ANZ Consultancy Targets Research Providers

Nielsen veterans David McCallum and Alastair Gordon have launched a new consultancy in Sydney, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand, to help agencies maximize their performance and clients optimise their research spend.

Their firm, 'Gordon & McCallum', will provide market researchers with tools to address their business and staff development needs, and with advice on how to generate better value from their MR efforts.

Prior to establishing the new business, McCallum and Gordon were respectively Global Head and Lead Product Developer in Nielsen's Custom Research Division.

McCallum previously ran Survey Research Singapore, after which, he moved to Japan to build ASI (later ACNielsen Japan), and then to lead ACNielsen's Asia Pacific custom research business. He spent his early career in the UK with Marplan and Retail Audits.

Gordon's career has included supporting clients throughout Asia in sectors ranging from consumer goods to telecoms and social policy. He previously held a variety of senior roles with Nielsen, where his global responsibilities included driving the firm's proprietary brand health and customer equity services (Winning Brands and eQ), and heading its Custom Research R&D function. Prior to joining Nielsen, he was a Partner at Applied Research Consultants.

'We believe research is only successful if it is creatively designed, efficiently executed and exceeds client expectations, while making a good financial return to the agency,' stated Gordon. 'Our clients have come to us in preference to mainstream consultants as we don't have to learn the business first before we can make an impact.'

McCallum will run the firm's Australian operation while Gordon will be based in New Zealand.

Web site: www.gordon-mccallum.com .