Media Veteran Founds Design Research Agency

In the US, media research veteran Tonya Deniz has set up her own consultancy to offer 'creative design research' which she says combines people-based observations and data with lateral thinking.

The new firm, Deniz Consulting, is based in New York and offers a range of services including insights training and development, production research™, ideation workshops and creative design tools.

Deniz, a 25-year veteran in the research, design and consumer insights arena, most recently worked for Media Planning Group and MediaCom where she was EVP, Director of Research & Modeling and EVP, Global Director of Research & Consumer Insights respectively. She commenced her career at ad agency Kenyon & Eckhardt and later worked for multinational ad agencies including DDB Needham, Bates Worldwide and Leo Burnett/Starcom Worldwide, where she became Regional Media Research Director for the firm's Latin America division.

Commenting on the differences between creative design research and market research, Deniz explains that the former uses research to confirm its intuition, whereas market research uses research to lead its thinking. 'Most thinking is concerned with 'what is', which is determined by analysis, judgment and argument,' she states. 'However, there is another whole aspect of thinking that is concerned with 'what can be', which involves constructive thinking, creative thinking and designing a way forward. It goes beyond logical and sequential thinking.'

Web site: www.denizconsulting.com .