Kantar TNS Bags Four MRS Awards

Kantar TNS was one of the big winners at last night's MRS Awards, taking home the Grand Prix for Greatest Impact; the MRS/BIG Award for B2B Research, alongside digital data collection arm Lightspeed; and the awards for New Consumer Insights and Social Media Research (the latter with Unilever).

According to the judges, The Grand Prix recognises submissions from across all the categories, and the Kantar TNS team (pictured) best demonstrated the impact that research can have when 'properly commissioned, delivered, designed and acted upon'. The ceremony, hosted by stand-up star Holly Walsh - was attended by just under 900 individuals, and according to MRS co-Chair Crispin Beale and Danny Russell, this year's event also attracted the largest number of entries to-date.

Newcomer of the Year award went to Graeme Cade of Circle Research, who the judges said 'stood out as a real future leader with the skill set and attitude necessary to drive the industry forward'. An 'outstanding entry' from Penguin Random House saw the team clinch the award for Business Impact of the Year, impressing the judges with its 'determination to transform editorial culture and place the consumer centre stage through targeted research and clever use of social media'. Meanwhile, Girl Effect, 2CV and Maido won the Best Innovation Award for their TEGA initiative, which is using research to help women across Ethiopia, Rwanda, India, Nigeria and Indonesia; and non-profit research organisation Africa's Voices took home the President's Medal, presented by MRS President Dame Dianne Thompson, former CEO of Camelot.

The Advertising & Media Research category was awarded to BBC Global News, PayPal won the International Research category for its work with Firefish, and British Gas picked up the top award in the Financial Services Research category, working with Decision Technology & Sparkler.

Jane Frost, MRS CEO, comments: 'It's clear that across numerous sectors - from charities and government to media and business - research continues to aid understanding and inform decision-making in what is an increasingly uncertain world. As we celebrate another successful year and look to the future, it's clear that the research sector has the tools and talent we need to inform even better decisions in 2017'.

The full list of winners can be found at www.mrs.org.uk/awards .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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