Michael Sutton – Sky

In a recent interview with Michael Sutton, the Head of Quantitative Research at Sky, we gained valuable insights into the company’s data-driven decision-making strategies, brand growth initiatives, and important KPIs. With almost a decade of experience at Sky UK, Mike Sutton offers a deep understanding of the company’s research evolution, challenges, and achievements.

He highlights the company’s focus on brand image measurement and the use of data for strategic planning, explaining how research influences Sky UK’s future direction.

THE SKY BRAND GROWTH LANDSCAPE

Sutton underscores the significance of brand metrics in driving the brand’s growth. Tracking and monitoring brand funnel metrics, such as consideration and purchase intent, is vital to understand performance and identify moments when course correction is required to ensure continued commercial success.

Understanding brand strengths such as innovation, entertainment, and premium positioning through implicit testing helps identify how the brand is truly perceived and can be used in conjunction with driver analysis to understand the levers to pull to ensure ongoing brand health and growth.

“Sky’s use of implicit testing adds an additional layer of understanding on top of traditional perceptual mapping which grants us the clearest picture of the competitive brand landscape we’ve ever had.”

“Realizing the ease with which customers link certain traits to Sky, we’ve pinpointed strengths of the core Sky brand like innovation, entertainment, and premium positioning that give us direction when considering our master brand strategy while also uncovering opportunities for our flanker brands such as NOW.”

Sutton continues: “At Sky, we’ve learned that tracking brand funnel metrics is key to turning brand imagery into commercial success. Understanding how metrics like consideration and purchase intent perform in response to marketing activity is vital for our brand’s growth.“

DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING AT SKY

As a data-driven organization, Sky extensively taps into a diverse spectrum of data sources, including primary research, customer interactions, and technology-related metrics. Sutton stresses the significance of leveraging this data to track performance, market trends, and customer behaviour. The collaboration across different teams, such as insight, research, and analytics, ensures a cohesive approach to interpreting and utilizing the vast amount of data available.

“As a data-driven organization, it is crucial to guarantee consistent behaviour and ensure our decision-making is always consumer-centric.”

“With around 20 trackers covering various aspects of performance, including customer behaviour, market trends, and product propositions, Sky ensures a constant feed of data. As a central Research and Insight team we are in a unique position to address the challenges associated with diverse data sources and ensure the use and communication of data and insight is consistent across the business,” Sutton explains.

Sutton continues by emphasising the crucial role of strategic insight in managing research data at Sky. “The in-house research team serves as a gatekeeper, managing the balance between democratizing data access and ensuring a central oversight that maintains data quality and a consistency of understanding. The team’s reputation as experts in their respective fields and their close collaboration with other insight teams contribute to successful outcomes.”

LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES OF DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS

Sky’s research initiatives extend well beyond immediate, reactive analysis. The company invests in comprehensive studies to foresee future trends and align strategies with a long-term view. This approach involves understanding the evolving entertainment landscape, customer behaviours, and emerging opportunities.

Research plays a pivotal role in informing Sky’s strategic decisions over the medium and long term. “Our research efforts at Sky go beyond short-term analyses. Research is the compass guiding our strategic decisions that form the basis for the long-range plan.”

“We invest in broader landscape studies, anticipating future trends and aligning our strategies with a long-term vision.”

MEASURING SUCCESS OF DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS

Measuring the success of an in-house data-driven Research and Insight team involves tracking project-level KPIs and includes traditional financial views such as the number of projects in housed, the savings delivered vs external investment and an overall reduction in spending.

However, success from a stakeholder perspective is achieved through the accuracy of proposition testing, content evaluations, and the transformative insight being delivered daily by a deeply embedded insight function that lives and breathes the key challenges the business is grappling with.

THE EVOLUTION OF RESEARCH AT SKY

Over the past decades, Sky has transformed its research capabilities from a fledgling in-house function to a powerhouse capable of handling complex projects. Building trust through successful project deliveries, showcasing capabilities, and incrementally growing technical expertise has been integral to this evolution. The combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, along with an interconnected insight ecosystem, has contributed to building a robust reputation within the company.

“Looking ahead, I foresee continued growth in research capabilities at Sky. We plan to explore new technologies like generative AI to enhance research processes as well as adapt to the evolving research landscape,” Sutton shares.

“Incorporating innovative methodologies and building richer insight toolkits are crucial aspects of staying relevant and competitive in the evolving market.”