Vantage Research aims to meet the thought leadership objectives of each client with a research program that exceeds expectations.
The content will not only be impactful, but also cost-effective and on schedule. Our relationship with the sponsor is collaborative and constructive, recognizing that both sides have subject-matter expertise and will take a role in the scope, depth and objectivity of the research. The client will bring targeted business experience to the topic and Vantage Research will contribute editorial know-how. The result is intended to be a partnership designed to create the best and most thought-provoking thought leadership in the market of ideas.
In one recent research project, we worked closely with the sponsor, a leading software company, to evaluate how the customer experience and the employee experience interact, in a report that broke new ground.
Although ultimate editorial control resides with Vantage Research, we recognize that the sponsor plays a valuable role in helping to guide the intellectual arc of the project as well as in validating specific insights. Each project milestone provides an opportunity to review progress with the client in meeting our mutual goals.
We begin by discussing the client’s editorial and marketing objectives and how best to meet them, as well as the target audience and the most effective ways to achieve the projected value from the investment. The timeline is also important, not only for the publication of the thought leadership but also to support the client’s long-term objectives after the report has been distributed.
Vantage Research will set up a steering committee composed of the sponsor(s) and independent subject-matter experts from the private and public sectors, as well as our team of writers, editors and researchers. In the case of a 2020 report on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure, the steering committee consisted of three sponsors and the International Society of Automation, a professional body whose mission is to advance technical competence by connecting the automation community.
We believe that the consortium research model enables the intellectual stakeholders to engage in a dialog that will produce the most compelling content, based on a range of views from inside and outside the chosen industry, sector or issue.
The committee’s purpose is to guide the research from its inception to the final results evaluation. It will meet when the project kicks off and will confer at key points along the way. These are the steps in a typical research project:
Agreement on a central hypothesis for the research
Approval of a questionnaire, assuming a survey is a component of the research, and other aspects of the project’s assessment areas/research framework.
Discussion of the main findings of the survey and analysis.
Collaboration with the steering committee in selecting interviews.
Discussion of the report outline.
Comments on the first draft of the report.
Sponsors are asked to approve the final version of the report in PDF.
Whether the content is white label, the Vantage Research or Newsweek Vantage brand, the same editorial standards apply, namely the creation of the best possible content, produced in collaboration with the sponsors, and with final editorial responsibility in the hands of Vantage Research.