DVJ Insights and VodafoneThree shortlisted for Quirk’s Groundbreaking Research Project Award
London, 22 September, 2026 – DVJ Insights and VodafoneThree have been shortlisted for the Quirk’s Award for Groundbreaking Research Project, recognising a new approach to brand tracking that moves beyond reporting performance to help explain what drives it.
The partnership started with a shared ambition: to develop a more meaningful understanding of how consumers relate to brands and to make brand tracking more useful for strategic decision-making.
Together, VodafoneThree and DVJ developed a new framework built around four dimensions of brand strength: Salience, Knowledge, Emotional and Connection. The addition of Connection goes beyond traditional measures of awareness and functional performance by examining whether consumers identify with a brand and feel that it reflects their own values and sense of self.
Connecting brand performance to commercial impact
The framework was designed not simply to measure brand outcomes, but to understand how they are created. It connects creative performance, campaign impact, brand perceptions and commercial KPIs, creating an evidence chain from communications activity through to business performance.
This allowed VodafoneThree to move from retrospective tracking towards a more predictive and actionable approach. The programme helped identify which elements of marketing were driving change, how campaigns contributed to longer-term commercial outcomes and where future growth opportunities existed.
The impact was also visible in the results. VodafoneThree achieved a significant uplift in First Choice Purchase Intent, while association with its strategic positioning, “The Nation’s Network”, doubled.
Lucas Hulsebos, CEO of DVJ Insights, says: “Brand tracking should help organisations make decisions, not simply tell them what happened. What makes this project special is how closely VodafoneThree and DVJ worked together to connect academic thinking, consumer understanding and commercial outcomes. The result is a framework that turns tracking into a much stronger strategic growth tool.”
The nomination recognises both the methodological innovation behind the programme and the close collaboration between VodafoneThree and DVJ throughout its development and implementation.
The Quirk’s Awards recognise the researchers, suppliers and products and services that are adding value and impact to marketing research. Finalists are selected by a panel of judges made up of a combination of end-client researchers, supplier partners and Quirk’s editorial staff.
The award winners will be announced at the Quirk’s Awards Virtual Celebration on November 17, 2026. Please visit quirksawards.com for more details.
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