What Sago does

Sago is a global market research and consumer insights company that provides end-to-end qualitative and quantitative research services, technology platforms, and managed audience access to enterprise clients across industries. Founded in 1965 (formerly Schlesinger Group, rebranded to Sago in 2023), the company operates 20+ physical research facilities across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Central America, supported by proprietary panel networks in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and Spain with 176+ million respondents surveyed cumulatively. Its technology stack centers on three proprietary platforms: Methodify for automated quantitative research, QualBoard for digital qualitative discussions and communities, and QualMeeting for digital interviews, supplemented by SagoStream for in-facility streaming and Sago Health for healthcare research. Sago monetizes through a mix of project-based professional services engagements, technology platform subscriptions (Methodify, QualBoard, QualMeeting), audience and panel access fees, and in-person facility rentals, priced via custom bid/quote rather than standardized tiers.

Name

Sago

Legal name

SS Holdings Group, LLC

Website

https://sago.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Sago is a global market research company providing qualitative and quantitative research services, proprietary AI-enabled platforms (Methodify, QualBoard, QualMeeting), and multi-country panel access to enterprise clients across CPG, financial services, media, healthcare, and consulting verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Healthcare Outcomes & Real-World Evidence (RWE) Analytics (BPAHALAN)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Consumer insights
• Research platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Iselin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices24 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Services: End-to-end market research services including qualitative research (focus groups, interviews, communities), quantitative research (surveys, polls), and consultative research solutions. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements with pricing based on methodology, sample size, geographic scope, and service complexity.
2. Technology Platform Subscriptions: SaaS-style access to proprietary platforms including Methodify, QualBoard, and QualMeeting. These platforms are offered both as standalone tools and integrated with research services, supporting subscription or per-project pricing models.
3. Audience/Panel Access: Access to Sago's global panel of respondents for research recruitment. Revenue is generated through recruitment fees, panel participation incentives management, and sample provisioning for quantitative and qualitative studies.
4. In-Person Facility Rental: Rental of physical research facilities and testing spaces across Sago's global office network. Includes conference rooms, viewing suites, and specialized simulation centers (including Warner Bros. Media Lab).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sago provides end-to-end market research services spanning qualitative research (focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographies, online communities), quantitative research (surveys, omnibus studies, polling), and specialized neuromarketing and trial consulting, delivered through proprietary technology platforms (Methodify, QualBoard, QualMeeting, SagoStream), proprietary global respondent panels, and a network of 20+ physical research facilities. Its enterprise clients — across CPG, financial services, media, healthcare, consulting, and academic sectors — use Sago to design, recruit, field, and analyze studies with embedded AI tooling and advanced data-quality controls.

Product overview

Sago is a comprehensive market research company offering a platform-plus-services architecture with three core proprietary platforms: Methodify (automated quantitative research), QualBoard (digital qualitative discussions and communities), and QualMeeting (digital interviews), complemented by SagoStream for in-facility streaming. The company provides audience recruitment services through specialized panels including its general Sago Panel, Voter Match Panel, and Electric Vehicle Panel. Service offerings span global qualitative research (focus groups, IDIs, ethnographies), global quantitative research (surveys, omnibus), neuromarketing tools (Sago Research Labs), and trial & jury consulting. Sago Health serves healthcare-specific research needs. The portfolio is unified through AI-powered features including survey drafting, AI moderation, video summaries, and data quality tools like the Data Trust Score integrated via partnership with Data Quality Co-op. Physical presence includes in-person facilities across the US and Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QualBoard: Digital qualitative research platform for focus groups and online discussions
• Methodify
• QualMeeting
• Sago Health
• SagoStream
• Trivoca
• SayMore
• FocusGroup.com
• AskingCanadians
• InspiredOpinions
• OpinionsPartagees
• SagUnsDieMeinung
• PersonasConOpinion

Products and services

• Methodify
• QualBoard
• QualMeeting
• SagoStream
• Sago Health
• Sago Panel
• Sago Voter Match Panel
• Sago Electric Vehicle Panel
• Global Qualitative Research
• Global Quantitative Research
• Sago Research Labs (Neuromarketing)
• Trial & Jury Consulting
• In-Person Research Facilities

Quantifiable outcome

• 45% cost reduction in creative testing through automated processes
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NEXT for AUTISMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2026Sago partnered with NEXT for AUTISM to conduct a national survey of 417 autistic adults across U.S. industries examining workplace experiences. The survey findings revealed that direct managers are the single most important factor shaping success for autistic employees and highlighted gaps in workplace support awareness.
• EngagiouscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Sago partnered with Engagious as part of the Swing Voter Project, conducting focus groups with swing voters on political and policy issues including Iran war sentiment, Democratic voter preferences, and ICE reform views. The collaboration produced research on voter priorities for various media outlets.
• Data Quality Co-opcoreTechnology or Integration · 5 February 2026Sago partnered with Data Quality Co-op to integrate DQC's data quality infrastructure, including the Data Trust Score, into Sago's research operations. The Data Trust Score combines technical fraud indicators, in-survey behavior, and participation history into a single 0-to-1,000 metric for assessing respondent trustworthiness. Sago became one of the largest early adopters of DQC's shared quality infrastructure, positioning the collaboration as an industry model for collaborative data quality improvement.
• KudosminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2025Sago partnered with Kudos and TSC to conduct a joint survey on employee recognition, finding that 90% of organizations track recognition outcomes and 84% see improved employee engagement after implementing recognition programs.
• TSC (The Search Agency)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2025Sago partnered with Kudos and TSC to conduct a joint survey on employee recognition as a business-critical investment and productivity booster.
• Warner Bros.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDedicated Warner Bros. Media Lab located at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA, providing specialized facilities for testing and substantiating media experiences with intended audiences.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cint: Cint operates a global exchange for digital research sample, directly overlapping with Sago's panel business (FocusGroup.com, AskingCanadians, InspiredOpinions) and competing on programmatic sample delivery to enterprise research buyers.
• Dynata: Dynata is one of the largest first-party data and panel companies globally, directly competing with Sago in online sample provision, qualitative/quantitative research services, and global respondent recruitment across the same enterprise buyer segments.
• Savanta: Savanta offers a full-service research platform combining proprietary panels, qualitative communities, and data-driven insights targeting B2B and consumer clients, competing with Sago on full-service qualitative/quantitative engagements.
• Toluna: Toluna provides a hybrid technology-and-panel research platform with global consumer panels and automated survey tools (Toluna Start), competing head-to-head with Sago's Methodify and panel offerings across CPG, media, and financial services clients.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research and analytics firm with deep qualitative, quantitative, and public opinion research capabilities; competes with Sago for enterprise research engagements and panel-based studies across all major verticals Sago serves.
• NielsenIQ: NielsenIQ provides consumer measurement, analytics, and insights globally, with comparable CPG and retail research offerings and a panel-based data infrastructure that overlaps with Sago's audience and quantitative services.
• Kantar: Kantar is a top-tier global insights and consulting firm offering qualitative and quantitative research, panels, and analytics at much larger scale than Sago; overlaps directly with Sago's CPG, media, and financial services practice areas.

Emerging players

• PureSpectrum: PureSpectrum is an online sample marketplace and panel provider with growing global reach; competes with Sago's panel recruitment business and offers buyers integrated quality and fraud-prevention tooling.
• Zappi: Zappi is an AI-native consumer insights platform automating concept, ad, and product testing for CPG and retail brands, directly competing with Sago's Methodify automated research and creative testing offerings.

Others

• GreenBook (GRIT): GreenBook is the industry trade body and research publication that publishes the GRIT Top 50 ranking in which Sago is featured; it serves as an industry connector and thought-leadency platform rather than a direct research services competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sagomrx
• YouTubevimeo.com/sagomrx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sago-mrx
• Facebookfacebook.com/SagoMRX

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A5 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sago