Talk:YouGov

YouGov plc is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

Stephan Shakespeare and future UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi formed YouGov in the United Kingdom in May 2000. In 2001, they engaged BBC political analyst Peter Kellner, who became chairman and then, from 2007 to 2016, President.^{[1] [2]}

In its initial years, YouGov hired a number a notable commentators to write columns on its website, including future UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson,^[3] and presenter John Humphrys.^[4] In April 2005, YouGov became a public company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.^[5] In the same year, the company launched BrandIndex which tracks public opinion on consumer brands using daily polls.

In 2006, YouGov began expanding outside the UK through acquisitions and acquired Dubai-based research firm Siraj for $1.2 million plus an eventual earn out of $600,000. In 2007, polling firm Polimetrix, headed by Stanford University professor Doug Rivers,^[2] was acquired by the company.^[6] Also in 2007, they added Palo Alto, California-based US research firm Polimetrix for approximately $17 million, Scandinavian firm Zapera for $8 million and German firm Psychonomics for $20 million. In 2009 and 2010, YouGov expanded its US operations with two acquisitions; first buying Princeton, New Jersey research firm Clear Horizons for $600,000 plus an earn out of $2.7 million, then Connecticut-based research firm Harrison Group for $6 million with a $7 million earnout.

In 2010, YouGov bought a 20% stake of sports media data company SMG Insight. In 2018, the company acquired the remaining 80% of SMG Insight's stock.^[7] The new business was rebranded YouGov Sport.^[8] Ahead of the 2010 U.K General Election, YouGov entered an exclusive contract to provide political polls to The Times.^[9] The business also launched TellYouGov, which combined analysis drawing from social media data and polling results.^[10] The business continues to analyse social media, now primarily via YouGov Signal.

In 2011, YouGov acquired Portland, Oregon-based firm Definitive Insights for $1 million with a potential $2 million earn out and also made its first organic expansion by opening an office in Paris, France. In January 2014, YouGov entered the Asia Pacific region with the acquisition of Decision Fuel for an estimated consideration of approximately £5 million.^[11] Also in 2014, YouGov launched Profiles, combining data points from its most active panellists showing how the public engages with traditional and new media channels.^[12]

In 2016, Peter Kellner stepped down as the company’s Chairman.^[13] In this year, YouGov began to use a methodology known as multi-level regression and post-stratification (MRP) in its political polling. It’s first public use was during the United Kingdom’s referendum on EU membership.^[9] YouGov has used this approach around elections since.

In the 2017 UK General Election, YouGov’s projection was an outlier. While most pollsters projected large Conservative majorities, YouGov correctly predicted a hung parliament.^[14] YouGov modelling rightly projected a number of shock results, including in Kensington and Canterbury.^[15] In December 2017, YouGov purchased Galaxy Research to establish a presence in Australia.^[16] Galaxy Research was an Australian market research company that provided opinion polling for state and federal politics. Its polls were published in News Limited tabloid newspapers, including the Herald Sun, Courier-Mail, and The Daily Telegraph (in contrast to Newspoll data, which is presented in the News Limited broadsheet newspaper The Australian).^[17].

In 2020, YouGov launched YouGov Turkey, the result of an acquisition of Istanbul-based online research agency Wizsight.^[18] The business also polled extensively around the Coronavirus pandemic, working with Imperial College London to track how populations responded to the virus and associated policies.^[19]

In 2021, the company completed acquisitions of Canada-based Charlton Insights,^[20] Swiss-based LINK Marketing Services AG,^[21] and Australia-headquartered Faster Horses.^[22] Other acquisitions in 2021 included Lean App which was bought to improve YouGov’s services with financial transaction data,^[21] and Rezonence which offers users access to premium content in exchange for taking part in a survey.^[23] The business also launched YouGov Safe, giving insight into consumer online behaviour by encouraging consumers to share their data in a GDPR-friendly manner.^[24]

In July 2023, YouGov agreed to acquire the consumer panel division of German market research company GfK for €315 million.^[25] The next month, YouGov chairman Shakespeare said the company was considering either moving its listing in the UK to the US, or establishing a secondary listing in the US. "I think the markets are better at supporting companies like ours there," he said in an interview with the Financial Times.^[26] The company later clarified that it was “not being considered in the near term.”^[27] In January 2024, YouGov concluded the acquisition of GfK’s consumer panel,^[28] and also acquired Chicago-based data company KnowledgeHound in a separate deal.^[29]