Radius Insights

Lesley Brooks

EVP Research Excellence

$150B

Projected Global Market Research Revenue (2025)

8.4%

Annual Growth Rate, Market Research Industry

55%

North America Share of Global Market Research Spend

Founded1960. One of the longest-tenured independent custom research firms in North America, recently expanded through acquisition of ONE Strategy Studio, Illuminas North America, and Rockbridge Associates.

Scale51-200 employees per LinkedIn. 47K LinkedIn followers. 350-plus Fortune 500 and multinational clients on record including Google, P&G, JPMorgan Chase, USAA, and Nestle. Offices in New York and global reach through acquired entities.

Key signalThe acquisition of ONE Strategy Studio and the co-branded conference presence across Quirk's and IIEX events in 2025-2026 represent the most visible signal of Radius accelerating toward an AI-first, speed-to-impact positioning. The infrastructure is being built; the brand identity has not yet caught up.

The 7 on 7+ Assessment

7 on 7+ Score

Website Score

20 / 49

Website effectiveness as evidence of leadership thinking — 7 criteria, each scored 1–7. Build on methodology developed by Alan Power & Gair Maxwell.

IDEA Score

21 / 49

Power of your complete digital presence, including social, search, gen-AI - to generate PULL.

Website Score

Tracks your website effectiveness.

IDEA Adjustment

Adjusts for your complete digital footprint.

7 on 7+ Score

Your legend-building signal.

Category Leader

Escalent

Website

IDEA

184K LinkedIn followers, homepage video, named AI products with dedicated microsites, and the highest observable off-site signal volume among direct mid-market research competitors.

Executive Takeaway

Lesley Brooks is a 28-year veteran of Radius who now leads Research Excellence across a firm that has been actively building an AI-first, speed-to-insight positioning. The company LinkedIn page is one of the more active in the mid-market research space, with a serialized thought leadership content strategy, consistent visual branding, and a heavy conference footprint across Quirk's and IIEX events. The first impression Radius creates off-site is that of a firm with opinions about where the industry is going, beyond the capabilities they sell. The website supports that read in terms of client roster and solution breadth, but the bolder, more directional voice visible on LinkedIn has not yet translated into the web experience. Lesley's own profile shows 28 years and an EVP title, with mostly shared posts, which means her individual signal is absent from the impression Radius is building.

Website Score — By Criterion

Seven criteria, each scored 1–7 by Alan Power and Gair Maxwell. The sum is your website score out of 49. Vistage room average: 13–14. A score above 20 is genuinely strong.

First Impression

Immediate 2-3 sec WOW factor. Instant clarity on who this brand speaks to.

The homepage opens with the tagline 'Guiding your brand on its growth journey,' a serviceable but interchangeable positioning statement for the category. A visitor lands on a clean, professional page with a client logo bar featuring Google, P&G, JPMorgan Chase, and USAA. The above-the-fold experience reads as credible and capable, but nothing arrests attention or signals a distinct point of view within two seconds.

Impact

Signature homepage video. Genuine human connection, cinematic and story-based.

No signature homepage video is present. The site uses static imagery and a product screenshot for the Brand Growth Navigator. The homepage communicates competence through client logos and a solutions grid but does not create an emotional landing moment for first-time visitors.

Originality

Highly distinctive identity. Instantly recognizable. Not a template.

The Brand Growth Navigator is a named proprietary framework, which is a genuine differentiator. The 'ONE Strategy Studio joins Radius' announcement on the homepage introduces the AI-first language: 'brief to breakthrough in hours, and bigger opportunities in days vs weeks.' This is the strongest original claim on the site, though it reads more as an acquisition announcement than a settled brand position.

Culture

Video evidence from real people indicating a destination employer. Not a values list.

The site has a Team page under About, but no video culture content is evident from the homepage or primary navigation. Values and culture signals are implied by the service architecture and client breadth rather than shown through people, stories, or employee voice.

Consistency

Track record of publishing current, original content across platforms.

A Resources section exists with webinars, ebooks, best practices, brand health, and strategic storytelling subsections. A blog is present. The site shows evidence of a content publishing program, though recency of posts is not surfaced on the homepage and post dates are not immediately visible without navigating deeper.

Audience Reach

Numbers indicating a growing community. Evidence of genuine engagement.

The site names 12 industry verticals in the navigation, including financial services, healthcare, technology, food and beverage, and utilities. This breadth signals the firm serves many industries without prioritizing any specific buyer role. No explicit audience-role targeting appears in the primary copy or CTAs.

Visuals

Cohesive visual elements reflecting brand spirit. Distinctive design language.

Clean, professional design with an orange and white brand palette. The Radius logotype is simple and recognizable. Photography is stock-adjacent but not generic. The visual identity is competent without being distinctive enough to be immediately recognized outside the site.

IDEA Score — The Signal Before the Click

How You Show Up in the World

The IDEA Score measures what happens before someone reaches your website — the off-site signal that shapes perception from the first search, the LinkedIn scroll, the founder post.

out of 49

IDEA Score — Digital Footprint

The Idea That Changes Everything

Seven axes. Each one measures a different dimension of how your off-site signal lands — not what your website says, but what the world hears before anyone clicks your URL.

Pull vs. push. Category of one vs. category of many. A founder voice vs. a corporate signal. These are the levers that determine whether a prospect arrives already interested — or arrives already skeptical.

Pull vs. Push

Content creates gravity vs. broadcast/promotional

The Meals-to-Go macro theme series, run across six posts with branded cover cards, earns more engagement than standard announcements, with the LinkedIn Live generating 28 reactions and 12 reposts. The Empathy Excursions campaign post also drove reposts. Most conference presence posts are announcement-forward, and engagement across the feed is modest, generally 6-19 reactions per post.

ONLY vs. Category

Proprietary language/named POV vs. sounds like every competitor

The tagline 'Insights That Move. Further. Faster.' appears on conference signage and in some posts, but has not yet become a named POV that shows up consistently across content. The AI-first framing and speed-to-impact language are directional but not yet exclusive to Radius in the way a true IDEA would be.

Audience Building

Clear who it's for AND building following beyond buyers

The company page has 47,454 followers. Conference presence (Quirk's Dallas, Chicago, London; IIEX North America; IA North Central) builds community among insights professionals. The Meals-to-Go LinkedIn Live drew 28 reactions. The audience is clear in category terms but the content speaks to insights buyers broadly rather than a specific, named buyer persona.

Different-er vs. Better

Competes on distinctiveness/belief vs. features/specs/price

Posts consistently reference the Radius plus ONE Strategy Studio partnership and the AI-first research model as differentiators. The serialized macro theme content and the Empathy Excursions concept represent a belief starting to form. Conference booth presence and session sponsorship are still weighted toward capability signaling rather than a distinctive belief.

IDEA vs. Best Practices

Organizing belief visible across all channels vs. channel-by-channel

LinkedIn, YouTube, and conference activity all broadly reference the speed-to-insight and AI-first story. The Meals-to-Go series demonstrates category intelligence, which is a more consistent thread than most mid-market research firms show. Channel coordination exists but stops short of a single through-line visible across every touchpoint.

Founder/Leader Voice

Named human with consistent opinionated first-person presence

CEO Rob Wengel appears in short video clips on the company page, roughly monthly, speaking directly to the camera on topics like automation and research speed. Lesley Brooks has no visible professional posting activity on LinkedIn. EVP Glenn Staada appears in a conference event post. Individual leadership voice is occasional and not anchored to a recognized POV.

Cultural Relevance

Signal connects to a larger shift in the world vs. exists in isolation

The GLP-1 consumer behavior post, the menopause-as-market-opportunity series, the AI energy boom post, and the Meals-to-Go macro themes all connect Radius content to macro forces reshaping specific categories. This is the strongest dimension of the off-site signal.

Digital Footprint Scan

Where You're Showing Up — and Where You're Not

Company Website (radiusinsights.com)

Active

Full-service research firm website with 12 industry verticals, 10+ solution categories, case studies, resources, and a blog. Client roster features Google, P&G, JPMorgan Chase, USAA, and others. The Brand Growth Navigator is a named proprietary framework. Content publishing infrastructure exists but depth of activity is not surfaced on the homepage.

Company LinkedIn

Active

47,454 followers. Posts multiple times per week. Content includes a six-part Meals-to-Go macro theme series, GLP-1 consumer analysis, an AI energy post, conference presence across Quirk's Dallas, Chicago, and London, IIEX North America, and IA North Central. LinkedIn Lives conducted with client and partner collaborators. Visual identity is consistent and bold: orange/black branded document covers, short video clips from leadership.

Lesley Brooks LinkedIn

Weak

753 followers. One personal post visible in the past two months, a food product recommendation. One repost of a Rob Wengel Radius video. No first-person professional content about research excellence, methodology, AI, storytelling, or the insights industry. Her profile establishes 28 years and the EVP Research Excellence title, but that seniority does not translate into any visible individual voice.

YouTube (@RadiusInsights)

Weak

79 subscribers and 39 videos. Most recent uploads are the Signal or Noise series, focused on CES 2026 tech trends, posted 4-5 months ago. Older webinar inventory includes client sessions with USAA, Expedia, 84.51/Kroger, and JPMorgan Chase. The channel exists as an archive of past content rather than an active publishing engine. No consistent recent cadence.

Instagram

Absent

No Instagram presence confirmed relevant to this analysis. Radius operates in B2B market research; Instagram may not a meaningful channel for the buyer audience.

Facebook

Absent

No active Facebook presence confirmed for Radius. Not assessed as a meaningful signal channel for the B2B research buyer audience.

Industry Events and Publications

Active

Radius sponsors and speaks at Quirk's Dallas, Chicago, and London, IIEX North America, and the IA North Central Chapter Summit. The firm co-presents with clients including 84.51/Kroger and Cereal Partners Worldwide. CEO Rob Wengel appeared on the Greenbook CEO Series podcast. Conference presence is a primary credibility signal in this category.

Strategic Opportunity

How to Build Your Legend

Short Term (0–6 months)

Activate Lesley's LinkedIn Voice

Lesley Brooks has 28 years of research expertise and zero professional LinkedIn posts. A monthly cadence of first-person content on research excellence, AI integration into insights work, or what great storytelling looks like in practice would add a senior human voice to a brand that currently relies almost entirely on company-voice posts. This is a low-cost, high-signal move that no competitor is doing better.

Name and Lock the IDEA

The language 'Insights That Move. Further. Faster.' appears on banners and signage but has not yet become the organizing principle across all content and web copy. Clarifying whether this is the IDEA, or whether something more specific to what Radius uniquely believes about how research should work, is the prerequisite for every other brand investment.

Bring the Website Into Alignment with the Social Voice

The LinkedIn content is bolder, more directional, and more specific about what Radius believes than the homepage copy. The Brand Growth Navigator and the ONE Strategy Studio acquisition announcement on the homepage are the two strongest signals of a distinct POV. A website revision that leads with the AI-first, speed-to-impact language already present in social content would close the alignment gap without requiring a full repositioning.

Medium Term (6–18 months)

Build a Content Series Platform

The Meals-to-Go macro theme series demonstrates that Radius can produce serialized, category-specific thought leadership that earns attention beyond standard announcements. Turning this into a repeatable format, one major thematic series per quarter tied to a relevant vertical, would build an audience that seeks out Radius content rather than receiving it.

Establish a Named Leadership Voice Program

Radius has named VPs and directors with real expertise in specific industries. A structured program that gives three to five of them a consistent publishing cadence, tied to a named POV, would move the firm from company-voice broadcasting to leadership-led trust building. This is how mid-market research firms build the kind of inbound attention that turns into new client conversations.

Create a Brand Identity That Matches the Ambition

The current Radius visual identity is clean and professional but not distinctive enough to anchor a category leadership position. As the firm integrates ONE Strategy Studio and builds toward an AI-first, speed-to-impact identity, the visual system and brand story need to be built around the IDEA, updated from the root.

Competitive Landscape

Who's in the Conversation

Escalent

AI-ENABLED RESEARCH

Livonia, Michigan-based firm with approximately 1,300 employees and estimated revenue of $187 million following its 2023 acquisition of C Space and Hall and Partners. Positions as an AI-enabled advisory partner with named proprietary platforms: Enlyta Insights, BeSci x AI, and Evoke. 184K LinkedIn followers.

C+R Research

CUSTOM INSIGHTS

Chicago-based firm founded in 1958, known for qualitative depth and multicultural research expertise. 60-plus years in the market with a distinctive Emerge Smarter brand line. Active blog and webinar publishing program. Approximately 21K LinkedIn followers.

Provoke Insights

BRAND STRATEGY RESEARCH

New York-based women-owned firm with advertising and brand strategy roots. Smaller than Radius but active content publisher, including a biannual trends research series and active blog. Positions research rigor alongside marketing strategy as its core value proposition. Under 5K LinkedIn followers.

Speed-to-Impact as a Category Claim

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

No mid-market custom research firm has yet credibly owned the speed-to-impact position as a named, proven, repeatable brand promise backed by an AI-first research architecture and a client case library to prove it. Radius is closer to this position than any comparable firm, with the ONE Strategy Studio integration, the conference presence, and the LinkedIn content volume to build toward it. The moat is available but not yet claimed.

Market Context

The Industry Around You

The global market research services industry generated approximately $140 billion in revenue in 2024 and was projected to reach $150 billion by the end of 2025, growing at roughly 8.4% annually over the past several years. North America holds the largest share at approximately 55% of the global total. AI integration, synthetic data, and automation-enabled research speed are the dominant forces reshaping how firms deliver and price research services.

$150B

Projected Global Market Research Revenue (2025)

ESOMAR Global Market Research Report, 2025

8.4%

Annual Growth Rate, Market Research Industry

The Alchemic, citing ESOMAR and Statista, 2026

55%

North America Share of Global Market Research Spend

The Alchemic, citing Exploding Topics, 2026

83%

Research Professionals Planning AI Investment in 2025

The Alchemic, citing ESOMAR and Statista, 2026

What Keeps You Up at Night

The forces shaping Radius Insights's competitive environment — and why standing still is not an option.

⚡

AI Commoditization Pressure

AI-powered research platforms are compressing timelines and reducing the perceived value of traditional research process. Clients who previously paid for methodology are increasingly asking why the same insights cannot be produced in days. Every mid-market research firm is being asked to justify pricing against automated alternatives.

Headwind

⚡

Consolidation Erodes Differentiation

The acquisition of Hall and Partners and C Space by Escalent, the Illuminas acquisition by Radius, and broader private equity activity in the category are creating larger platform firms that compete on scale and breadth. Mid-market firms face a positioning squeeze between enterprise-scale competitors and agile AI-native startups.

Headwind

⚡

Insight Activation Gap

Clients increasingly report that research reports sit unused. The value chain is shifting from data delivery to decision facilitation, and firms that cannot demonstrate how their work changes what a brand does next are losing relevance. Insight activation is becoming a competitive requirement, not a premium add-on.

Headwind

Where the Opportunity Lives

The same forces creating pressure are also creating openings for firms willing to lead.

🎯

AI Accelerates Demand for Strategic Interpretation

As AI tools handle more data collection and analysis, the premium moves to firms that can interpret findings in the context of real business decisions. Research firms with senior strategists embedded in client relationships are positioned to capture the value that automation creates rather than being displaced by it.

ESOMAR Global Market Research Report, 2025 Tailwind

🎯

Brand Investment Rising After Years of Suppression

Post-pandemic brand budget recovery and the return of long-cycle brand tracking programs are driving demand for mid-market custom research firms. Brands that underinvested in consumer understanding during inflationary periods are now rebuilding insight programs.

The Business Research Company, Marketing Research and Analysis Services Global Market Report, 2026 Tailwind

🎯

Category Disruption Creates Research Demand

GLP-1 adoption reshaping food and beverage, EV market normalization in automotive, and AI integration across every vertical are generating new rounds of consumer behavior research as brands recalibrate strategy. Radius has already built content positioning around all three of these macro shifts.

Radius LinkedIn, Meals-to-Go series and GLP-1 post, 2026 Tailwind

🔒

Unlock Your Full Roadmap

Your Future-State Brand Expression

We've built a vision of what Radius Insights could look like — a reimagined digital presence that matches the caliber of the operation behind it. Your full 7 on 7+ Score & Analysis includes:

Phase 1

Brand Identity Strategy

Clarify positioning, origin story, and visual identity to match the caliber of the operation, people, and relationships the company has actually built.

Phase 2

Brand Amplification Strategy

Build the content engine, thought leadership, and social presence that makes Radius Insights impossible to ignore in a category being reshaped in real time.

Phase 3

Media & Distribution Strategy

Launch the channels, campaigns, and conversion architecture that turn visibility into relationships and position Radius Insights as a category-defining brand.

Yes, I Want to Build a Legendary Brand. Let's Move to the Next Step.