May the force be with you…

CEO BLOG – MAY 2021

2021 feels like its motoring by and is proving to be both a year of optimism and one of concern as Covid either becomes less or more of a threat depending on where you are in the world. Having launched in India and having made so many great friendships with clients and partners in the area, they are certainly in our thoughts as they endure some very difficult times. Our thoughts and best wishes are very much with our friends and associates within the region.

Since we announced our rebrand and redefined our purpose to provide children, parents, and families with a voice to help them shape their worlds, the feedback we have had from clients, partners, and our team has been incredible. 

The purpose has really helped us as a team articulate why we exist and what our beliefs are, and as we continue to expand at a significant rate, a large part of my role transitions into ensuring that we retain and develop our culture and values. We aim to not only be a global leading business but become a leader in every sense of the word – as an employer, as a contributor to society, and of course by establishing ourselves as a business-critical partner to our clients.

Coming up to 10 years ago, I lost my Dad to leukemia. I decided to take a short-term career deviation to apply my skills to a charity - Leukemia & Lymphoma Research, to help them redefine their commercial strategy and grow revenue. 

The role was probably the toughest and, in many ways, least enjoyable in my career but was no doubt the most important one. Fast-forward to London Toy Fair 2019, and who should I meet perusing our stand and speaking to my colleagues, no other than Cathy Gilman, the former CEO of Leukemia & Lymphoma Research. Cathy had since left the charity and had joined National children’s charity Starlight, and a conversation quickly developed to see how we and our data could help her and her team, as they looked to redevelop the charities strategy. 

Cathy and I kept in contact and following on from several emails and calls, it became apparent that we could really help them, through our UK Kids Insights? and Parents Insights? services.

Several projects later, it became apparent that there were significant synergies between the two organisations. Therefore, we are delighted to become partners, where we will support Starlight’s purpose to use the power of play to improve the wellbeing of seriously ill children with our incredible research and data. As well as integrating the charity into our social events to raise awareness and funds for the organisation and their important work.

On the 22nd of May I am going to complete my personal challenge; I will walk over 10 miles against the clock between Manchester hospitals. Finishing this route at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, I will be dressed as the only kid’s character that fits my 6ft 5 frame - Sesame Street’s Big Bird. Whilst this is not the toughest challenge (having completed the three peaks a few years ago) it very much marks the start of our charity partnership, with the team set to undertake a series of fundraising initiatives (full schedule coming soon).To add support to the many challenges and activities we will be doing by clicking here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/the-insights-family 

I was also delighted to be appointed as a member of the Children’s Advisory Panel by the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office). The ICO do some incredible work, to uphold information rights, and are very much aligned with our values as an organisation. I look forward to collaborating with the ICO and the other Children’s Advisory Board members to develop a code and framework which includes consultation with children and parents to provide them with greater protection. 

The April On-Track Reports which we issued, mean we have now produced and issued 315 reports since we launched in 2017. And like all parts of our business, they go through continuous enhancement and improvement.

A huge well done and congratulations to all members of the research, tech, and marketing teams who have collaborated on this project over the last 6 months. Some special mentions to Sarah Riding, Natasha Blumfield, Gemma Just and the technology team who have led the project. The initial feedback has been incredible with clients saying how much they like the new format and the depth of the insights. 

Different age groups (3-5s, 6-9s, 10-12s, 13-15s & 16-18s) attitudes, behaviour, and consumption patterns have all evolved over the last 12 months. I am not talking about 1-2% changes, I am talking about 20%-30% increases or decreases in certain categories. So, if you are working with research which is any more than a month out of date you are at best guessing, why take that risk to get things wrong?

I would urge any who has not seen what we do, to get in contact and let me or one of the team talk you through why we can help you and be the driving force in your business to help you succeed and mitigate risks. 

Very best wishes,

Nick