London-based Spring Research has launched Culture Track, to help clients identify cultural changes that could impact on their business strategies.

The firm says that the product was born from the belief that brands that don’t look to the future and connect with culture could end up being in the same position that M&S was in ten years ago.

Using a combination of peripheral scanning, semiotics, and consumer interview techniques, the firm is currently using the system to examine themes such as football culture and the meaning of health in the UK, as well as a number of specific demographic projects.

Managing Partner Stephen Phillips and Qualitative Director Sarah Hamburger have jointly developed the approach, which they say offers clients another dimension to their research. Phillips explained: ‘Clients now spend a lot of money looking at their brand, their competitors and their consumers – but often they miss the cultural dimension in which brands and consumers co-exist. Culture Track enables them to understand and keep a track on this cultural dynamic and use the findings to direct their brands.’

Client Lee McEwan, Leo Burnett’s Research Head backs the practicality of the service: ‘Many of the alternatives are too abstract; Culture Track uniquely offers our clients a deep understanding of consumer trends in a way that can be applied directly to their business.’

Spring Research has already won several awards for its ‘Snakes and Ladders’ approach to brand choice, including the MRS Best New Thinking award, and MRS Best New Agency 2006 award. The firm is online at: www.springresearch.co.uk .

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