Overview

Rainbow Research Ltd provides a comprehensive range of qualitative and quantitative research solutions that we believe are designed and delivered with clarity and creativity. Via an understanding of/commitment to client needs, and with insightful analysis and interpretation, our aim is to inform practical decision-making and thus guide the development of business strategies.

We operate on a ‘consultancy’ basis rather than as an actual ‘agency’. In simple terms, this means we have the flexibility to buy-in fieldwork/data processing from a variety of specialist suppliers which, in turn means we can concentrate more on the design and interpretation of the research rather than the actual ‘leg work’. We are in partnership with specialist fieldwork agencies (all IQCS – Interviewer Quality Control Scheme registered) and a team of professional senior research associates is regularly brought together for more complex and lengthy projects (all selected for their individual and complementary skills covering both quantitative and qualitative techniques).

Due to this flexibility, we are able to work effectively and efficiently on both the smaller, simpler projects, right through to the very complex, lengthy and therefore more demanding ones. The team you would get to do your research would be the best there is. Your project would benefit from senior consultants throughout the whole research process from briefing meeting to debrief presentation. We do not pretend to provide senior level input right the way through, we actually do - ALWAYS!

All of our work is approached on the basis of developing close relationships with our clients, with the aim of becoming almost an extension of their organisation. Whilst maintaining impartiality at all stages of the research process, we believe that by nurturing client relationships, both parties ultimately benefit.

The Research Team

Joanne Birchall (Research Director)

With over 10 years' research experience on both client and agency sides, Rainbow Research is led by Senior Partner Joanne Birchall. Joanne is a full and active member of the Market Research Society and Royal Statistical Society.

After obtaining a BSc in Mathematics and Physiology, and an MSc in Statistics, Joanne began her career as a statistician working for a firm of Actuaries - Mercer Fraser, followed by a Contract Research Organisation - S-cubed (now Parexel) where she reported on clinical trial research data for clients such as GlaxoSmithKline, Boots, Pfizer AstraZenica International.

Following her interest in Market Research, she became Group statistician for the Market Research Division of ENCAMS (a successful and reputable charity organisation) where over time, the balance between statistics and Market Research tipped over in favour of Market Research. Joanne left the Group as Market Research Manager.

Following this, a career on the agency side with Business & Market Research (now HI Europe) set her in good stead for running her own consultancy. At B&MR Joanne worked with clients such as Norweb Energy, Scottish Power, Schering Healthcare, ITT London & Edinburgh, Littlewoods, Norwich Union, Royal & Sun Alliance, MBNA, Securicor Omega and British Telecom on both small and large-scale quantitative and qualitative projects.

Prior to setting up Rainbow Research Ltd in 2000, Joanne returned to a client company known as Business Villages, an Internet portal company where she set up and managed the Market Research division.

Joanne would be the main contact on your research projects and she would have complete involvement from start to finish, from client briefing, to design of survey materials and analysis, through to debrief presentation/reporting.

Danny Sims, Jo Lewis and Carolyn Copley work in partnership with Rainbow Research on an ongoing basis. They are all extremely professional and proficient senior level researchers and are invaluable to the Rainbow team.

Danny Sims (Research Director)

After graduating with a BSc in Sociology and Social Psychology Danny started his Market Research career in London at Business Planning & Research International (BPRI) where he managed large scale quantitative continuous projects whilst working with clients such as NatWest Bank, Association of British Insurers, ITV, Transco, Midland Bank, CNT, Eurostar and Royal & Sun Alliance.

Danny then moved to the North to work at Business & Market Research (now HI Europe) where he managed qualitative and quantitative projects (continuous and ad-hoc) worth c£300,000 on average per year. He worked with clients such as Grattan, ITT London & Edinburgh, Index, London Transport, Parcelforce Worldwide, Barclays, Company Barclaycard, Arthur Anderson, Kaleidoscope and Camelot.

Prior to becoming an independent consultant in 2001, Danny worked on the client-side in the IT industry with Armstrong Laing (cost management software providers) where he set-up and managed the company’s Market Research arm in partnership with the Marketing Team. Deemed an overwhelming success by the Board, Danny initiated the company’s first customer satisfaction survey.

Danny is a full and active member of the Market Research Society.

Jo Lewis (Research Director)

After graduating with a BSc in Geography and Computing, Jo began her research career with Business & Market Research (now HI Europe), where she worked predominately in the Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Mail Order and Utility sectors, working with clients such as: AstraZeneca, Adelphi, Grattan, United Utilities and Yorkshire Electricity. Jo gained an excellent grounding in all areas of Market Research, with particular involvement in qualitative techniques.

Following B&MR, Jo accepted a position at Advanstar Communications - a global event organiser and publishing company where she undertook various European based research projects including new product development studies (publications / exhibitions / conferences); reader and advertiser satisfaction research; and pre-acquisition due diligence studies. With the main sectors of responsibility being Call Centres, Communications Technology and CRM, Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare, Supply Chain and Technical.

Prior to setting up as an independent consultant in 2002, Jo worked in the Semi Public Sector in Social Housing for a Liverpool based Housing Association and Regeneration company known as The Riverside Group. Jo established research as a business tool within The Riverside Group by demonstrating the benefits of incorporating the discipline into the business process. Prior to leaving Riverside, Jo completed pioneering analysis into recruitment and retention strategies for The Riverside Group involving profiling and forecasting of markets and customer groups.

Jo is also a full and active member of the Market Research Society.

Carolyn Copley (Field Director)

After graduating with a first class honours degree in Business Studies with Marketing, Carolyn began her Market Research career at KGS where she was Account Manager for numerous public sector organisations including Police Constabularies and Local Authorities.

Now employing 15 full time staff and 30 part-time staff, she has built a reputation since 2000 for the outstanding quality and service provided to our clients across consumer, business-to-business and public sectors. The wider team has 18 regional supervisors and nearly 1500 interviewers.

There is a depth of experience in undertaking all types of face-to-face fieldwork, telephone interviewing, focus group/depth discussion recruitment, hall tests, pedestrian flow counting, street surveys, in home interviews, postal surveys and more.

Carolyn manages a network of 18 area supervisors and nearly 1500 field interviewers that covers the whole of the UK. Our field force has experience on pen and paper surveys as well as CAPI (computer aided personal interviewing) which gives clients more scope for what can be done during an interview.

There is also have a 30-stong in-house telephone research unit working with pen and paper surveys or CATI (computer aided telephone interviewing).

All of our work is carried out to ISO 20252 Quality Standards and we are members of the MRS Company Partner Scheme. We also follow the MRS Code of Conduct and guidelines.

Once your fieldwork is complete, we have a team experienced in manual data entry to capture your data quickly and accurately. We then conduct Quality Control Measures as standard to ensure all of your data is accurate. We can also analyse any existing electronic data file you have - our software supports all standard file types, including ASCII, comma / tab separated & SPSS files.

Our Approach to Research

At Rainbow Research we understand that research is a means to an end and not an end in itself. On completion of all of our projects, we put forward recommendations for action. We are able to do this because when designing your research program we will ensure that the research is both actionable and meaningful.

We also recognise that those who have to act on research must have confidence in their chosen supplier. We therefore put great emphasis on presenting our findings in a clear, concise and commercial manner, avoiding any research jargon.

We are committed to building a first class relationship with our clients and we believe this means listening to our clients and providing a first class service. Overall, our approach to both your project and the way we work together will bring the maximum possible benefit from any research we undertake.

We completely understand the risks of trying a new agency for the first time, and we can only hope you will give us the opportunity to prove our promise – we won’t let you down! Please call us on +44 (0) 1772 842157 or e-mail if you would like to know more about Rainbow Research. We hope to meet you soon.