Verian Group is an independent research, evidence, evaluation, and communications agency, headquartered in Millbank, London, UK.[1] It has offices in continental Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands), the Asia–Pacific (Australia, India, New Zealand, Singapore), and US.[2] Verian conducts social research, program evaluation, and media analysis for governments, local communities, interest groups, trade unions, NGOs, and private sector organisations.[3][4][5][6] British Politics and Policy, a blog run by the London School of Economics (LSE), evaluated Verian's (then known as TNS BMRB) polling on the run up to the 2016 UK Brexit referendum; Verian was one of a minority to correctly forecast the result and had the lowest bias.[7] Verian's opinion polling for the 2024 United Kingdom general election also came closest to the final result.[8]

Verian
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Key people
Websitewww.veriangroup.com

Partial timeline

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  • 1933: British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) was founded as the market research arm of advertising agency J. Walter Thompson.[9][10]
  • 1987: WPP acquired JWT group, owner of J. Walter Thompson and BMRB.[11]
  • 1992: WPP founded Kantar Group.[12]
  • 2000: Svenska institutet för opinionsundersökningar (Sifo) acquired by Kantar.[13]
  • 2008: Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) acquired by Kantar.[14]
  • 2009: BMRB Social Research and TNS Social Research integrated to become TNS BMRB.[15]
  • 2016: Kantar Public launched, bringing together Kantar's government and public sector teams including TNS BMRB.[16]
  • 2017: Kantar Public opened an office in Singapore.[17]
  • 2021: Colmar Brunton merged with Kantar, with some staff moving to Kantar Public.[18]
  • 2022: Kantar Public sold to private equity firm Trilantic Europe.[19]
  • 2023: PPMI, a European policy research and consultancy company, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, acquired by Kantar Public.[20]
  • 2023: Kantar Public rebranded Verian.[21][22]

Example work

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  • Voice of Ukraine: A longitudinal survey of migration paths, needs, and expectations of Ukrainians displaced by war. So far there have been over 6,500 respondents across six waves of research.[23]
  • Evaluation of the Safer Streets Fund: An evaluation of the impact of funding for situational interventions aimed at preventing acquisitive crime, conducted by Verian on behalf of the Home Office.[29]
  • UK COVID-19 Inquiry: Verian was appointed in 2024 to conduct a large-scale qualitative research project to investigate the experiences of children and young people.[30]
  • Making Tax Digital: Early impact on VAT below threshold customers: Research funded by HM Revenue and Customs to understand how businesses below the £85,000 VAT threshold adapted to requirements to keep digital records; use software that works with Making Tax Digital; and submit updates every quarter.[31]
  • Does proactively asking about allergens before ordering improve customer outcomes? (2023): A cluster-randomised trial of the effects of proactively asking customers about food hypersensitivity, including 936 customers at 18 outlets, funded by Food Standards Agency.[32]
  • Quantum Technologies Public Dialogue Report: Funded by EPSRC, this research explored the general public's views and values in relation to quantum technologies.[33] It was announced in May 2024 that Verian will repeat the research, with a survey of around 1,000 participants and workshops with 40.[34]

Further reading

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  • Downham, John (1993). BMRB International: The First Sixty Years, 1933–1993. London: BMRB International.

References

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  1. ^ "Verian Global Homepage". Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Office Locations". Verian home page. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Evidence for Public Policy". Verian home page. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Policy Development and Evaluation". Verian home page. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Behavioural and Communications". Verian home page. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Political, Opinion and Electoral Advisory". Verian home page. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Leave was always in the lead: why the polls got the referendum result wrong". British Politics and Policy at LSE. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  8. ^ Vincent, Jonathan (9 July 2024). "Why did the pollsters overestimate Labour's vote?". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  9. ^ Schwarzkopf, Stefan (2011). "A Radical Past? The Politics of Market Research in Britain, 1900-1950". In Brückweh, Kerstin (ed.). The voice of the citizen consumer: a history of market research, consumer movements, and the political public sphere. Studies of the German Historical Institute London. Oxford University Press. pp. 29–50. ISBN 978-0-19-960402-9.
  10. ^ "British Market Research Bureau Limited certificate of incorporation". Companies House. 25 April 1933. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  11. ^ Warner, Jeremy (27 June 1987). "JWT agrees cash bid by WPP". The Independent. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Proposed sale of 60% of Kantar". WPP. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  13. ^ "WPP Annual Report & Accounts 2000" (PDF).
  14. ^ Holton, Kate (8 October 2008). "WPP declares victory in TNS bid battle". Reuters. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  15. ^ Verrinder, James (23 February 2009). "TNS and Research International merge in Kantar shake up". Research Live. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Kantar unveils government and public sector offer". Research Live. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Kantar Public opens Singapore office". Research Live. 7 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Colmar Brunton NZ Name To Go as Kantar Integrates". MrWeb. 30 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Kantar Completes Sale of Kantar Public to Trilantic". MrWeb. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  20. ^ McQuater, Katie (6 July 2023). "Kantar Public buys Lithuanian policy business". Research Live. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Kantar Public rebrands globally to become Verian". Verian Global Homepage. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  22. ^ Kay-McClean, Liam (9 November 2023). "Kantar Public changes name to Verian". Research Live.
  23. ^ "Voice of Ukraine". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Understanding Society: The UK's Household Longitudinal Study". Verian home page. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  25. ^ "The UK Household Longitudinal Study". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Data solutions". Verian home page. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Labour 18-point lead over Conservatives". Verian home page. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Crime Survey for England & Wales". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  29. ^ Home Office. "Collection: Safer Streets Fund evaluation". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Inquiry appoints new partner to investigate impact of the pandemic on children and young people". UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  31. ^ HMRC (2024). "Making Tax Digital: Early impact on VAT below threshold customers". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  32. ^ McPhedran, Robert; Cornel, Pieter; Yang, Yuchen; Devarajan, Sanjeev; Toombs, Ben; Mohideen, Anya; Rayner, Alice; Jones, Phil; Gold, Natalie (2023). "Does proactively asking about allergens before ordering improve customer outcomes? An in‐business randomised controlled trial". Clinical & Experimental Allergy. 53 (8): 866–869. doi:10.1111/cea.14326. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  33. ^ Kantar Public (2018). Quantum Technologies: Public Dialogue Report (PDF).
  34. ^ "Quantum conversations – exploring public attitudes to quantum computing". Quantum Computing and Simulation (QCS) Hub. Retrieved 12 June 2024.