Preview 2018: what will success look like?

Harley Titchener, head of research, Dunnhumby
A successful agency will be one that can provide a holistic depth and breadth view of consumer behaviours, attitudes and opinions. Success will involve big data analytics and intelligent interpretation, but it needs to be aligned with methodologies that provide a deeper, personalised view to allow clients to get close to their customers to understand their needs.

Jane Frost, chief executive, MRS 
Can we start by getting GDPR right? Not just as a regulatory hurdle but as an opportunity to reset relationships with customers. 

Pippa Bailey, senior director, Ipsos Mori
Brands that truly understand the shifting and blurring of the category/ies that they play in, having emotional relevance and creating strong mental networks of association will be key. As ever, the brands need to truly deliver against the need and have purpose, but it is increasingly important to remain agile and have KPIs within brand management which capture awareness, emotional relevance and strength of mental networks versus competitors.

Will Ullstein, commercial director, YouGov
For us, success looks like growth powered by our proprietary data. We look to continue to out-pace the industry with scalable products and services.

Ray Poynter, founder, The Future Place
Sustainable profits, company making a loss in 2018 will decline further in 2019 (or fold, or be bought at a knock-down price).

Crispin Beale, chief executive, Chime Insight & Engagement Group
Success in 2018 will be all about integrating new techniques with the old to become more efficient and allow the company to provide everything clients need from a single source. This will mean developing the team and acquiring new and complimentary capabilities. With this approach companies will be able to win additional large clients and increase profitability.

Caroline Frankum, global chief executive, Lightspeed
Taking a bolder, more proactive approach to change by being simpler, more nimble, more tech-enabled, and more data-driven will undoubtedly help the insight industry flourish in 2018. We must learn from the fastest growing brands like Google, who believe that incrementalism leads to irrelevance.