Winners From Research Industry Council Of Australia’s 2016 Research Effectiveness Awards

The Research Industry Council of Australia (RICA) today announced the winners of its 2016 Research Effectiveness Awards. The awards recognise effectiveness in research that makes a difference to business and social policy planning performance.

Four Research Effectiveness Awards, plus Employer of the Year and the Young Researcher Awards, were presented during the Australian Market & Social Research Society (AMSRS) national conference in Melbourne today before an audience of more than 400 people.

Pictured: Employer of the Year team NEWGATE Research

“The awards are designed to provide a platform to demonstrate the important role that research professionals and companies play in modern Australian society, and that’s precisely what these winning entries reflect,” Liz Moore, director – Research, Insights and Analytics, TELSTRA and president, Australian Market & Social Research Society (AMSRS) said.

The winners are:

• Communication Strategy Award – ZING! Insights for the 2015 Cricket World Cup Organising Committee
• Consumer Insight Award (tied) – Fiftyfive5 for Bacardi Rum and Fiftyfive5 for Bayer Consumer Health
• Employer of the Year – NEWGATE Research
• Public Policy Award – Where to Research for Our Watch
• Technology Innovation Award – ORIMA for NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care
• Young Researcher of the Year – Maria Handberg, Vision Critical

Further detail of each award winner is below.

Association of Market and Social Research Organisations (AMSRO) president Lee Naylor said, “The calibre of entries this year across all categories was exceptional. It’s important that we celebrate and pay tribute to the work achieved through quality research.

“The Research Effectiveness Awards recognise excellence in our industry, which turns over $800 million annually, employs up to 12,000 people, and is a vital tool for government and business.”

Employer of the Year winner, Newgate Research managing director Sue Vercoe, said, “We are very proud to receive the Employer of the Year Award. We’re a tight knit team that takes a collaborative approach and we love working on topical and challenging issues at the nexus of business, politics, media and the community.

“Our work is often fast-paced, but we make sure we look after each other, find ways to work together more efficiently, and we take the time to develop new ideas and approaches.”

About the award winners:

Communication Strategy Award: 2015 Cricket World Cup Organising Committee – ZING! Insights. Zing conducted research to provide consumer insights that would help drive communications and media decisions, including the brand and advertising idea and concept testing of the ‘Greatness is Contagious’ campaign. Zing! designed customised qualitative and quantitative research tools to generate insights that were relevant and actionable.

Consumer Insight Award (tied):

Bacardi Rum – Fiftyfive5. Fiftyfive5 worked with existing brand tracking data to identify a number of growth opportunities for Bacardi Rum and conducted qualitative research to develop a rum category strategy, which led to a significant turnaround in volume and value for the brand.

Bayer Consumer Health – Fivefity5. Fivefifty5 examined growth opportunities and used its in-depth understanding of the target audience and quantitative research to unearth a powerful insight that led to Bayer brand Iberogast becoming market leader in the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Support market.

Employer of the Year: NEWGATE Research. This award recognises industry leaders who demonstrate a strong employer brand, a commitment to engaging and retaining talent and overall excellence in people management.

Public Policy Award: Our Watch – Whereto Research. Our Watch was established to drive nationwide change in the culture, behaviours and power imbalances that lead to violence against women and their children. The organisation engaged Whereto to conduct a national study into ‘The Line’, a campaign to teach young people about relationship behaviour that crosses the line.

Technology Innovation Award: NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care – ORIMA Research. ORIMA developed an innovative customised online reporting solution to engage disability services staff with the quality reform agenda and to track their progress to ensure key milestones were met to achieve Third Party Verification.

Young Researcher of the Year: Maria Handberg, Vision Critical. Maria has been working with Vision Critical for three years with her expertise being across both online qualitative and quantitative research. In two years, Maria’s responsibilities have increased significantly and she is single-handedly managing research engagements for Visa Worldwide, ANZ Group and Sanitarium Customer Insight Communities. Her ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients and colleagues is largely attributed to her continued drive and determination.