runs Research, Craft, Connect, Amplify, and Measure, placing survey findings with major news outlets so the data works as earned media.
QuestBrand measures brand health continuously, while QuestRQ tracks six dimensions of corporate reputation. Stagwell acquired The Harris Poll in 2017. The group expanded its brand analytics capabilities with the acquisition of BERA in 2024.
Hanover Research sells research capacity on an annual, fixed-fee subscription, which changes how often an enterprise team can afford to ask questions. Clients commission projects through a sequential queue, and Clayton Homes compared the cost to adding one full-time employee.
Its 200+ analysts run methods like MaxDiff, conjoint, and TURF, then follow up with results walkthroughs and strategic advising workshops. Hanover reports 1,000+ client organizations, more than a million surveys a year, and a 96% client satisfaction rate, and says it remains fully independent.
The 12 agencies above fall into six working models. Matching the model to the decision you're making will narrow the list faster than comparing logos.
| If your next decision is... | Look at this model | Agencies on this list |
|---|---|---|
| A repositioning or new campaign you want built by the same team | Research plus execution | Fieldtrip, Hotspex, Material |
| Where to compete across markets or how to value the brand | Research-led consultancy | Ipsos Strategy3, Kantar |
| A category, price or promotion call tied to sales | Data-led consulting | Circana |
| Whether a specific ad or campaign idea will work | Creative development and pre-testing | System1, Hall & Partners |
| A steady stream of answers for many internal teams | Embedded or subscription capacity | Escalent, Hanover Research |
| How culture or reputation is shifting around the brand | Cultural and reputation research | Crowd DNA, The Harris Poll |
Individual studies can cost $5,000 to $15,000+ for an online survey with 400 responses, or $7,000 to $20,000+ per focus group. Larger enterprise studies often run into the tens of thousands of dollars, while complex multi-market programs can exceed $100,000. Audience complexity, research methods, geographic coverage, and analysis requirements determine the final fee.
Agencies typically offer several pricing models:
For multi-market enterprise research, request a scoped proposal that specifies recruitment, participant incentives, analysis, workshops, and follow-up measurement. Budget creative or media execution separately when it falls outside the research scope.
Choose a market research agency by checking the quality of its evidence, relevant sector experience, and responsibility for applying the findings.
These five questions help you test the fit:
For market-entry or competitor questions, use competitive intelligence methods to define what evidence the agency should collect. Establish that scope before comparing proposals.
A useful research brief names the decision, the evidence required, and the team that will act on it. Agree those points before procurement so you can compare agencies on the same scope and judge whether their proposed deliverables will support the work ahead.
At Fieldtrip, our team connects market research with strategy, creative, media, and measurement. This lets enterprise teams carry findings into campaign planning and execution within one agency network.
Talk to us about your next research brief and where you need the findings to lead.
AI and ChatGPT can support desk research, summarize existing data, identify patterns, and help develop early research questions. However, enterprise research often requires representative participant recruitment, validated methodologies, and reliable findings across markets.
AI can improve research efficiency, while experienced researchers remain important for study design, quality control, and interpreting results for business decisions.
Market research agencies collect and analyze customer and market data to support business decisions. Strategy consultancies use research and other evidence to help organizations set priorities, evaluate opportunities, and plan their next steps.
Their services mostly overlap, particularly for enterprise brands. Compare each provider's expertise, proposed team, and deliverables to understand who will conduct the research, develop recommendations, and support implementation.
Primary, secondary, qualitative, and quantitative research are four common classifications. Primary research collects new information; secondary research uses existing sources. Qualitative research explores experiences and motivations, while quantitative research measures patterns numerically. These categories overlap: a new customer survey can be both primary and quantitative research.
An enterprise research brief should state the business decision, research objectives, target audience, markets, budget, and deadline. Include existing evidence, participant requirements, expected deliverables, and the stakeholders who will use the findings. Share constraints and invite the agency to recommend the method that best answers the question.
