ComRes

ComRes
Savanta ComRes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	ComRes
Type	Private company
Industry	Market research
Founded	2003
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Services	Opinion polling, market research, data analysis

ComRes ComRes is a British market research and polling firm headquartered in London. It operates in the fields of public opinion polling, electoral research, and corporate reputation analysis, providing data to media outlets, political parties, think tanks, and corporations. The firm conducts telephone, online, and mixed-mode surveys and publishes findings that have been cited by national newspapers, broadcasters, and international organizations.

History

ComRes was founded in 2003 and developed during a period shaped by high-profile polling operations associated with broadcasters such as BBC, ITV, and Sky News. In the 2000s and 2010s ComRes operated alongside established firms including Ipsos MORI, YouGov, Gallup, Pew Research Center, Nielsen Holdings, and Kantar Group. Its timeline intersects with major political events like the 2005 United Kingdom general election, the 2008 global financial crisis, the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, and the 2019 United Kingdom general election. During the 2010s ComRes engaged with academic institutions such as London School of Economics, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge for methodological discussion and conferences featuring figures from Institute for Fiscal Studies and Chatham House.

Services and Methodology

ComRes provides opinion polling, consumer research, stakeholder mapping, and reputation measurement for clients including media organizations such as The Times, The Guardian, Reuters, and broadcasters such as Channel 4. Its methodology blends online panels maintained by partners like YouGov and telephone sampling using techniques related to work by Ipsos, Gallup, and Nielsen. The firm employs weighting strategies informed by demographic classifications used in studies by Office for National Statistics and sampling frameworks discussed in journals associated with Royal Statistical Society and American Association for Public Opinion Research. ComRes has produced seat-by-seat projections that reference electoral models popularized by analysts at Electoral Calculus and researchers contributing to University College London.

Notable Polls and Impact

ComRes published polling on referendums and elections including polling during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and subsequent analyses of public opinion on Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and David Cameron. Its corporate reputation work has informed campaigns involving organizations such as British Broadcasting Corporation and consultancies like McKinsey & Company and Deloitte. Media citations have appeared alongside reportage from outlets including BBC News, Sky News, The Telegraph, and Financial Times. ComRes polling has been referenced in parliamentary inquiries involving committees of the House of Commons and discussions in the House of Lords on public attitudes toward policy matters such as healthcare debates involving NHS England and climate policy debates influenced by activists from Extinction Rebellion.

Corporate Structure and Ownership

ComRes operates as a private company with corporate governance structures similar to firms such as Kantar Group and Ipsos. Its leadership has engaged with networks including the Market Research Society and the British Polling Council, attending events alongside executives from YouGov, Gallup, GfK, and TNS. The firm’s contracts with media clients mirror commercial relationships seen between Reuters and research providers, and its project-based work aligns with consultancy engagements common to PwC and Ernst & Young.

Criticisms and Controversies

As with other polling organisations, ComRes has faced scrutiny over forecasting accuracy in high-profile contests like the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and the 2017 United Kingdom general election, provoking discussion in outlets such as The Guardian and The Economist. Debates around sampling, weighting, and mode effects echo critiques leveled against firms like Ipsos MORI and YouGov and have been examined by academics from King's College London and commentators at The London School of Economics and Political Science. Questions about media interpretation of polls have involved newsrooms at BBC, ITV, and Sky News, and have spurred recommendations from bodies such as the British Polling Council and scholarly work in journals associated with the Royal Statistical Society.

Category:Polling companies Category:Market research companies of the United Kingdom