Former Clemenger Group strategy lead Alex Roper has joined insight and data leads Mark Razzell and Jonathan O’Hara to launch Critical Truth – a research, analytics and strategy consultancy that is setting a higher standard. Critical Truth provides marketing strategy experts with next-generation methods to derive category and cultural insights quickly and clearly.
The trio have built its tools and consultancy on the premise that critical decisions in strategy need to be made based on real-world truths. The group is resetting the approach to research and insights with new methodologies that leverage unstructured data to forecast the true direction of a category and culture, setting a firm foundation for more inventive strategies.
L-R: Mark Razzell, Alex Roper & Jonathan O’Hara
“Something had to shift. Market research hasn’t really evolved in 30 years which is not conducive to innovation in the modern world. I knew we/the industry could do better. Too often, traditional research and analytics methods have relied on slowly searching through the past, or prompting people for ‘part-truths’ without always coming to a clear view on what’s next. We are all about banishing the rearview mirror,” said Razzell.
Razzell and O’Hara have built a series of processes and tools that give senior marketers all the efficiency advantages of AI tools without the common accuracy concerns.
O’Hara added: “I’ll be honest, I had my doubts about how successful these approaches could be, but these methods have exceeded my expectations in every possible way. It’s given us a platform to conduct best-in-class quantitative research, develop dynamic segmentation solutions, and create sophisticated tools that can deliver real value.”
Critical Truth brings together people with three very different, yet complementary, backgrounds and skill sets to deliver its promise.
Roper has two decades working across digital, CX, marketing, brand strategy and marketing transformation across market-leading brands (Commbank, Optus, Ford, Officeworks and Coles). Meanwhile, Razzell blends an academic background in behavioral sciences, with a lengthy career spanning commercial strategy and data science. O’Hara, a fellow data scientist with a PhD in psychology, also brings with him extensive research experience in academic (Deakin University), government (VicHealth, NDIA), and commercial endeavors (Clemenger BBDO).
“When I reflect on big strategic decisions that I’ve been part of, as a client and while helping brands, I wish these kinds of methods were available. We can see that there’s an opportunity to set a new standard in insights here. I wasn’t on the look out for this type of opportunity, but when I saw what these guys had created, it was an easy decision,” said Roper.
Critical Truth is already working with a number of clients including Tourism Australia, Hootsuite, Kitchen Warehouse and Forbidden Foods, while also partnering with a selection of independent agencies.
