Hires and Partnership for Automated MR Firm Methodify

Automated research platform operator Methodify has announced a partnership with survey bot CRIS (Conversational Research Insight System), and the appointments of digital tech expert Jonathan Hyde-Barnes and former Coca Cola Shopper Insights lead Melissa Hugh.

Methodify was launched in October 2015 by Canada-based digital innovation firm Delvinia, and allows users to automate their research process and gain rapid consumer insights. The company says it has enjoyed 'nearly 200 per cent revenue growth in the past year'. CRIS was created by Toronto-based research company Elsient and chatbot developer Massively, and uses AI and machine learning to quickly conduct one-to-one text based interviews at scale and report results.

Methodify President Raj Manocha says growth has been fuelled by the company's pipeline of talent, and comments: 'Companies are no longer planning for automation five years down the road, they're staking their success on it now... completely stepping up their game by using a test-and-learn approach that allows them to bring the customer into the conversation more often during the marketing process'.

Hyde-Barnes (pictured right) joins as VP Client Development, having worked in the UK, Australia and the USA for firms including recruiters Senitor Associates and innovation company IE Digital. Hugh (left) joins as of VP Client Success, and brings qual and quant research experience: she spent five years at Coca-Cola, after six and a half years rising to Associate VP at Ipsos Reid. Earlier she worked at J.D. Power and Associates.

CRIS co-founder and Elsient exec Laura Craig comments: 'The dream of accessing high-value qualitative insights faster and with less expense is now a reality. Which means that brands now have the power to understand the 'why' behind the numbers more often, and can respond in real-time too'.

Web sites are at www.methodify.it , www.elsient.com and www.crisbot.com .