Why 56 Degree Insight?
56 Degree Insight defines who we are and where we come from. Our home turf, the Edinburgh area, sits on the 56 Degree North line of latitude and we provide precise direction and insights looking at your business issues from every possible angle.
OUR TEAM
Duncan and Jim bring many years of experience in research and insights across a wide range of business areas. Both have worked client side and agency side for both small and large organisations, meaning we can bring the best of both worlds in terms of agility, innovation and the latest thinking in market research.
Many agencies have a transactional relationship with their clients but that’s not our style. We work in partnership with clients – we want to be seen as an extension of your team and indeed your wider business. We get under the skin of your organisation providing the insights needed to answer the big business questions you are grappling.
Our team doesn’t stop with Jim and Duncan, we have a network of professional associates across a range of specialisms including economics, advanced analytics, social media, innovation, proposition development and mystery shopping.
MEET JIM
Jim Eccleston was a Senior Director in the world’s largest custom market research group at Kantar for over 20 years. He was with the company as it expanded from its Infratest Burke and NFO roots to become TNS and now Kantar. Latterly, along with 56 Degree Insight partner Duncan Stewart, he headed up the group’s Scottish office in Edinburgh.
He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1987 with an Honours degree in Geography and then from the University of Strathclyde in 1988 with a post graduate degree in Tourism. Jim joined TNS at the beginning of 1997 after spending eight years within the Research Department of the Scottish Tourist Board, latterly as Research Manager. In that position, he commissioned a large number of market research and policy studies and gained an extensive knowledge of the issues affecting the tourism industry in the United Kingdom and further afield. He also presented many research papers and study findings at industry conferences throughout the UK in that role.
MEET DUNCAN
After graduating from Napier University with a First Class Honours degree in Tourism management Duncan started his career working in market research within the tourism sector, firstly at the Scottish Tourist Board and then at Yorkshire Tourist Board.
While with the Scottish Tourist Board and Yorkshire Tourist Board his principal responsibilities included delivering the tracking studies which monitored tourism performance and providing research agency services to the tourism industry in Yorkshire.
He moved ‘agency side’ when he joined Scotland’s leading market research company System Three and remained with the company as it expanded and rebranded to become Infratest Burke, NFO, TNS and most recently Kantar. Latterly he and 56 Degree Insight partner Jim Eccleston managed the group’s office in Edinburgh.
During his 25 years working in insights, Duncan has been involved in a huge variety of projects helping a range of clients in very different business sectors from the energy and environmental sectors, to food and drink to tourism, heritage and culture.
“Thank you for all your work and support over more than 10 years to help design and evolve the MENE survey into what is now acknowledged to be the world’s leading survey of its type. Over this period you have also been instrumental in advising on the design, capture and analysis of data underpinning over 40 publications, which together have provided a robust evidence base that has helped to transform our understanding of peoples use of and connection to the natural environment.”