People

Tim has worked in media and entertainment research for 21 years, helping top global brands make strategic decisions.

He has spent time both agency and client side. Before setting up Brand Driver in 2001, he worked at The Walt Disney Company for 11 years, where he finished up as head of research for all lines of international business.

Brand Driver was his answer to the market's need for a more commercially focused, entertainment specialist, research agency.

One of Tim's many roles is to give consultancy on projects - overlaying his TV and studio entertainment insight to analysis and interpretation.

Karen has been heading up the design, management and analysis of international research projects, for major clients, for twenty years – across multiple sectors.

Karen's expertise is in brand development and evaluation. Her role is to make sure products, brands and services meet consumer needs; as part of a strong and valuable relationship.

Karen has travelled the world conducting research in far-flung corners of the globe, building a comprehensive understanding of brand and consumer connections across diverse cultures.

Before joining Brand Driver Karen was MD of consumer research at GfK. She has the MRS diploma and is a full member of the MRS.

Simon is co-founder and director at Brand Driver.

Over the past decade, Simon has helped build Brand Driver to become a leading independant, global research and strategy agency.

Simon works closely with our clients to identify their individual business needs and ensure we deliver excellent, innovative research. Also as a corporate lawyer, Simon manages and develops key strategic partnerships and alliances.

Martyn has an extensive background in media with a particular expertise across content, brand and advertising research.

Having worked for both media agencies and one of the largest media owners in the UK, News International, Martyn brings significant experience in the commercial application of research; delivering incisive, actionable insight that drives business value.

Virginie is a highly experienced researcher, having spent eleven years at Walt Disney TV International, then in Programme Development and International co-productions.

Prior to joining Brand Driver, Virginie worked as a freelance researcher on predominantly qualitative projects for international clients and most recently worked with Market Sentinel, a social media monitoring company working for FMCG, automotive, pharmaceutical and media companies.

Virginie is a bilingual native French speaker and has an MA in Ethics focused on business ethics issues.

Suzanne has over 25 years experience of designing, managing and analysing research projects in both an agency and client setting.  Her expertise is in mixing research methods to support strategic planning and evaluation of policies and activities.  Immediately prior to joining Brand Driver Suzanne focused on projects designed to support behavioural and attitudinal change.  The strategic nature of her work means that she is used to presenting to senior executives and Government Ministers and at international conferences.

Until 2011 Suzanne ran her own research consultancy, People Science & Policy Ltd, for eleven years, previously she was director and head of social research at IPSOS (now IPSOS MORI).  She has also worked at the Wellcome Trust, Abbey National (now Santander) and as a researcher in government.  Suzanne is a full member of the Market Research Society and a member of the Social Research Association.

Richard is an experienced project manager who has worked with Brand Driver for six years on major research projects, harnessing quantitative data to best effect and exploiting the benefits of integrated qualitative work.

Richard has tons of experience in entertainment and media research and has managed numerous international qualitative and quantitative projects. He works closely on the detail that ensures the smooth running and delivery of projects, as well as contributing much to their design and interpretation.

Alan has delivered insight for a wide range of clients in the media and public sectors during his nine year career, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.  His experience enables him to provide robust answers to business question through selection and application of the most appropriate techniques.

Before joining Brand Driver Alan managed projects at BMRB, NOP and public policy consultancy People Science and Policy.  He is an associate member of the Market Research Society and a member of the Social Research Association.

Katie has worked extensively with the private sector for clients focussed on communications and branding and has experience in running projects involving B2B's, stakeholders and employees. She also has a passion for understanding consumer motivations and analysing research through the political model of base, swing and reach.

Prior to joining Brand Driver Katie spent three years at Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates where she managed large scale quantitative and qualitative research projects for major brands. Katie worked with a variety of clients in media, technology and finance, including a FTSE 100 banking group.

Katie started her career on the Hilary Clinton for President Campaign in the Virginia HQ where she helped to recruit volunteers and enhance grass roots communications. Katie gained her degree in American Studies and Politics from the University of Sussex. 

Emma has over five years experience specialising in Quant research for brands and advertising.  This has given a wealth of experience in the setting up and effectively running of research projects.  Emma has worked on global projects forming strong partnerships with media agencies and clients.  Emma has experience of working on a variety of sectors including media, technology, finance, leisure and retail.

Since joining Brand Driver Kate has worked across our broad portfolio of clients, with a particular interest in new media and emerging markets such as CEE, middle East and Asia where she has conducted studies for clients including Disney, Sky and NBC Universal.

Kate loves a good nosy round people's homes and is a real advocate of the benefits of taking an ethnographic approach wherever possible to add another valuable dimension of insight to projects.

Prior to joining Brand Driver, Kate spent a year working in Delhi at the Centre for Social Research on development communications strategies, building on the interest in India she discovered whilst gaining a degree in social anthropology at LSE.

Gemma recently graduated from Durham University with a degree in Modern Languages and has lived in both France and Spain.  She is particularly interested in analysing how people use language and the effect the socio-cultural norms within a society have on language use.  She also enjoys exploring cultural variation and lifestyle trends across foreign markets.

Since joining Brand Driver, Gemma has worked on a variety of qualitative projects. She has supported international research testing pre-launch brand positioning in emerging markets such as the MENA region, as well as pan-European research to inform product development across countries such as France, Spain and Italy.  On a national level, Gemma has conducted social network analysis to monitor live audience responses to a popular TV show.

Along with Tom, Gemma compiles a monthly media and technology report, tracking any significant trends and developments within the industry.

Tom is a Politics graduate from Swansea University where he specialised in media, politics and society.

Since joining Brand Driver, he has worked on projects covering a wide range of international markets and media related subjects supporting both qualitative and quantitative research.  Tom has worked with various multination media clients on such varied projects: brand positioning to inform marketing strategies, pre-launch product testing and behavioural and attitudinal studies on new technologies and services.  He takes the lead on the filming and production of all video diary and presentation footage.

Tom relishes the opportunity to continue adding to his skill set: through AQR's formal training to working alongside his knowledgeable and experienced colleagues.

Along with Gemma, Tom compiles a monthly media and technology report, tracking any significant trends and developments within the industry.