Link becomes YouGov Switzerland: "The core remains the same"

It's done: the market and social research institute Link is now YouGov Switzerland. The name change goes hand in hand with a seamless continuation of the existing services of the former Link, while opening up new opportunities through YouGov's global presence. Link has been part of the YouGov family since December, and now the name change gives Swiss companies and brands access to even more products and services from the YouGov portfolio, as well as in-depth international market research expertise. It will also make it easier than ever for clients to access reliable research data from target markets around the world through a single source. YouGov has an extensive team of more than 3,000 employees worldwide with an industry-leading panel of 26 million registered members in 55 countries.

"The transition from Link to YouGov Switzerland represents not only a name change, but also a move towards the value we can create for Swiss businesses through accurate and insightful data. YouGov Switzerland combines local research excellence with global reach, insight and data to provide a unique offering to our clients in Switzerland and around the world," says Steve Hatch, CEO YouGov.

Werbewoche.ch spoke to four Link experts in an exclusive interview about what the change of name means for employees, the local business and customers.

Werbewoche.ch: After two years as part of the YouGov Group, Link is now YouGov Switzerland. How does that feel?

Julien Chevignon: It is very exciting that Link is now officially YouGov Switzerland. While the integration has been completed internally for some time, we are now sending a strong signal to the outside world that the Swiss company is now fully part of the Group. This step also visually marks the fact that, in addition to our usual regional expertise, comprehensive service and top quality, we offer our clients in the Swiss market top international know-how and all the services of the YouGov Group from a single source. The networking of the teams creates synergies from which clients in and outside Switzerland are already benefiting. For example, our high level of sector expertise in Switzerland, our pioneering role in the field of analytics and our public and qualitative offering complement each other very well with the other YouGov services and our syndicated products such as BrandIndex and Profiles. Added to this is the Group's experience in managing large international clients, from which we benefit locally.

Philipp Fessler: As a Linkian who has been with the company for 14 years, the joy is mixed with melancholy. Letting go of a brand is not a decision that is taken lightly. In the Swiss market, Link stands for the highest market research quality and innovative strength. Now the name is changing, but the core remains the same: the same employees are still here on site, putting their heart and soul into delivering top performance for our clients and helping to make us the number one in Swiss market research. We are now looking forward to bringing Link's values to the YouGov Group.

Marianne Altgeld: YouGov and Link share common values and YouGov is valued by clients worldwide for the quality of the data it provides, its expertise, methodological competence and reliability. These aspects make it easier for the team to identify with the brand. After two years of integration, this step is now important to ensure that Link is fully integrated into the Group and that we appear as a single entity on the market.

Dr. Sabrina Pfister: All of us at Link had a strong emotional connection to the brand, which has accompanied us for a long time. Now we are part of an even bigger family, and that opens up new opportunities.

What is YouGov's business strategy in Switzerland and how does it affect the local business?

Julien Chevignon: The local business and Swiss team will remain in place and well-established processes will be retained. At the same time, the Swiss location will gain a lot under the YouGov umbrella: working with large international clients, more reach thanks to YouGov's own panels with 26 million panelists in the UK, America, Europe, the Middle East, India and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as access to YouGov products and solutions to expand our local offering.

Marianne Altgeld: As a full-service institute, we offer customized market and opinion research for private companies and public clients. We use the most relevant survey methods for both quantitative and qualitative research. In addition, with our data products such as the Swiss Brand Observer or YouGov's global counterpart, the BrandIndex, we continue to offer our clients an "always on" solution for measuring brand performance among consumers.

Philipp Fessler: This global network also allows us to put together an attractive offer for large international companies with headquarters in Switzerland.

With the rebranding, the Swiss company is now also visually part of the international organization. What impact does this have on customers?

Dr. Sabrina Pfister: The direct impact for our customers is minimal. The quality of our projects remains at the highest level and we are still there for them. What is changing is our website, which now has a new YouGov design.

Julien Chevignon: We have started to inform our existing and potential customers about the brand change and so far it seems that everyone is happy to hear this. To be fair, our clients in Switzerland have known the slogan "Link, a YouGov company" for some time, as the acquisition took place two years ago, so it's not a big surprise to them.

Philipp Fessler: The contact persons will remain the same and the panel quality will not change. This means that our clients can also expect the highest quality in consulting and project work from YouGov Switzerland. In addition, they now also have easy access to the many benefits of the YouGov world.

What are the plans for the Swiss panel?

Marianne Altgeld: There is a clear growth target for the Swiss panel, but without compromising our usual quality standards. For example, our panelists will continue to be actively recruited and verified.

Philipp Fessler: Thanks to active recruitment, our panel will continue to be representative - and free of bots, which are now becoming a major problem for less strictly recruited panels.

Julien Chevignon: Our Swiss panel is very strong and known for its outstanding quality. Therefore, we definitely want to maintain the same positioning and continue to recruit new panelists while maintaining our current base with the same very high standards. It is also in YouGov's DNA to focus on panel quality, as this has always been one of our USPs: most of our clients work with us because they can confirm that our panel is second to none in terms of quality.

Julien Chevignon is acting as Managing Director on an interim basis. What are the plans for the future?

Julien Chevignon: In fact, I am acting as Managing Director in an interim role. In the long term, we definitely want to find a local Managing Director who has a strong network, but who is also able to be on site every day and take optimum care of the team. Until we have found a suitable candidate, I will contribute my many years of experience in setting up and developing locations for YouGov in France and Italy, for example, as well as integrating acquired companies in the Asia-Pacific region. In my role, my networking within the Group also makes me a kind of bridge builder who can quickly bring the right people together and promote networking between colleagues beyond Switzerland.

At the beginning of the year, YouGov took over Consumer Panel Services GfK. What does this mean for the Swiss market?

Julien Chevignon: We welcome two new colleagues from CPS GfK to the Swiss team and more than 1,000 in total across Europe. Now that the acquisition is official, work has begun on the obvious synergies: stronger geographical coverage as we add many new countries where YouGov previously had no local team in place, but of course also a new combined offering for our clients. In summary, CPS GfK answers the "What?", "When?", and "How much?" with comprehensive data on household purchasing behavior, while YouGov provides answers to the "Who?" and "Why?" with up-to-the-minute consumer data on attitudes, opinions, media and brand consumption. In Switzerland, as in many other countries, this will make our offering much more holistic and expand our industry expertise. CPS GfK also essentially works with very large international clients, which is perfectly in line with our growth strategy in Switzerland.

Philipp Fessler: For the Swiss market, this primarily means that we can also provide our customers with the acquired services and, in particular, expertise. Our customers will therefore benefit from receiving even more from a single source. At the same time, we will be able to expand our knowledge through the exchange with our colleagues on the Consumer Panel, which in turn offers added value for our customers.

Marianne Altgeld: For our clients in the retail and FMCG sectors in particular, this acquisition means a broader portfolio of services. We can use broader perspectives and approaches to answer research questions and thus provide even deeper and more valid insights.