The Benefits of Sandbag Training: Thue Quist Thomasen On The YouGov And Decision Lab Partnership

When expanding a business on a global scale, the “two heads are better than one” approach has proven itself time and time again. Whether combining international expertise with local insight, or bringing a group of investors together to get a project off the ground, leveraging the strengths of others is one of the most strategic ways to scale innovation.

Recently, the market research industry saw quite a few clever heads brought together as YouGov and Decision Lab joined forces to launch YouGov Vietnam. Named the Research Data and Analytics Group of the Year in 2020 by Singapore Business Award, the former is the most quoted market research source in the UK. Vietnam’s Decision Lab, a thought leader in digital campaigns, is one of Vietnam’s leading market research firms. 

Led by Decision Lab’s co-founder and now CEO of YouGov Vietnam Thue Quist Thomasen, the collaboration is part of YouGov’s global partnerships program. We sat down with Thue to look at opportunities resulting from the partnership and how companies can become smarter about navigating COVID-19.

What opportunities does YouGov hope will materialize in Vietnam as a result of this partnership with Decision Lab?

We’ve been developing this partnership between Decision Lab and YouGov for about a year. YouGov is constantly looking to expand its global footprint, especially in the APAC region. The Vietnamese market is reaching a level of maturity and is now a strong match with YouGov’s innovative solutions. The time is especially ripe to cooperate with innovative companies looking to grow their brands and benefit from the growing disposable income in Vietnam.

The time is especially ripe to cooperate with innovative companies looking to grow their brands and benefit from the growing disposable income in Vietnam. | Source: Co Nguyen

How will YouGov and Decision Lab complement each other through this partnership? 

YouGov brings a robust data toolbox with market-leading research and technology to the partnership. YouGov has a unique approach where we accumulate data in our Cube database and make it available for our customers through the YouGovProfiles and YouGovBrandIndex platforms, allowing clients to track brand metrics and respond to changes in the market.

As the leading digital media tracking and online research company in Vietnam, Decision Lab is bringing its strong expertise in research and technology as well as a solid understanding of the market. We know what is moving in the industry and our team is the best at applying new tech in research and analytics. That’s why we are the ideal partner for YouGov on this journey.

This partnership is aimed to bring new innovation to brands in Vietnam. | Source: Co Nguyen

This partnership is aimed to bring new innovation and global insight to local brands in Vietnam and offer them unparalleled access to brand metrics and consumer insights.

What sort of brands and what needs will this partnership target?

We are looking to support B2C brands across industries and agencies that support their success. As a B2B company, you are able to meet your customers face to face. But if you are selling B2C, when you’re doing your marketing campaign, you don’t receive the feedback directly from your customers. Brands need to stay in-sync with their consumers by tracking those metrics.

Our job is to stream feedback to those companies who would otherwise be left blinded and risk making decisions too late. 

 We categorize the needs of the brands we’re working with into two parts: The first is understanding what people think about the brand. If you’re receiving negativity, we want to see if that affects when people buy from you and how this development turned - for better or worse. 

The second is understanding your target segments by deep diving into the numbers to assess where your consumers are. We've collected around 10,000 data variables on the country and have data ranging from what kind of media people typically use to how they use it. You can craft your next products or campaign resting on the fact that you know your customers well.

Our job is to stream feedback to those companies who would otherwise be left blinded and risk making decisions too late. | Source: Co Nguyen

What are some examples of products and projects YouGov will roll out in Vietnam?

We have three key solutions. Together, these form the suite of tools companies need to understand and perform well in the B2C space:

• YouGovBrandIndex measures the public’s perception of sectors around the globe. YouGov’s flagship syndicated brand tracking helps monitor growth and inform strategy; giving you both the historical and instant view of your brand's performance.
• YouGovProfiles allows you to understand your audience by customizing a portrait of your consumers with granularity, making it an essential tool for on-demand studies about customer usage and the agility for your team to quickly turn around when doing innovation.
• YouGov RealTime is the most cost-effective solution to gain insight from online representatives or focus groups with the industry-leading Omnibus and Targeted research services.

We have three key solutions: YouGovBrandIndex, YouGovProfiles, YouGov RealTime | Source: Co Nguyen

What kind of qualities do you seek in a candidate when building a team? How would you describe company culture here?

We look for people who have different perspectives to share, whether that perspective is from studying abroad, or living out their own life in Vietnam– people who are able to think broader than just their own situation. This is especially useful in marketing because you are able to identify the next step before it happens. 

We also look for people who have an analytical mindset; people who are not only good at, but enjoy working with numbers and are eager to explore more about the data and tell the story behind. 

We look for people who are able to think broader than just their own situation. | Source: Co Nguyen

Has COVID-19 delayed plans for the partnership at all? Have you been able to manage that in terms of operation?

I believe some of the best startups begin in a time of crisis like this. If you are able to work with the sandbags on your shoulders, you will be able to better yourself once you take them off, and even run faster. This is a time of opportunity to help those companies who need our data now more than ever to navigate in the market. 

This simultaneous environment will see both winners and losers emerge. | Source: Co Nguyen

Things have changed drastically in Vietnam due to COVID-19. The relatively brief second wave in Vietnam tells us that difficult times can continue to unfold. In YouGov Vietnam we are optimistic and hope to work with as many companies to make the best of the situation and provide for the Vietnamese consumers in their post-crisis lives.