TRA

What TRA does

TRA (The Research Agency) is a privately held market research and insights agency headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, with regional offices in Melbourne and Sydney. Founded in 2007, the firm operates across Australia and New Zealand serving enterprise and mid-market clients with a horizontal segmentation approach spanning Financial Services, Retail, Telecommunications, Media, Technology, and Public Sector customers including ASB, ANZ, Canva, Trade Me, Southern Cross, Spark, Sky, The Warehouse Group, BP, and Auckland Transport. The company is led by Managing Director and co-founder Andrew Lewis alongside regional Managing Partners Shaun Fitzgibbon (New Zealand) and Terri Hall (Australia), with Connon Bray leading the TRA Labs venture studio.

TRA's core product is its Brand Tracking platform, offered in two tiers — Tracking Essentials (tech-led, self-service with always-on dashboards) and TRA Tracking (full-service with embedded human consultancy) — both delivered on an annual subscription cadence. The platform integrates Arti, a generative AI assistant built on OpenAI technology and trained on TRA's proprietary frameworks, which provides conversational interaction with tracking data in text, table, or chart format. TRA's interpretive layer rests on proprietary frameworks including Brand Edge (emotional brand equity), Creative Edge (creative effectiveness via the three R's: Remarkable, Rewarding, Remembered), the TRA Innovation Potential Framework, and the TRA CX Framework.

Revenue derives from three streams: subscription-based brand tracking services, project-based research and insights consulting, and the TRA Labs venture studio (which developed the Ideally self-service AI concept and message testing platform that received a AUD $5.5 million investment from OIF Ventures and Icehouse Ventures in 2024). Distribution combines direct enterprise sales with consultation-led demos and a self-service tier for mid-market clients; marketing is driven through the Insights hub, FRAME newsletter, Uncommon Series content, industry events, and a strong awards presence (AFR Most Innovative Companies, B&T, Campaign APAC AOY, Esomar). The business has no disclosed parent company, operates independently, and has grown organically alongside its venture studio outputs.

Name

TRA

Legal name

The Research Agency

Website

https://theresearchagency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

TRA is an Australasian market research and insights agency serving enterprise and mid-market clients across Australia and New Zealand, combining AI-powered brand tracking dashboards and proprietary frameworks with human consultancy and a venture studio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Brand Tracking Services: Continuous and customized brand health tracking programs with always-on dashboards and AI assistant support. Offered in tiered structures (Tracking Essentials, TRA Tracking) combining technology with human consultancy.
2. Research & Insights Consulting: Custom research projects, qualitative and quantitative consulting, behavioral science analysis, cultural insight, and brand strategy engagements.
3. TRA Labs Venture Studio: In-house venture studio developing innovation products. Ideally platform received AUD $5.5 million investment from OIF Ventures and Icehouse Ventures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TRA is a market research and insights agency that sells continuous brand tracking programs (Tracking Essentials and TRA Tracking) as well as custom qualitative and quantitative research, behavioral science analysis, cultural insight, innovation consulting, and customer experience studies. Its offering combines always-on dashboards with the generative AI assistant Arti, embedded human consultancy, and proprietary interpretive frameworks such as Brand Edge and Creative Edge. The agency also operates TRA Labs, an in-house venture studio that builds platforms such as Ideally, a self-service tool for overnight concept and message testing.

Product overview

TRA is a market research and insights agency operating across Australia and New Zealand. The company offers a unified platform-plus-consultancy model centred on TRA Brand Tracking, which includes two service tiers: Tracking Essentials (tech-led, self-service) and TRA Tracking (full-service with embedded human consultancy). Both tiers feature always-on dashboards powered by AI assistant Arti (built on OpenAI technology) for data interaction. TRA's portfolio includes proprietary frameworks Brand Edge (emotional brand equity) and Creative Edge (creative effectiveness), the Ideally self-service concept testing platform developed via TRA Labs venture studio, and the FRAME content/newsletter hub. The business integrates venture studio innovation with consulting practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TRA Tracking: Brand tracking program combining survey-based measurement with AI assistant Arti and human consultancy for continuous brand performance monitoring.
• Ideally
• Brand Edge
• Creative Edge
• TRA Labs

Products and services

• TRA Brand Tracking Continuous and consistent measurement of how people think, feel and act toward brands, monitored against competitors, interpreted through human science and category context. Features an always-on dashboard with the Arti AI assistant and human consultancy support, intended for enterprise and mid-market brands in Australia and New Zealand.
• Tracking Essentials Tech-led brand tracking solution offering continuous, customised tracking with an always-on dashboard and the Arti AI assistant. Includes custom survey design, data ownership, unlimited dashboard users, on-demand human support, and smart sampling including B2B; targeted at mid-market organisations that want a tech-led subscription option.
• TRA Tracking Full-service brand tracking combining bespoke program design, an always-on dashboard with the Arti AI assistant, and human-centred consultancy. Builds on Essentials with embedded human consulting, strategic reporting and deep dives, a branded dashboard, and stakeholder-ready sizzle reels; targeted at enterprise clients.
• Ideally Self-service, AI-backed platform delivering overnight concept and message testing, allowing marketers to test creative quickly without bespoke research projects. Developed by TRA Labs, TRA's in-house venture studio, in partnership with Previously Unavailable; funded via an AUD $5.5M round led by OIF Ventures and Icehouse Ventures.
• Custom Research & Insights Consulting Custom market research engagements including qualitative and quantitative studies, behavioural science analysis, cultural insight work, innovation consulting, and customer experience research. Sold to enterprise and mid-market clients across Australia and New Zealand as bespoke consultancy projects that often complement the brand tracking programs.
• TRA Labs TRA's in-house venture studio building new research tools and platforms, including Ideally. Operates as a distinct unit within TRA, integrating venture studio innovation with the consulting practice and contributing to TRA's innovation recognition (AFR Boss #1 Most Innovative in Professional Services 2024).

Quantifiable outcome

• Southern Cross membership grew to 30-year high within two years of TRA partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• The Growth DistilleryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 November 2024Collaborated with The Growth Distillery on 'Needs of the Nation' study, empowering marketers to unlock growth by prioritizing social issues resonating most with Australians.
• ZavyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2024TRA was founding partner of Zavy since 2016, growing it into market leading social media insights agency. Zavy acquired by Canadian-based DATA Communications Management Corp in November 2024.
• Previously UnavailableminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 September 2024Development partner for Ideally platform, the self-service AI-backed concept and message testing platform.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global market research and brand tracking leader operating the Kantar BrandZ and Worldpanel offerings. Directly comparable to TRA's brand tracking and consumer insights services but at vastly greater global scale across 90+ markets.
• Ipsos: Global market research and consumer intelligence firm with deep brand tracking, customer experience, and innovation practices. Competes with TRA on enterprise brand tracking RFPs across Australia and New Zealand.
• NielsenIQ: Global consumer intelligence company offering brand measurement and consumer research solutions. Comparable to TRA on continuous brand performance tracking and consumer behavior analytics.
• GfK: Global market research organization with consumer panel and brand tracking capabilities. Competes with TRA on enterprise brand and consumer insights engagements across ANZ.
• Cint: Global consumer insights exchange platform providing programmatic research infrastructure. Comparable to TRA's platform layer (Ideally, Arti dashboards) and panel/sample sourcing for tracking programs.

Direct peers

• Fiftyfive5: ANZ-based insights and research agency offering brand strategy, customer experience, and innovation research. Closely comparable to TRA on target market (enterprise ANZ clients), service mix, and methodology.
• Pureprofile: ASX-listed data and insights company with consumer panel and research technology capabilities headquartered in Sydney. Comparable to TRA on tech-enabled consumer research and ANZ enterprise client base.
• Toluna: Global consumer insights platform combining panel-based research with automated survey technology. Comparable to TRA on the tech-enabled brand tracking model and continuous research dashboard approach.
• Dynata: Global first-party data and insights platform with research panel and analytics capabilities. Recognized TRA with a RISE Award APAC, indicating overlap in survey engagement and data quality focus.

Emerging players

• Latana: Brand tracking and consumer analytics platform serving enterprise brands with always-on dashboards. Comparable to TRA's Brand Tracking product on tech-enabled continuous measurement, though smaller and earlier-stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-research-agency/?originalSubdomain=nz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 TRA