Head of Research

Background

Thinkbox is the television marketing body for the main UK commercial broadcasters – ITV, Channel 4, Sky Media and UKTV who between them, and their partner TV channels, represent the vast majority of commercial TV ad revenue in this country. 

Thinkbox works with a single ambition: to help advertisers get the best out of television.  We do this through informing, inspiring and involving the ad community in everything to do with television.  

We pitch ourselves primarily at advertisers, media and creative agencies and our activities centre around these core audience groups.  We engage with these audiences in a host of ways including a comprehensive and diverse research programme, our website, events, training, films and awards and we continually strive to keep things fresh and relevant. 

We have always invested heavily in research and our work in this area usually provides the cornerstone of the Thinkbox marketing strategy and forms the backbone of many of our events and presentations, both in-house and at conferences in the UK and around the rest of world. 

With numerous high-profile projects under our belt, Thinkbox has forged a reputation for commissioning high quality, innovative and robust research and we have won many industry awards as a result. In the last year alone, we’ve won four research awards across MRS Awards, Media Week Awards and Mediatel Research Awards. Examples of our past research studies can be found on our website.

In addition to the primary research studies that we commission, Thinkbox is also known for producing highly insightful data analysis and reports which are used widely across the advertising industry, both in the UK and in other territories. These are all housed in the ‘Nickable Charts’ section of our website, which continues to be one of the most visited sections on the Thinkbox website.

The role

Thinkbox is looking for a brilliant Head of Research to join the company.

This is a unique opportunity to lead an award-winning team in a role where research genuinely sits at the heart of the business.

It is also a very rare opportunity; people tend to stick around at Thinkbox.

Your (most likely) award-winning work will be adored, examined, supported and promoted by one of the best B2B marketing teams in the world. It will be written, talked, and argued about in the media, from the BBC to the Financial Times. It will help set and re-set the agenda in media markets around the world.

And, if all that is not tempting enough, your arena is something everyone cares about, something everyone talks about, something that runs through lives and culture like electricity: TV.

Your research playing field is I’m a Celeb, Bake Off, Love Island, Premier league football, The Paralympics, the FIFA World Cup, impartial news & current affairs, Gogglebox, HBO drama…

The role is centred around designing and delivering a comprehensive and inspiring research and insight programme, consisting of both primary research studies and secondary research sources that will help agencies and advertisers get the best out of what TV can offer.

Responsibilities

The key elements of the role will be:

• Deliver ground-breaking and award-winning primary research studies that shine new light on the role TV advertising plays in driving effectiveness for advertisers, in terms of both changing viewing behaviour and advertising effectiveness.
• Lead and advance the research teams content programme across all Thinkbox touchpoints (Website / Presentations / Publications / PR / TV Masters).
• Play a lead role alongside the other head of depts in developing the future Thinkbox strategy.
• Share the findings from Thinkbox’s research with the industry at events and through bespoke agency, advertiser presentations.
• Project manage the research teams input into all marketing activity.
• Build strong relations with research counterparts across both media agency and broadcaster teams.
• Keep the Thinkbox board updated on our research activities and initiatives.
• Manage, train and develop the Research Manager.
• Take responsibility for the annual research budget covering all primary and secondary research expenditure and contracts.
• Maintain Thinkbox’s high standards of accuracy and credibility across all research output.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for someone who understands the role that research and insight can play in influencing media planning and buying decisions and has a proven ability to turn this knowledge into persuasive marketing content.

They will be an adept project manager, a highly organised starter/finisher who is a strategic thinker, able to visualise the end objective and plot a clear route to achieving it. Having an eye for detail alongside the ability to see the broader picture is a crucial part of the job.

Prior experience in a managerial role is a requirement, we’re looking for someone who is willing to spend time coaching, training and developing the Research Manager as well as the Research Assistant intern role that changes annually.

You will have a broad understanding of the wider media landscape, the fundamentals of advertising effectiveness and a good grasp of the latest advances in online advertising.

The ideal candidate will have a passion for television, both as a viewer and for its role as an advertising medium. They will have a good sense of the programmes and schedules produced by UK broadcasters, particularly the Thinkbox stakeholders, as well as a good understanding of how technological developments have impacted upon TV’s role for both viewers and advertisers.

Crucially, this person must be someone with a curious and analytical mindset. Someone who is keen to understand what is happening beneath the surface and always looking for better, and new, ways of doing things. We need someone who is highly numerical, experienced with quantitative data analysis and qualitative techniques, as well as knowing how to present/visualise data to best effect.

The ideal candidate will have…

• Designed, briefed, commissioned, and delivered highly impactful primary research studies.
• Team managerial experience, coaching, development, project management.
• Extensive experience in a research, insight, data or analysis role at a media agency, media owner, advertising agency or equivalent consultancy. A basic understanding of market mix modelling is desirable.
• Deep knowledge of the advertising industry / media landscape / the fundamental rules of advertising effectiveness.
• Direct experience of quantitative methods and working with complex data sets.
• Thorough understanding of how qualitative research methods can be used to discover insights and bring research studies to life.
• Extensive experience of working with media measurement/research systems such as BARB, TGI, IPA Touchpoints, UKOM, Nielsen Ad Intel etc.
• Previous use of media data analysis software such as Techedge, DS Media, Telmar etc.
• Ability to demonstrate excellent attention to detail and accuracy in previous work.
• Highly proficient in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Extensive experience of presenting research findings to small and large audiences.
• Highly articulate, both verbal and written.
• Knowledge of and interest in psychology / behavioural science is an advantage.

Applications

If you would like to apply for this role, please send a covering letter and your CV to recruitment@thinkbox.tv.  

For further information, please download the document on the Thinkbox website.