What LINK Marketing Services does

LINK Marketing Services, founded in 1981 in Zürich, is a Swiss market and social research firm that has rebranded to YouGov Schweiz following integration into publicly traded parent YouGov PLC (LSE: YOU). The company operates a proprietary panel of 115,000 actively verified Swiss members, described as the highest-quality panel in Switzerland, and connects to YouGov's global panel of over 30 million registered members across 49 markets. Its product portfolio spans syndicated brand tracking (Swiss BrandObserver, YouGov BrandIndex), an audience intelligence platform (YouGov Profiles with over one million data points across 49 markets), predictive analytics (Predictive Promoter Score), automated consumer insights via the quantilope x YouGov integration, and specialized solutions for academia, tenant surveys (TenantCM), and employee feedback management. The company also offers custom research services including mixed-mode surveys, CATI data collection, media research, mystery research, and neuromarket research.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led and serves ten vertical segments: agencies, retail and consumer, society and science, health and pharma, government and politics, travel/transport/automotive, sports and e-sports, technology, entertainment/arts/media, and economy and business. Distribution is primarily digital through the platform.yougov.com portal, supplemented by direct enterprise sales for customized research projects and the global YouGov network for international research capabilities. Revenue mechanics are anchored in recurring subscription-style engagements for brand tracking and audience intelligence products, supplemented by project-based custom research priced on a quote basis with annual billing cadences.

Operationally, the company employs 501-1,000 people and is described as the Swiss market leader in marketing and social research. Following the rebrand, the Swiss entity operates as YouGov Schweiz with no separately disclosed financials, public funding history, M&A activity, patents, named executive leadership beyond the historical co-founders Joseph Stofer and Horst Heidemeyer, or disclosed AI/ML capabilities beyond productized predictive analytics features. The business model relies on the durability of its Swiss panel asset, the breadth of its syndicated product suite, and the distribution leverage provided by its global parent.

Name

LINK Marketing Services

Legal name

YouGov PLC

Website

https://link.ch

Company type

Public

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

LINK Marketing Services, now operating as YouGov Schweiz, is a Swiss market and social research firm and subsidiary of YouGov PLC, offering brand tracking, audience intelligence, and custom research built on a proprietary 115,000-member Swiss panel and access to a 30+ million global panel across 49 markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research, Analytics & Consumer Insights (BPAFAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Brand Research & Positioning (Audience/Competitive Insights) (MPAAAEAI)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Brand tracking solutions
• Audience intelligence platform
• Consumer panel surveys
• Social research insights

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Customized research solutions including quantitative and qualitative methods for businesses, agencies, and government clients in Switzerland. Services include mixed-mode surveys, CATI data collection, media research, mystery research, and neuromarket research. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to project requirements.
2. Brand Tracking & Performance Measurement: Ongoing brand monitoring services including Swiss BrandObserver and YouGov BrandIndex for continuous brand health tracking
3. Audience Intelligence Platforms: Access to YouGov Profiles platform providing target audience data and persona creation for marketing and advertising decisions
4. Specialized Research Products: Niche products including Swiss Academia for academic research, Predictive Promoter Score for customer loyalty analysis, TenantCM for real estate surveys, and Employee Feedback Management for HR insights

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

YouGov Schweiz (formerly LINK Marketing Services) provides market and social research services built on a first-party panel of 115,000 verified Swiss members and YouGov's global panel of 30+ million registered members. Its offerings span syndicated brand tracking (Swiss BrandObserver, YouGov BrandIndex), the YouGov Profiles audience intelligence platform, and customized research using mixed-mode surveys, CATI, media research, mystery research, and neuromarktforschung methodologies.

Product overview

LINK Marketing Services, now operating as YouGov Schweiz, is a market research firm offering a comprehensive suite of research solutions built on a global panel of over 30 million registered members. The portfolio centers on audience intelligence platforms (YouGov Profiles, Audience Intelligence), brand tracking products (Swiss BrandObserver, YouGov BrandIndex), and specialized solutions for academia, employees, and tenants. Additional offerings include Predictive Promoter Score for loyalty measurement, quantilope x YouGov for automated consumer insights, and tailored Swiss research methods including mixed-mode surveys, CATI, media research, and neuromarktforschung. The company provides both syndicated tracking products and custom research services for agencies, retailers, healthcare, government, and other sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Swiss BrandObserver: Brand tracking solution for the Swiss market
• YouGov BrandIndex
• YouGov Profiles
• YouGov Swiss Academia
• Predictive Promoter Score
• quantilope x YouGov
• TenantCM
• Employee Feedback Management

Products and services

• Forschungslösungen für den Schweizer Markt (Custom Research Solutions for the Swiss Market) Customized market and social research solutions for the Swiss market delivered via mixed-mode surveys, CATI data collection, media research, mystery research, and neuromarktforschung methodologies, aimed at agencies, enterprises, and government clients.
• Swiss BrandObserver Switzerland's largest brand tracking data source providing ongoing brand performance monitoring and competitive benchmarking for the Swiss market.
• YouGov BrandIndex Real-time brand tracking solution measuring brand health, ad awareness, and consumer perception across multiple markets and categories.
• YouGov Profiles Leading audience intelligence platform containing over one million data points across 49 markets, enabling audience segmentation and persona creation for targeted marketing.
• Audience Intelligence Comprehensive audience understanding solution leveraging data from over 30 million registered panel members globally, enabling deep insights into target audience characteristics and behaviors.
• YouGov Swiss Academia Provides reliable and meaningful data tailored for the Swiss academic research landscape, supporting scientific research institutions with quantitative insights.
• Predictive Promoter Score Identifies success factors for customer satisfaction and loyalty using predictive analytics to forecast Net Promoter Scores.
• quantilope x YouGov Consumer insights platform providing automated research methods, real-time analysis, and interactive dashboards for rapid market understanding.
• TenantCM Survey solution for residential and commercial tenants, including an online dashboard and response management tool for property management insights.
• Employee Feedback Management Employee satisfaction measurement tool enabling organizations to assess and track workforce engagement and satisfaction levels.

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Marketagent: Austrian/German-speaking online market research panel provider with strong DACH presence, competing for the same Swiss-German-language research and panel budgets as YouGov Schweiz.
• GESIS (Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences): Major German social science research infrastructure provider with large panels and survey capabilities in the DACH region, partly competing for academic, government and public opinion research budgets in the same geographies.

Direct peers

• Dynata: One of the world's largest first-party data and panel providers, offering B2B and consumer research sampling and insights services that overlap with YouGov's panel-based model.
• NielsenIQ: Consumer intelligence and panel-based measurement company offering syndicated retail and consumer research globally, including Switzerland, competing head-to-head for shopper insights and brand tracking budgets.
• Ipsos: Global market research firm with a strong Swiss/DACH presence offering custom research, brand tracking and public opinion polling directly competing with YouGov Schweiz for agency and enterprise clients.
• Toluna: Online panel-based market research platform providing custom research and syndicated trackers; competes with YouGov Schweiz on technology-driven, panel-powered research delivery.
• GfK (Growth from Knowledge): Historically German-rooted market research firm with deep DACH presence, providing consumer panels, brand tracking and custom research that directly overlaps YouGov Schweiz's Swiss and DACH offerings.
• Kantar: World's largest marketing data and analytics company, with established Swiss operations covering brand tracking, consumer panels and media research — a direct competitor across the same product categories.

Emerging players

• quantilope: Automated consumer insights platform now integrated with YouGov (quantilope x YouGov); partially overlaps with YouGov Schweiz's automated research offering and represents both a partner and emerging competitive threat.

Broad incumbents

• Forrester Research: Global research and advisory firm offering syndicated research, surveys and consumer insights to enterprises, overlapping with YouGov Schweiz's audience intelligence and brand tracking sales motions at the enterprise level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/yougov_de
• Facebookfacebook.com/YouGov
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/link-institut-f-r-markt--und-sozialforschung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 LINK Marketing Services