Laura Craig, co-founder of CRIS said: “The dream of accessing high-value qualitative insights faster and with less expense is now a reality. Which means that brands now have the power to understand the ‘why’ behind the numbers more often and can respond in real-time too.”

In addition, digital technology expert Jonathan Hyde-Barnes joins as vice-president, client development and ex-Coca Cola shopper insights lead, Melissa Hugh, becomes vice-president, client success.

Hyde-Barnes has worked with global brands including Nike, Movember, Lexus and World Vision.

Hugh was most recently Coca-Cola Canada’s shopper insights manager and prior to that spent more than six years at Ipsos Reid.

Raj Manocha, Methodify president, said: “Companies are no longer planning for automation five years down the road, they’re staking their success on it now. We’re seeing it every day; they’re completely stepping up their game by using a test-and-learn approach that allows them to bring the customer into the conversation more often during the marketing process.”