In a letter to Shona Robison MSP, Scotland’s finance secretary, Frost said the market research sector in Scotland were “very concerned” about the potential impact of the government’s freeze on ‘non-essential’ public sector advertising and marketing budgets.

Frost also asked the Scottish government to consider retaining the evaluation capacity it has as a result of its research programme. 

The spending freeze, made public on 13th August, has been criticised by representatives of the marketing and advertising sectors, including the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). 

Jump Research, Progressive Partnership, Ipsos, BMG and Trinity McQueen are on the Scottish government’s market research services roster, while agencies on the creative services roster include The Leith Agency, The Union, Stand and Dentsu Creative.

MRS members in Scotland are predominantly small and micro sized businesses and include a large number of self-employed individuals, Frost said in her letter to the Scottish government.

Highlighting the role of market research in government messaging, Frost described it as “vital” to allowing communications and marketing agencies to develop effective communications and select the appropriate channels to deliver those messages. 

She added: “Even more importantly, research provides the tools to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing and communication programmes. Research provides the vital expertise to advise on whether government spend is effectively reaching your priority audiences – particularly important with hard to reach, seldom heard and less well represented sections of the public.”

Frost said in the letter that she understood the “financial constraints” the government is operating under, but noted: “Without the ability to understand whether current investment in communications is money well spent, and to assess whether those people most in need of your services are receiving and understanding what you need them to hear, you will not have the robust evidence needed to help frame future strategy and decision making.”