What EY Sweeney does

EY Sweeney is a full-service market research firm operating as a fully integrated practice within EY Advisory (Ernst & Young). Founded in 1972 as Sweeney Research in South Melbourne and acquired by EY in 2014, the firm delivers custom-designed quantitative and qualitative research services to commercial enterprises, federal/state/local government agencies, and not-for-profit organisations. Headquartered in Melbourne with additional offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Canberra, EY Sweeney conducts studies entirely in-house and leverages the EY global network to deliver research in over 30 countries, including syndicated programs such as the EY Future Consumer Index (20 countries).

The firm's research platform combines a 60+ seat ISO-accredited CATI call centre with online and mobile survey capabilities, community panels, tablet-based CAPI intercept fieldwork, eye tracking, and a custom virtual reality research environment. Qualitative offerings include focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic studies, co-creation workshops, online discussion forums, and the proprietary EY Sweeney Share mobile app for respondent-generated visual content. Data analytics services cover key driver analysis, brand mapping, segmentation, and chi-squared techniques. The firm complements research with strategy consulting services including planning days, workshops, competitive analysis, and program/policy evaluation.

EY Sweeney generates revenue through professional services engagements on a custom, project-by-project basis; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct via the Australian office network and the EY global channel, supported by thought leadership reports across consumer, fintech, digital, health, government, and education verticals. Named enterprise and government clients include ANZ, CGU, FinTech Australia, the Property Council of Australia, the City of Melbourne, Mums & Co (IAG-backed), and the Australia-Indonesia Centre. The firm is wholly integrated within EY and does not disclose revenue, accept external investment, or trade publicly.

Name

EY Sweeney

Legal name

EY Sweeney

Website

https://eysweeney.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

EY Sweeney is a full-service market research firm and integrated part of EY Advisory, delivering custom quantitative and qualitative research to commercial, government, and not-for-profit clients across Australia and 30+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Research Services: EY Sweeney provides custom-designed research solutions to help organisations improve performance and reach their goals. As a full-service market research firm, they offer the spectrum of research and strategy planning services, including consumer and customer profiling, brand and advertising research, product and service development, and policy evaluation. Research is conducted in-house using their extensive infrastructure and proven approaches.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EY Sweeney is a full-service market research firm that custom-designs research and strategy planning studies for enterprise and government clients. Offerings span quantitative and qualitative methodologies conducted entirely in-house using a proprietary CATI call centre, online and mobile survey platforms, eye tracking, virtual reality, and community panels, alongside syndicated thought leadership studies such as the EY Future Consumer Index. Services are scoped per engagement and delivered through EY's global network for clients across 30+ countries.

Product overview

EY Sweeney is a full-service market research firm offering a comprehensive suite of research and strategy planning services as an integrated part of EY Consulting. The firm operates a multi-methodology research platform combining quantitative research services (CATI Call Centre, Online Surveys, Web Reporting, CAPI/Tablets, Community Panels, Mobile Surveys, Data Analytics, Eye Tracking) with qualitative research capabilities (Focus Groups, In-Depth Interviews, Co-Creation Workshops, Ethnographic Research, EY Sweeney Share mobile app, Website UX/UE, Online Discussion Groups/Forums, Virtual Reality). Strategic consulting services include Strategy Planning Days, Workshops, Competitive Analysis, and Program and Policy Evaluation. Research specialisations span Consumer and Customer Profiling, Experience, Brand and Advertising, Product and Service Research, Reputation, Community Impact, and Thought Leadership. The firm also produces numerous syndicated research reports including the EY Future Consumer Index, EY FinTech Australia Census, Digital Australia: State of the Nation, Health Reimagined, and the Global Contingent Workforce Study, among others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consumer and Customer Profiling Market segmentation, usage and attitudes research to profile consumers and customers across sectors.
• Consumer and Customer Experience Research Customer and staff satisfaction and advocacy research, issue management and shopper behaviour research.
• Brand and Advertising Research Advertising strategy, tracking and evaluation, brand positioning and strategy, and brand portfolio management research.
• Product and Service Research New product development research, pricing strategy and channel strategy research.
• Reputation Research Corporate reputation and imagery research, and stakeholder attitudes analysis.
• Community Impact Research Behaviour change research, policy evaluation and economic impact assessment for communities.
• Thought Leadership Research Social trends research and consumer and business sentiment studies.
• Program and Policy Evaluation Rigorous evaluation studies for government, not-for-profit and private sector programs, including literature review, data collection instrument design and ethics application preparation.
• EY Future Consumer Index Global syndicated consumer sentiment tracking study across 20 countries, launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor changing consumer behaviours over time.
• EY FinTech Australia Census Syndicated study profiling and defining the fintech sector in Australia, conducted in collaboration with FinTech Australia, detailing findings of the second EY fintech census.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conducted research in over 30 countries around the world within the past 12 months
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FinTech AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration with FinTech Australia to profile and define the fintech sector in Australia. EY Sweeney has conducted the second EY FinTech Australia Census. FinTech Australia is the peak body for fintech organisations in Australia, founded in March 2016.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: World's largest marketing data and analytics business offering brand-tracking, consumer panels, and custom research; overlaps directly with EY Sweeney's brand/advertising and consumer profiling work.
• ORC International (now Engine Insights): Custom market and social research provider with operations across multiple geographies; comparable in policy evaluation, social research, and B2B research engagements EY Sweeney serves.
• GfK: Global market research firm covering consumer lifestyle, technology, and retail; competes with EY Sweeney's product/service research and category tracking capabilities.
• Nielsen: Global data and analytics company specializing in consumer behaviour, media measurement, and custom research; comparable in custom insights and consumer profiling engagements EY Sweeney pursues.
• Ipsos: Global market research and consulting major operating across 90+ markets; competes with EY Sweeney for enterprise and government custom-research mandates at global scale.

Others

• Dunnhumby: Customer data science and analytics firm serving retailers and CPGs; thematically comparable as a data-driven insights provider and adjacent to EY Sweeney's shopper behaviour and customer profiling work.

Direct peers

• Roy Morgan Research: Australia's largest dedicated market research firm, offering both syndicated and custom research across consumer, social, and political sectors; directly comparable domestic competitor to EY Sweeney's Australian custom-research practice.
• Toluna: Global digital market research panel and insights platform providing online surveys and community research; directly overlaps with EY Sweeney's online survey, mobile app, and community panel offerings.
• The Research Agency (TRA): Australia-based custom research and insights consultancy with a focus on brand, communication, and content research; directly comparable in scale and service mix to EY Sweeney's Australian operations.
• Pureprofile: Australia-based insights and panel operator offering audience research and programmatic insights; competes with EY Sweeney's online survey, panel, and community research capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 EY Sweeney