ISBA Rolls Out MR Commissioning Guides

In the UK, advertising body ISBA has launched a series of best practice guides for procurement personnel working across various industries, to help them with the commissioning of market research agencies.

One of the guides - produced in partnership with the MRS (Market Research Society) and media and advertising research specialist Brian Jacobs of BJ&A - has been designed to foster better understanding of research and working practices between marcoms procurement, internal research/insight managers and research agencies and consultancies.

A further handbook produced by McCallum Layton Research - entitled 'A Top Tips Guide To Briefing Market Research Agencies' - covers four areas: developing the brief, writing the brief, verbal briefing and discussions, and a briefing checklist.

Traci Dunne, ISBA's Consultancy Manager said that a requirement for the guides had been identified following an increase in requests from ISBA members for information relating to the procurement of market research.

ISBA's Market Research & Insight Group conducted research which found that the MR industry had moved from a two-partner model, where client-side market research professionals dealt directly with market research suppliers, to a new 'tripartite' model, where MR agencies work closely with both commercial/procurement and insight teams.

'We noticed that many of the marcoms procurement professionals now charged with managing MR agency rosters, had little knowledge of, or experience in, the market research world,' Dunne explained. 'So we commissioned research which highlighted some real issues and challenges our members were facing, leading us to compile the best practice guide we have launched this week.'

Web sites: www.isba.org.uk , www.mrs.org.uk , www.bjanda.com , www.mccallum-layton.co.uk .