Direction First rebrands as InSites Consulting Australia

Two years after acquiring market research firm Direction First, InSites Consulting has now rebranded its subsidiary. Direction First, alongside InSites’ other Australian operations, will now come together to serve a substantial pool of clients under the single brand of InSites Consulting Australia.

Based out of Ghent in Belgium, InSites Consulting is a market research and consulting firm that has since inception grown into a global operation. Through a strategy of acquisitions and collaborative alliances, the firm now operates across Europe, North America, South Africa and Australia.

Grounded in research, the firm supports its clientele with consumer surveys, observations, social media nethnography as well as consumer insight activation. In Australia, InSites’ operations were strengthened in 2017 through the acquisition of Sydney-based market research entity Direction First.

Founded in 1997 by Erica van Lieven, Direction First offers a broad range of research-based services that align with InSites’ areas of expertise to a great extent. The firm uses market research to offer consumer insights, branding and communication strategies and innovation support, among other services.

The alignment of service expertise has led to a long-term collaborative arrangement between the two firms over the years. InSites first partnered with Direction First in 2011 to benefit from the latter’s established pool of clients in the market. The partnership was cemented into a long-term arrangement in 2014, before an acquisition was completed in 2017.

Brand harmonisation

Direction First will now operate as InSites Consulting Australia, and Erica van Lieven will take over as Managing Partner at the new firm. The combined force will look to serve the business environment across Australia, which is rallying for awareness of the need to work on their branding strategies.

In this increasingly aware market, InSites Consulting will be competing with a number of high profile consulting firms that are consolidating their capabilities in the branding and marketing spheres. According to Van Lieven, InSites’ unique composition will give it a competitive advantage in the market.

“We will still be able to deliver the flexible service of a small local agency but with the resources and capabilities of a global one. Locally ignited, globally fueled! The synergies we felt by collaborating where spot on and it’s amazing to see it all coming together,” she said.

Looking forward, Van Lieven added, “We started with a passion for insights, a symbol meaning bigger than 1 and a focus on the future. Direction. We grew up working with fast moving consumer goods brands, finding better ways of doing research. Our passion for the future helped us connect with like minded people in Australia and across the globe.”