Award Winners, plus Working Well Together Workshop

In keeping with tradition, we are showcasing 2024 award winners from across the industry.  We have invited a quartet of speakers to present their award-winning case studies at the RAF Club on the morning of 18th March 2025.  

In the afternoon of 18th, we will focus on the Working Well Together initiative with a presentation and a hosted round table discussion to explore the topic in depth.

The Award Winners

We will hear from the client and agency winners of the following awards...

• MRS/AURA Award for Activation of Research
• AQR Qualitative Excellence Award
• Jeremy Bullmore Award for Creative Development Research
• MRS B2B Network Award for B2B Research

MRS/AURA Award for Activation of Research
NFU Mutual
Fineline - Scott Hinton

Fineline shifted the research focus from the mid-sized corporate market as‘a business’ to ‘human decision-makers’ and in so doing helped NFU Mutualto see business customers as people rather than ‘mid-size corporations’. Itput insight at the centre of business prioritisation with senior audiences, andtransformed how NFU Mutual prospect, engage and retain customers.Myths were busted, perceptions were challenged, and multi-media personaswere brought to life to connect the decision-makers to this ‘redefined’market.It created a precedent for putting customer insight at the centre of businessdecision-making.

AQR Qualitative Excellence Award
Ancestry - Maxine Walter
Magenta - Sarah Jenkins and Eve Robinson

This case study from Ancestry and Magenta demonstrates the power of
qualitative research to drive business success across culturally diverse
markets. Magenta applied multi method qual in an approach they call
Qualitative Alchemy, to transform cultural nuances into a global strategy”.
The study culminated in a sensory workshop that used sights, sounds,
smells and even a game of Top Trumps to land the insight in a truly
compelling, creative way.

Jeremy Bullmore Award for Creative Development Research
Ministry of Justice, His Majesty Prison and Probation Service
Thinks Insight and Strategy - Carole McNaughton Nicholls and Ella Jenkins

Thinks Insight and Strategy developed a bold, honest, but human campaign to
nail an ad for the Ministry of Justice and H M Prisons & Probation Services.

They took an iterative, phased and in-situ approach to research to address
the strategic challenge of His Majesty Prison & Probation Services (HMPPS)
to attract sufficient numbers of applications to new roles to ensure safe and
effective management of services in England and Wales. Creative
development of a recruitment campaign for HMPPS was informed by
research with staff at prisons and probations offices, as well as the
campaign target audience. This led to an aspirational but realistic campaign
and a dramatic increase in applications for roles in priority locations to
address this pressing challenge.

MRS B2B Network Award for B2B Research
Workspace - Greg Absalom
Opinium - Octavia Broughton

Opinium, Workspace, and Sign Salad collaborated on a 12-month research programme, exploring the evolving dynamics of B2B office decision-making.
With B2B research often prioritising more rational ‘tick-box’ factors, this project challenged that approach. Using semiotics, in-depth interviews, and surveys, it revealed how socio-cultural influences and emotional values drive decisions much more than traditionally recognised, shaping a customer segmentation that reflects the underlying motivations behind office space choices. 
This paper covers how these methods were blended together and how the insights continue to shape marketing, product development and property investment decisions at Workspace.

Working Well Together Workshop

How we collaborate with our research agency partners can make the difference between good and great research – and how easy or hard it feels along the way.  To help with this, AURA’s Working Well Together Charter (WWT) was co-created with AURA members and research agency teams.  This resulted in 6 principles which help teams embed new, stronger and mutually rewarding ways of working together – to reduced stress, heighten respect, deliver more impactful work and ultimately drive better outcomes. 

In this interactive session with other AURA members, you'll hear first-hand from others on the steps they have taken and the improvements they have seen in their agency and stakeholder relationships. You’ll have the chance to reflect and discuss with each other, which steps to prioritise in your own work.  And we'll also share the latest tools and resources AURA offers, to support you to make positive changes.  Whether you are using the WWT Charter already or if it’s new to you, we hope this will be an inspiring and practical session, helping you to elevate your collaborations and take your research to the next level! 

Hosted by Becki Jarvis and Nick Rich.

AURA members - register for this event

Not an AURA member? Request to attend this event for free here