Research consultancy 5D, which rebranded in April of this year, is expanding its qualitative research and brand strategy division, appointing Erryn Balzan as senior consultant.
Balzan brings over 15 years of experience in qualitative research and brand strategy, and will report to Melissa Gilson, 5D’s director of brand and qualitative research, who leads the division.
Erryn has previously held senior roles with agencies including Human8, Crowd DNA, Fiftyfive5 and Galkal. Most recently, he was working as a freelance independent research and strategy consultant, across clients including Google and Hinge.
“I’m excited to welcome Erryn to the business. His expertise goes a long way in solidifying our commitment to qualitative and brand strategy work – work that builds on the decades of experience 5D has to offer on top of our already strong quantitative analysis and behavioural science outputs,” Gilson said.
“We’ve built a consultative approach that goes beyond reporting to being the trusted advisory that today’s brands need. We will work with clients to understand and leverage cultural contexts and consumer behaviour in ways that require a multidimensional research approach,” she added.
Gilson has worked across a diverse range of categories and with clients including Johnson & Johnson, Diageo, BT Financial, Pacific Magazines and Fairfax Media.
“It’s great to join 5D as they go from strength to strength and, especially, to work closely with Melissa. These days, brands face unprecedented complexity and evolving consumer demands. I believe people are inherently irrational, but decision-making isn’t. My role is to help clients see the method in the madness and make informed strategic choices, tapping into my experience spanning services brands, cultural insight and brand strategy,” Balzan said.
“5D’s qualitative research division complements and enhances the company’s market-leading analytical methodologies. It builds on 5D’s positioning – ‘The Science of Choice’ – by acknowledging that because of the complexity of the buying environment today, we need to better understand the dynamics of how decisions are made, and more importantly, why,” Gilson said.
5D-AI develops custom-built solutions including deep-trained chatbots, large language models, generative AI agents, machine learning models, and smart data hubs.
