What Echelon Insights does

Echelon Insights is a U.S.-based strategic research firm headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 2014 and operating with 11-50 employees. The company delivers opinion research, data science, and intelligence services to enterprise clients across political campaigns and committees (e.g., NRSC, Club for Growth), foundations and advocacy organizations (e.g., Walton Family Foundation, ClearPath, EdChoice, NetChoice), media outlets (e.g., New York Times), and think tanks (e.g., the Enterprise Innovation Group). Its work centers on understanding voter, customer, and constituent opinion through rigorous survey methodology combined with advanced analytics, including proprietary frameworks such as the monthly Verified Voter Omnibus, the Consumer Omnibus, the Creative Optimizer ad-testing tool, the Multi-Party Democracy Model, and a cluster-analysis approach that segments the electorate into seven ideological "voter tribes."

The firm operates a sales-led, B2B professional services model, generating revenue primarily through project-based custom research engagements, with a smaller recurring component via its intelligence and monitoring services. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are scoped per project. Distribution is anchored by a content-marketing engine (Insights blog, email newsletter, earned media) that feeds top-of-funnel awareness, while all client delivery runs through direct enterprise engagement with no self-serve product or channel resale.

In September 2025, Echelon announced a strategic partnership with London-based Merlin Strategy to extend research capabilities into the U.K. and European markets, its first formal cross-Atlantic expansion. Ownership is private with no disclosed institutional investors beyond an early 2015 round from Disruptor Capital; no parent company, M&A activity, or leadership transitions are referenced in the available data.

Name

Echelon Insights

Legal name

Echelon Insights

Website

https://echeloninsights.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Echelon Insights is an Alexandria, Virginia-based strategic research firm that delivers custom survey research, data science, and intelligence services to political campaigns, foundations, media, and advocacy organizations across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Analytics Integration & Insight Platforms (Research Ops, Dashboards, Insight Repositories) (MPAAALAO)

Keywords

• Polling research services
• Opinion research
• Voter segmentation
• Ad testing
• Data analytics consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Survey Research: Design and execution of bespoke polling and opinion research for clients across politics, public affairs, and corporate sectors. Revenue generated through project-based fees for customized research studies.
2. Data Analytics Services: Advanced analytics consulting including voter targeting analytics, turnout modeling, audience segmentation, and message development. Billed as part of research engagements or standalone analytics projects.
3. Intelligence & Monitoring: Ongoing intelligence tools providing real-time conversation monitoring, issue landscape tracking, and reputation intelligence services. Likely delivered through subscription or retainer arrangements.
4. Ad Testing & Creative Services: Creative testing and optimization services using proprietary methodology to evaluate advertising effectiveness for clients including political campaigns and brands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Echelon Insights is a strategic research firm that delivers custom opinion research, advanced data analytics, and intelligence services to political campaigns, brands, foundations, and advocacy organizations. Its core offerings include recurring survey products such as the Verified Voter Omnibus and Consumer Omnibus, proprietary ad testing through the Creative Optimizer, and full-service research capabilities covering voter targeting, message testing, crisis preparedness, and real-time conversation monitoring. The firm combines rigorous survey methodology with data science to help clients understand audience opinions beyond traditional partisan categories.

Product overview

Echelon Insights offers a platform of survey research products centered on its Verified Voter Omnibus and Consumer Omnibus recurring polling products, complemented by specialized analytical offerings including Creative Optimizer for ad testing, Data Science analytics services, Intelligence tools for real-time monitoring, and Crisis Preparedness services. The company providesOpinion Research as a core service offering, with specialized sub-products like the America 250 Survey and The New Politics of American Business analysis. The portfolio is structured as a research platform with modular service offerings rather than a unified software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Verified Voter Omnibus: Echelon's flagship ongoing survey tracking verified voters' opinions on politics, policy, and current events, published monthly.
• Consumer Omnibus
• Creative Optimizer

Products and services

• Verified Voter Omnibus A recurring monthly survey of verified likely voters that tracks political opinions, approval ratings, election matchups, and public sentiment on current issues. Used by political campaigns, committees, foundations, and media organizations for longitudinal voter intelligence.
• Consumer Omnibus A recurring monthly survey of American adults covering consumer behavior, technology adoption, economic sentiment, and lifestyle topics. Used by brands and organizations to monitor consumer attitudes and trends.
• Creative Optimizer An ad testing and optimization tool that evaluates campaign creative assets to identify what resonates, confuses, or gets ignored by target audiences. Includes Big Game ad testing capability and uses verified voter panels to measure brand affinity and purchase intent.
• Opinion Research High-integrity survey research services that blend leading methodological precision with real-world expertise for custom research projects. Designed for clients needing bespoke polling and opinion research across politics, public affairs, and corporate sectors.
• Data Science Advanced analytics services applied throughout the research process to uncover deeper insights, test hypotheses, and help clients act with confidence. Includes voter targeting analytics, turnout modeling, audience segmentation, and message development.
• Intelligence Intelligence tools that turn vast amounts of data into actionable insights, keeping clients ahead of shifts in opinion before they extend beyond digital channels. Includes real-time conversation monitoring, issue landscape tracking, and reputation intelligence.
• Crisis Preparedness and Response Rapid research and analysis capabilities for organizations needing to respond to crises with a deep understanding of public opinion on the issues. Supports crisis communication readiness for campaigns, brands, and institutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Monthly tracking of political sentiment across multiple dimensions through regular omnibus surveys
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Merlin StrategycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2025Echelon Insights announced a strategic partnership with Merlin Strategy, a London-based research and strategic advisory firm. The partnership enables Echelon to offer seamless research capabilities across the U.S., U.K., and European markets. The collaboration combines Echelon's U.S. political opinion expertise with Merlin's understanding of U.K. and EU political, cultural, and media landscapes. Initial joint research explored voter attitudes in both countries regarding country direction, institutions, immigration, and populist politics.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Morning Consult: Privately-held polling and market research firm running high-frequency surveys across politics, brands, and consumer trends. Closest direct competitor to Echelon in both methodology (frequent omibuses) and customer mix (political + corporate).
• Hart Research Associates: Long-established Democratic polling firm offering custom survey research, message testing, and audience segmentation to political, nonprofit, and corporate clients. Comparable in methodology and client mix to Echelon.
• WPA Intelligence: Democratic-affiliated polling and research firm offering opinion research, message testing, and data analytics to political campaigns and progressive organizations. Mirror-image peer to Echelon on the political side.
• TargetSmart Communications: Political data and analytics provider offering voter targeting, modeling, and audience intelligence to Democratic and progressive campaigns. Comparable to Echelon's Data Science and voter segmentation offerings.
• Public Opinion Strategies: Republican-leaning political polling and research firm serving campaigns, trade associations, and corporations. Directly comparable to Echelon in client segment, methodology, and B2B professional-services delivery model.
• Global Strategy Group (GQR): Democratic-aligned public opinion, research, and strategic communications firm. Directly competes with Echelon for political, corporate, and advocacy research engagements with comparable service offerings.
• ALG Research: Bipartisan public affairs and opinion research firm serving campaigns, advocacy groups, and corporations. Directly comparable in service mix and target buyer to Echelon's political and foundation segments.
• Selzer & Company: Independent polling firm recognized for high-profile election polling and survey research. Comparable to Echelon in offering custom survey work to political, media, and corporate clients.

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Iconic global polling and analytics firm with deep brand equity in opinion research. Competes with Echelon for corporate brand-tracking and political research budgets as a broad incumbent rather than a direct boutique rival.
• Pew Research Center: Large, well-established nonpartisan research organization producing public opinion polling and demographic research. Competes indirectly with Echelon for media citations, foundation mindshare, and methodological credibility.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/echeloninsights
• Facebookfacebook.com/echeloninsights
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/echelon-insights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Echelon Insights