IQVIA Top in New ESOMAR Ranking

Global association ESOMAR has released its annual ranking of the Global Top 50 Insights Companies, with an ever broader definition of the term giving an unfamiliar look to parts of the list.

The association says the report serves two purposes: 'to acknowledge the largest players moving the Insights Industry forward and to get a sense of the overall health of the profession in the world'. This year's list includes companies from MarTech, consultancies, self-service platforms and enterprise feedback management firms - readers will find big software names like Adobe and Salesforce in the 50, along with McKinsey and Deloitte, and a couple of dozen more standard insight sector participants old and new, including Gartner, Ipsos, Kantar, dunnhumby, two bits of Nielsen, Dynata and Qualtrics.

Health data giant IQVIA takes the top rank from Nielsen, which is now two firms having spun off purchasing data wing NielsenIQ - the latter is soon to be united with GfK (14th place), [but in the meantime we can't quite fathom why the figure given for its turnover is so small]. The report notes the impressive expansion of the sector, and the prevalence of M&A activity - as many as twenty of the top 50, accounting for almost half the total turnover, are significantly affected in their revenue and rankings by takeovers and mergers taking place in 2021.

Report co-author and Senior Industry Analyst Xabier Palacio comments: 'The swift adoption of technological tools caused the industry to transition to alternative business models. While initially research, data collection, and project scope were the drivers of pricing, it has now transitioned to the specific tools that allow the emergence of insights... The industry is changing in such a fundamental way that it is creating unanticipated opportunities for corporate profitability. This is already reflected in this year's ranking'.

ESOMAR's interim CEO Pravin Shekar (pictured) sums up: 'The industry shows signs of good health, particularly fuelled by technological firms, the sectorial recovery experienced after the pandemic, the consolidation of players, and large levels of investment. It's fantastic to see that the global top-50 companies grew a combined 14% in 2021, after the sluggish growth registered in 2020'.

The report can be downloaded for free here.

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