Marketing strategy for insight agencies, research suppliers and data/tech companies
Every insight agency says it “helps brands grow”. Every platform says it's "AI-powered." If everyone's saying it, it's not a differentiator; it's just noise you've agreed to make along with everyone else. We help you say something only you could say, and make sure the right people hear it.
Recognisable doesn't mean remembered
Our own Insights Awareness Pulse research is blunt about this: recognition in this industry sits overwhelmingly with a small handful of giants - Kantar, Ipsos, Nielsen, Qualtrics while everyone else, however good the work, competes for what's left over.
That's the real barrier for most insight agencies, research suppliers and data/tech companies: not a lack of skill, but a lack of shape. Ask three people to describe your agency, and you'll likely get three different, slightly wrong answers.
The three ways agencies and suppliers quietly sabotage themselves
They blend in. Most positioning statements in this industry could be swapped between competitors, and nobody would notice. "Data-driven insights that drive better decisions" describes everyone and therefore no one.
They let "AI-powered" do the talking. Every data and tech supplier in this space now claims some flavour of AI capability. It's stopped being a differentiator and started being the entry price. If your marketing leads with the tech rather than the judgement behind it, you sound exactly like your three nearest competitors.
They wait to be found. Procurement rosters, industry shortlists, analyst radars, award longlists- the places buyers actually go looking, reward agencies who've made the effort to be on them, not just agencies who deserve to be.
These are visibility problems, and visibility is a discipline you can build, the same way you'd build any other capability.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
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Your buyers are unusually sceptical of marketing claims, it's literally their job to see through vague or unsupported statements. Positioning that would work for most B2B companies (broad claims, soft superlatives) tends to actively undermine credibility here. Specificity and evidence do the work that enthusiasm does elsewhere.
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Often more. A platform or tool can be demoed; the judgement and expertise behind it usually can't, which is exactly what PR and thought leadership are built to communicate. Without it, "AI-powered" is the only thing left to say, and every competitor is saying it too.
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Rarely by applying cold. It's a combination of visible thought leadership (so panels recognise the name), direct relationship-building with the people who compile these lists, and, honestly, asking, most agencies never do.
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Not head-on. The opportunity isn't to out-market a company with decades of budget behind it; it's to be unmistakably legible in the specific space you actually compete in, so the buyers who want a specialist can find and remember you.
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Before, always. A new logo or website built on unclear positioning just makes the confusion look better designed. Positioning work is cheaper, faster, and it's what makes everything built afterwards, visual identity included, actually land.
Ready to stop sounding like your three nearest competitors?
Whichever side of the table you're on in-house, agency, or supplier the first step is the same… a conversation.