Sparkler Named Best Agency at UK Awards

In London, consumer insight and brand strategy consultancy Sparkler has been named 'Best Agency' at the annual MRS Research Awards ceremony, held at the Lancaster Hotel last night in London and attended by around 600 guests.

West End-based Sparkler employs both qual and quant market research techniques to understand the interplay between consumers, digital media and brands - a process it describes as '3D thinking'. The firm also develops online communities, trends and consultancy products, and runs its own graphic design studio called the SparklerStudio.

According to the judges at last night's awards, Sparkler 'could not be outdone - it impresses on many different levels. As the best agency, its commitment to trying new things and succeeding wherever it does so, shows what the industry as a whole is capable of - having a positive impact on the bottom line while driving innovation. A well-deserved accolade.'

Sparkler Partner Laura Roberts (pictured) told DRNO: 'We're absolutely delighted to receive this award. We've had a great year, thanks to our passionate clients and talented staff. We've experimented, and pushed ourselves in new and different ways on a mission to break new ground in the industry. It's been exciting and fulfilling ... and we're looking forward to more!'

Others winners included The Co-operative Group as Best In-house Research team, and ESRO who for the second year running scooped the MRS Award for Public Policy/Social Research, this time with a joint submission with the London Borough of Lewisham.

Boxclever took the Best New Agency award, while this year's Best Place to Work went to FreshMinds, Best Innovation was awarded to Ipsos and Lumi Mobile, and BDRC Continental walked away with the MRS Financial Services Research Award.

MRS CEO Jane Frost said the awards demonstrate how strong the sector has become, with insights and strategies for both the public and private sector that are 'truly driving change'.

The evening, officially the 2011 Research Awards, saw a large number of other winners - here's the list in full:

MRS Fellowship: Pene Healey.

• New Consumer Insights Award: Rob Ellis, COG Research and Neel Desor, Haymarket Consumer Media
• Financial Services Research Award: Mark Long and Nicola Cormack, BDRC Continental
• Applications of Research Award: Transport for London (TfL) Customer Research Team
• Public Policy/Social Research Award: ESRO & The London Borough of Lewisham
• Advertising & Media Research Award: Babita Earle, Karsten Shaw and Corrine Moy, GfK NOP
• Virginia Valentine Award for Cultural Insights: ESRO and the China in Britain Forum
• MRS Silver Medal (Best paper in IJMR 2010): Cataldo Zuccaro
• IJMR Collaborative Research Award: Saahier Parker, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa, Belinda Dor Centre, and Kyle McLoughlin, Synovate Germany
• MRS Accredited Masters Award: Eleanor Marshall
• MRS Advanced Certificate Award: Rachel Hamilton.

• MRS/AURA Insight Management Award: Debenhams Strategy and Insight Team
• MRS/BIG Business-to-Business Research Award: Jonathan Fletcher, Illuminas
• MRS/ASC Technology Effectiveness Award: [joint award] E-Tabs; and Ugam Research Solutions
• ASC Young Technologist of the Year Award: Paul Cussell
• AQR Prosper Riley-Smith Award: Julie Davey, Julie Davey Research & Caroline Cole and Joanna Stanbridge, Glaxo SmithKline.