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A new kind of insight partner has emerged in recent years in response to changes within our industry, and our culture. 

Insight collectives are semi-formal networks of independent researchers who work together on an ad hoc basis, often remotely. With reduced overheads for office space, support functions and such like, collectives offer value to clients, while allowing senior researchers to focus on doing what they love.

Their growth has been driven by the increasing need for specialist skills and expertise in insight and strategy. More and more, client challenges require bespoke solutions and inputs from a range of experts. Brett Templeton, founder of Plural Thinking, explains: “The business of marketing consultancy has become more specialist. Clients are looking for high-level advice, and tight, efficient thinking inspired by multiple source learnings. Big agencies are trying to sell units of activity, and clients don’t want units of activity. Clients want answers to their questions.”

Collectives excel at this kind of cross-specialism work, as they can curate bespoke teams from a wider pool of talent than traditional agencies sometimes offer.

Many were founded by researchers who wanted to avoid agency management roles, which can leave them removed from the first-hand cultural immersion that drew them to the job in the first place. “In a typical agency, you move from being the person who does the work well to a client services role,” says Ksenia Pachikov, founder of New York’s Field And Studio Collective. “You have a senior person doing client and project management, and a lot of junior people actually running the work. I wanted to avoid having to choose between advancing my career and doing the work I love.”

The leaner structure of collectives allows senior researchers to remain hands-on. Will Eglington, founder of Adam’s Egg in San Francisco, says: “You can just focus on the work, and clients like it. They get what they see: experienced people doing everything.”

There’s a focus on working smartly and using technology intelligently. Remote working and the use of free and cheap tools such as Skype, Slack, and Google Suite allow collectives to avoid the high costs associated with traditional agencies. “The technology enables people to work much more easily, without this gigantic support infrastructure,” says Eglington.

Fifteen years ago, large agencies might have spent around £5,000 a year on their server. Today, you can buy enough cloud server space to run a small business for just £1.59 a month.

This spirit of efficiency and focus also promotes a healthy work-life balance and good mental health. Myles Thomas and Ben Scales, co-founders of The Monday Project, feel that the model offers an alternative to the all-encompassing agency culture: “Researchers are often lost to other professions rather than other agencies. There’s no opportunity to do other things in life, so people just drop out of the industry. The collective is a strong embodiment of the pleasure principle in work. It gives people more power to explore other options, and bring those other experiences back into the world of insight.”

Changing cultural values have also contributed to the growth of collectives. A new generation of researchers are now moving into leadership positions, bringing with them a mindset that values access over ownership, collaboration over competition and flexibility over security. For some, there’s also a political dimension to the collective, as a gentler form of enterprise that is more equitable, transparent and less hierarchical.

It’s a familiar tale of category disruption: cut out the middle person to work in a more streamlined and effective way. It’s also redolent of the kind of bifurcation we see across many categories, where big brands are increasingly consolidated as part of corporate groups, while the indies go off and do things differently.

There are, of course, downsides to the model. Collectives don’t guarantee fixed income. It takes time to build a brand, a reputation, and to get up and running. You’ll miss some of the social contact of agency life, and collectives don’t always nurture and develop younger talent in the way that agencies do.

But the proposition is persuasive and timely. Researchers can do what they love, and clients get senior talent working more exclusively on their projects. Collectives are aligned with the trajectories of our industry, and of our culture. They’re well-placed to bring together a range of talent and perspectives from around the world.

Most importantly, they offer flexibility. Tansy Drake, co-founder of Umbrella Studios, says: “It’s about creating a business model that works for everyone. We believe in creative freedom. We think it’s better for the soul, it’s better for ideas, and it’s better for business.”

This freedom allows collectives to spark new connections and ideas, and work in more innovative and varied ways. Tom O’Dwyer, founder of Wavelength Research Consultancy, adds: “Let’s have less formulaic approaches. Let’s go beyond the obvious. Let’s be braver in our research, more authentic, more dynamic. It’s that freedom and creativity that’s exciting; that fluidity, that serendipity.”

Workers unite!

Headz is an insight and strategy collective specialising in tech, media and gaming research

This article was first published in the January 2020 issue of Impact.