gfs.bern
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersBern, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
gfs.bern firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- gfs.bern
- Legal name
- gfs.bern AG
- Website
- https://gfsbern.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where gfs.bern is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bern
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
gfs.bern business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Research Services for Institutional Clients: B2B market and opinion research services including surveys, data science, evaluations, reputation analyses, and campaigning support for government agencies, political parties, associations, companies, and NGOs. Services are commissioned on a project basis or through ongoing retainer relationships.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
gfs.bern product offering
Product offeringCore offering
gfs.bern is a Swiss political and communications research institute that provides empirical, evidence-based market and opinion research services to government agencies, political parties, associations, NGOs, and private companies. Its core offerings include representative surveys, election and voting research (including the long-running VOX post-referendum analyses), reputation and image analyses, data science and statistical modelling, impact analysis and evaluation, issue monitoring and strategy studies, and strategic campaigning support. The firm backs these services with its own proprietary online panel (polittrends.ch) and an interactive Cockpit data dashboard platform.
Product overview
gfs.bern is a political and communications research institute offering a comprehensive suite of research services built around its core expertise in opinion research and direct democratic processes. The portfolio consists of multiple interconnected service lines: core research services including surveys, election and voting research (VOX-Analysen), reputation analyses, data science, impact evaluation, and campaigning support; proprietary digital tools including gfs.insights for benchmarking, the polittrends.ch online panel, and Cockpit for interactive data visualization; periodic barometers and monitors including the Nahtstellenbarometer (Transition Barometer), TCS Emergency Barometer, and Position of Switzerland studies; and media content through the gfs.echo podcast. The company also publishes targeted research studies on health, security, and societal topics. Operating from Bern with approximately 15 researchers, gfs.bern has conducted over 1,000 surveys since 2000, with around 250 studied referendums providing internationally unique expertise in direct democratic decision-making.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Election and Voting Research Pre- and post-election and referendum research for Switzerland's national votes, including the long-running VOX post-referendum analyses commissioned by the Swiss Federal Chancellery and SRG trend surveys (SRG-Trendumfrage) for SRG/SRR.
- Surveys Representative surveys, target group surveys, panel-based polling via polittrends.ch, focus groups, and qualitative in-depth interviews for companies, political parties, associations, cantons, and NGOs.
- Reputation and Image Analyses
- gfs.insights
- Data Science by gfs.bern
- Campaigning
- Impact Analysis and Evaluation
- Issue Monitoring and Strategy Studies
- Cockpit (cockpit-gfsbern.ch)
- Nahtstellenbarometer (Transition Barometer)
Quantifiable outcome
- 94% of Swiss respondents support stronger protection for children on social media (GfS Bern survey for Mercator Foundation)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use gfs.bern
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
gfs.bern technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
gfs.bern partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Mercator FoundationcoreCommissioned gfs.bern to conduct a survey on social media protection for minors, with 94% of Swiss respondents supporting stronger protections. Mercator Foundation is a Swiss foundation focused on civic engagement and democracy.
- Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG/SRR)coreLong-standing partnership for conducting SRG trend surveys (SRG-Trendumfrage) for national elections and referendums. gfs.bern conducts surveys on behalf of SRG/SRR.
- Swiss Federal ChancellerycoreContracted to conduct post-vote analyses (VOX analyses) of national referendums since 1977. gfs.bern was awarded the VOX project mandate in 2020 through public tender.
- University of Geneva (Dr. Sébastien Salerno)minorDr. Sébastien Salerno serves as external advisor to the VOX project, providing expertise as a Senior Lecturer and researcher at Medi@Lab. He contributes to questionnaire design and co-authors reports.
- gfs-befragungsdienst AGcore100% subsidiary of gfs.bern and gfs-zürich providing survey services exclusively to gfs-group institutes. Operates as a service center for survey fieldwork.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights5 records
gfs.bern competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- gfs-zürich: Swiss market and opinion research firm that shares gfs.bern's historical origin (GfS association, split in 1998) and continues to operate under the broader gfs group umbrella. Closest comparable peer for image research, opinion polls and customer satisfaction studies in Switzerland.
- Sotomo: Zürich-based social and political research institute affiliated with ETH Zürich. Direct competitor on Swiss public opinion, election and referendum research, with comparable quantitative survey methodologies and institutional client base.
- DemoSCOPE: Swiss market and opinion research firm with a similar product mix of representative surveys, polling, and analytics for both public-sector and private clients in Switzerland.
- M.I.S. Trend: Swiss market and opinion research firm running its own long-running barometers and political surveys, directly comparable to gfs.bern's recurring barometer franchise and election polling work.
Broad incumbents
- IPSOS: Global market and opinion research leader with significant Swiss operations. Overlaps with gfs.bern on public opinion, election polling, brand tracking and customer research but at much larger scale and with international methodology infrastructure.
- GfK (NIQ): Global market research group (now part of NielsenIQ) with Swiss presence, offering consumer and opinion research. Comparable methodology base but broader commercial focus and deeper international footprint than gfs.bern.
- YouGov: Global online survey panel and polling firm with Swiss panel coverage. Closest broad comparable on panel-based opinion research and syndicated tracking products, though with a different cost structure and global product orientation.
- Gallup: Global analytics and polling firm best known for opinion research and recurring global indices. Comparable at the level of polling methodology and public-affairs research, though primarily U.S.-anchored and operating at vastly larger scale.
- Kantar: Global evidence-based insights and consulting group. Comparable to gfs.bern on reputation research, brand tracking and public opinion measurement, but with much wider international reach and a portfolio of adjacent consulting services.
Emerging players
- Léger: Canadian-founded research and analytics firm with growing European footprint. Comparable on opinion polling, election research and brand/reputation analytics, though smaller and less established in Switzerland than the global incumbents.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
gfs.bern social profiles
Digital presencegfs.bern financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
gfs.bern leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
gfs.bern subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
gfs.bern funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
gfs.bern M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about gfs.bern
What does gfs.bern do?
gfs.bern is a Swiss political and communications research institute that provides empirical, evidence-based market and opinion research services to government agencies, political parties, associations, NGOs, and private companies. Its core offerings include representative surveys, election and voting research (including the long-running VOX post-referendum analyses), reputation and image analyses, data science and statistical modelling, impact analysis and evaluation, issue monitoring and strategy studies, and strategic campaigning support. The firm backs these services with its own proprietary online panel (polittrends.ch) and an interactive Cockpit data dashboard platform.
Is gfs.bern a public or private company?
gfs.bern is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was gfs.bern founded?
gfs.bern was founded in 1992. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is gfs.bern based?
gfs.bern is headquartered in Bern, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does gfs.bern make money?
One revenue line is on record: research Services for Institutional Clients.
Who are gfs.bern's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are gfs-zürich, Sotomo, DemoSCOPE and M.I.S. Trend. Broad incumbents are IPSOS, GfK (NIQ), YouGov, Gallup and Kantar. Léger is listed as an emerging player.
Does gfs.bern have an API?
No public API is recorded for gfs.bern.