League Tables Show MR Buoyant in UK

Nearly half the UK's sixty-five biggest agencies showed double-digit growth last year, according to league tables published by Marketing magazine in association with the BMRA.

Growth rates cannot be given for eleven of the 65 due to Sarbannes-Oxley and mergers / acquisitions, so the twenty-six reporting turnover growth of 10% plus constitute very nearly 50 per cent of all firms.

Among the 26 are Nunwood, Firefish and MORI, all covered in last month's Hot Half Dozen and showing 36, 49 and 10% growth respectively. Among the larger agencies (turnover £6m+), the fastest growers are ESA (35%), Mintel (storming into the top ten with 32% growth) and BPRI (22%). Perhaps belying the oft-quoted theory that middle-sized agencies are being squeezed and the industry will end up consisting mostly of huge corporations and independent consultants, four companies with a turnover between £1m and £4m are growing faster than any of these, as follows:

	% growth
Company	2002-3	T/o 2003, £
Strategic Research	52	1,667,000
Grass Roots Group	49	2,905,000
Firefish	49	2,205,795
Nunwood Consulting	36	3,400,000
Source: Marketing / BMRA

Also growing by more than a third was 2CV Research, up 34% to £3,517,000 turnover.

Sarbannes-Oxley legislation makes the top ten more difficult to assess. Millward Brown appears at first glance to have overtaken NOP to sit in 2nd place, but the NOP (and Research International) figures are from 2002 so virtually any growth in the last year would mean NOP retains its place behind TNS, whose turnover was almost unchanged on £159.5m and amounts to roughly the same as no.s 2 and 3 combined (NB figures for NFO are given separately, presumably for the last time - 7th place, £46.2m in 2002).

Watching the jostling of the main players has a certain appeal, although fans of Formula 1 may recognise the runaway leader phenomenon - with TNS playing Schumacher, most of the interesting action is back down the grid. In particular, new arrival Synovate, at No.6, is breathing down the neck of Ipsos UK (£46.9m vs £47.0m) and is not short of ambition (see the Hot Half Dozen article).

No doubt supported and encouraged by the above rapid risers, the article claims MR has 'consolidated its position within the marketing mix' - with which it's hard to argue. It goes on to conclude that '2003 seems to have been the year when its importance was truly recognised': somehow it's difficult to believe we'll look back on it as that, but we live in hope...

The full article can be found in Marketing or, for subscribers only, via the Brand Republic web site, at www.brandrepublic.com .

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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