What Tribes does

Tribes Research Limited is a UK-based online strategic insight agency founded in 2013, headquartered in Guildford, Surrey, and operating as part of the Syno Group since a 2021 partnership with Syno International. The firm provides bespoke market research services to clients ranging from SMEs to multinational corporations, spanning verticals that include media, FMCG, retail, banking/insurance, healthcare, government, and other research agencies. Its core offering is built around a multi-device research platform supporting data collection via internet, PCs, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, combined with proprietary cookie tracking technology that measures advertising exposure and campaign effectiveness without relying on respondent recall.

The company's portfolio comprises six research products (Customer Engagement, New Product Development, Message Testing & Campaign Measurement, Consumer Profiling, Communities & Panels, and Opinion Giving) complemented by four service lines (Quantitative surveys, Community Panels, Online Ad Effectiveness, and a Mobile App). Tribes builds highly customised, brand-aligned online community platforms for each client, with engagement durations ranging from a few days to multi-year ongoing programmes and participant counts from handfuls to tens of thousands. The firm also operates its own research community ("Tribe Village") and runs a distinctive Opinion Giving product that channels panelist survey rewards to charity partners.

Commercially, Tribes operates a consultative, sales-led go-to-market motion with bespoke project-based pricing, long-tenured enterprise client relationships, and revenue generated primarily from professional services engagements rather than SaaS or licensing. The senior team, led by co-founders Jo Winning (sales and client servicing) and Kevin Goldberg (operations and service delivery), draws on prior experience at GfK, Lightspeed Research, Research Now, YouGov, Verve, J.D. Power & Associates, and Procter & Gamble. Marketing relies on content (blog, thought leadership research, case studies) and organic social (Twitter), with no disclosed external funding, no public listing, and overall headcount in the 1-10 range.

Name

Tribes

Legal name

Tribes Research Limited

Website

https://tribesresearch.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tribes Research is a UK-based online strategic insight agency providing bespoke market research, online community panels, ad effectiveness measurement, and consumer profiling services to SMEs and multinational clients across media, FMCG, retail, and other verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Guildford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

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: Project-based research services ranging from basic field and tab work to comprehensive research design, analysis, and reporting. Services include online communities, quantitative surveys, qualitative research, ad effectiveness studies, and consumer profiling. The company works with both end clients and agencies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tribes Research is an online strategic insight agency that designs and delivers tailored market research solutions for businesses, ranging from basic field and tab work to full research design and analysis. Its offering centres on customised online research communities and panels, quantitative surveys, qualitative research, ad effectiveness measurement using cookie tracking, consumer profiling, and new product development research, all delivered through a multi-device platform.

Product overview

Tribes is an online strategic insight agency offering a portfolio of research products and services. The core offering comprises six research products: Customer Engagement, New Product Development, Message Testing & Campaign Measurement, Consumer Profiling, Communities & Panels, and Opinion Giving. These are complemented by four service offerings: Quantitative surveys, Community Panels, Online Ad Effectiveness, and Mobile App. All products and services are multi-device enabled and can be delivered as standalone solutions or combined into mixed methodology research programmes tailored to client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Customer Engagement Bespoke customer feedback programmes that help clients understand what constitutes good customer experience using qualitative and quantitative online tools across various touch points.
• New Product Development Market research solutions tailored to various budgets, from initial market potential assessments to fully tailored research programmes evolving through each stage of product development.
• Message Testing & Campaign Measurement Ad effectiveness evaluation product that tests creative copy and communications, measures campaign recall impact, and uses cookie tracking to monitor consumer exposure to advertising campaigns.
• Consumer Profiling Research enabling clients to understand the diversity of their customer base and how it influences usage and buying behaviour through collaborative research approaches.
• Communities & Panels Customised online research communities and panels enabling continuous engagement with customers, from short-term projects lasting a few days to ongoing programmes spanning years, with scale from handfuls to tens of thousands of participants.
• Opinion Giving A fundraising mechanism for charities that raises regular monthly income by building customised online community panels where supporter rewards are donated to the charity.
• Quantitative Quantitative survey projects delivered with advanced survey programming, custom themes, branding, and interactive questions.
• Community Panels Community panel services bringing the voice of the customer into the heart of decision-making processes for clients.
• Online Ad Effectiveness Advertising effectiveness analysis using cookie tracking technology to identify which creatives have the best recall, understand frequency and recency effects on ad impact, and evaluate campaign exposure.
• Mobile App Consumer feedback platform enabling feedback collection live at the point of decision making via mobile devices.

Quantifiable outcome

• 44% of people shop less on the High Street/local than three years ago, with 53% shopping more online - demonstrating shifts in consumer behaviour that Tribes tracks for retail clients
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Syno InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with Syno International announced last year, extending Tribes' service offering. Tribes Research is part of the Syno Group. The partnership enables Tribes to leverage Syno's international infrastructure and extend their capabilities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Toluna: Global online panel and survey technology provider offering consumer research services. Comparable in panel-based research, though more platform-oriented than Tribes' full-service model.
• YouGov: UK-founded global online market research firm using panel-and-survey methods. Closely comparable model to Tribes, and Tribes' Nick Bellamy is a YouGov alumnus.
• Walnut Unlimited: UK insight agency specializing in brand and communications research with online community capabilities. Directly overlaps with Tribes' Message Testing & Campaign Measurement offering.
• Atticus Research: UK boutique full-service market research consultancy with comparable positioning—consumer insights, communities, and bespoke service for SMEs and multinationals.
• Savanta: UK-based research and insights agency combining quantitative, qualitative, and online community services. Operates a similar custom community and panel offering to Tribes.
• Censuswide: UK-based full-service market research agency with proprietary panels and consumer, B2B, and healthcare offerings. Closely comparable in scale, service mix, and UK concentration to Tribes.

Broad incumbents

• GfK: Global consumer research firm where co-founder Kevin Goldberg previously worked. Strong overlap in consumer profiling, NPD research, and online methodologies with Tribes' services.
• Ipsos: Global market research leader with strong consumer understanding, online research, and ad-effectiveness practices. Broadly overlaps Tribes' services across consumer insights and NPD.
• Kantar: World's largest marketing data and analytics firm with consumer insights and ad-effectiveness (Millward Brown) offerings. Overlaps Tribes' message testing and consumer profiling but at massive scale.

Emerging players

• Attest: UK-based tech-enabled consumer research platform with self-service survey capabilities. Threatens/disrupts Tribes' full-service model via DIY consumer insights tooling aimed at SMEs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tribesresearch
• Facebookfacebook.com/tribesresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tribes-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Tribes