Ipsos MORI

Ipsos MORI was the United Kingdom operating and client-facing brand created when the international research group Ipsos acquired Market & Opinion Research International, commonly known as MORI, in 2005. The combination brought together MORI's long-standing British reputation in public-opinion research, social research and political polling with Ipsos's international scale, sector expertise and research technology. The business worked with public bodies, political and media organizations, charities and commercial clients on questions involving public attitudes, consumer behavior, brand performance, customer experience, policy, health, employment and social change. MORI had been established in 1969 by Robert Worcester and became one of Britain's best-known opinion-research organizations. Its public polling and social research frequently appeared in national media and were used to understand voting intentions, trust in institutions, public priorities and reactions to government policy. Alongside polling, the organization conducted qualitative research, surveys, evaluation studies and commissioned research for public-sector and private-sector clients. Its profile made the MORI name particularly valuable in the British market, even after ownership passed to Ipsos. Ipsos was founded in France in 1975 and expanded internationally through organic growth and acquisitions. Its purchase of MORI gave the group a substantial UK presence and led to the use of the combined Ipsos MORI identity. Under that identity, the business operated as part of Ipsos rather than as an independent listed company. Its work increasingly drew on Ipsos's global research frameworks, specialist practices and cross-market capabilities while retaining a distinct British focus and the heritage associated with MORI. The brand covered both commercial and public-interest research. Typical engagements included opinion polling, political and public-policy research, social research, market sizing, customer and employee studies, brand tracking, communications evaluation, healthcare research and research supporting public-service design. Methods included online and telephone surveys, face-to-face interviewing, qualitative interviews and groups, behavioral or observational approaches, and analysis of large datasets where appropriate. Public polling and survey findings were often published or reported through media and institutional clients, while much commissioned work remained confidential. Ipsos gradually simplified its country-level branding. The UK operation has been referred to as Ipsos UK in more recent corporate communications, although Ipsos MORI remains a widely recognized historical and descriptive name for the British business and its polling legacy. The precise legal and operational status of the Ipsos MORI label should therefore be distinguished from the continuing UK activities of Ipsos. This entry treats the subject as the UK research business and brand associated with the Ipsos-MORI combination, not as an independent company or as the global Ipsos group.

Market & Opinion Research International, generally known as MORI, was founded in 1969 by Robert Worcester. It developed into a prominent British organization specializing in public-opinion polling, social research and commissioned studies for government, media, charities and businesses. Its work helped establish the MORI name as a familiar reference point in British discussions of voting intentions, public attitudes and policy-related opinion. The organization also conducted commercial market research and broader evaluation work, so its activities extended beyond election polling. Ipsos, meanwhile, was founded in France in 1975 by Didier Truchot and Jean-Marc Lech. It expanded from a French research business into an international group offering market, media, advertising, public-affairs, social and specialized sector research. Acquisitions were an important part of this expansion, allowing Ipsos to add local expertise and established client relationships in major markets. In 2005, Ipsos acquired MORI. The transaction connected MORI's UK franchise and public-sector expertise with Ipsos's global network. The combined British business became known as Ipsos MORI, while ownership and group governance sat within Ipsos. The name preserved the equity of MORI in the United Kingdom and signaled its integration into the wider Ipsos organization. The resulting business served public and private clients across polling, social research, consumer insight, brand and communications measurement, customer experience, healthcare and policy evaluation. During the following years, Ipsos MORI remained visible through public polling and published research, while also operating as a full-service consultancy for commissioned studies. Its work used a mixture of quantitative surveys, qualitative research, interviews, focus groups, media and communications measurement, and analytical services. As research moved increasingly toward digital collection, online panels, integrated data and technology-supported analysis, the UK business became part of Ipsos's broader efforts to standardize methods and deliver comparable insights across markets. The MORI name continued to carry historical significance in the UK, particularly because of its association with opinion polling and social research. However, Ipsos progressively emphasized a common global identity. More recent references to the UK operation commonly use Ipsos UK, indicating a branding simplification rather than the disappearance of the underlying UK research activities. Ipsos MORI is therefore best understood as a major historical and market-facing identity of Ipsos's British business, with the contemporary operating brand requiring verification against the relevant date and legal entity.

• 2022

  The UK brand begins moving toward Ipsos UK

  Ipsos communications increasingly use Ipsos UK for the British operation, reducing reliance on the combined Ipsos MORI label.

• 2005

  Ipsos acquires MORI

  Ipsos acquires Market & Opinion Research International, creating the Ipsos MORI identity for the UK business.

• 1975

  Ipsos is established in France

  Didier Truchot and Jean-Marc Lech establish Ipsos, the research group that later acquires MORI.

• 1969

  MORI is founded

  Robert Worcester establishes Market & Opinion Research International, which becomes a prominent British public-opinion and social-research organization.

A high-profile UK research and polling business combining MORI's British public-opinion heritage with Ipsos's international scale and multidisciplinary research capabilities.

• Opinion research

  Public-opinion polling

  Polling and survey work measuring voting intentions, political attitudes, trust, institutional perceptions, public priorities and reactions to current issues. The MORI heritage made this one of the most recognizable parts of the UK business, although polling represented only one element of its broader research portfolio.

• Social research

  Social and public-policy research

  Research for governments, public agencies, charities and other institutions examining social conditions, service users, policy awareness, program outcomes and public attitudes. Projects can include representative surveys, qualitative inquiry, evaluations and reporting intended to support policy or service decisions.

• Commercial research

  Market and consumer research

  Commercial research covering consumer behavior, market structure, segmentation, demand, usage, attitudes and category development. The work supports companies seeking to understand customers, size opportunities, refine propositions or compare performance across markets through Ipsos's international capabilities.

• Brand research

  Brand and communications research

  Studies of brand awareness, consideration, positioning, advertising effectiveness, campaign response and communications performance. These services connect survey and qualitative evidence with measures intended to show how communications influence perceptions and behavior.

• Experience measurement

  Customer and employee experience research

  Research measuring customer satisfaction, loyalty, journeys, service interactions and employee views. The offering helps organizations identify experience gaps and prioritize operational or communications changes using structured feedback and analytical frameworks.

• Healthcare market research

  Healthcare research

  Research for healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare professionals and patients. Work may address treatment experiences, unmet needs, market dynamics, disease awareness, communications and stakeholder attitudes, drawing on Ipsos's specialist international healthcare practice.

• 2022

  Shift toward the Ipsos UK identityStrategy

  Background

  Ipsos pursued a more unified international brand architecture, while the MORI name remained strongly associated with the historical UK polling business.

  Action taken

  The UK operation increasingly presented itself as Ipsos UK in corporate and market communications.

  Aftermath

  Ipsos MORI continued as a commonly recognized historical and descriptive label, while Ipsos UK became the more current operating identity in many contexts.

• 2005

  Acquisition of MORI by IpsosM&A

  Background

  Ipsos sought to expand its UK presence and add MORI's established public-opinion, social-research and client relationships to its international research network.

  Action taken

  Ipsos acquired MORI and operated the resulting UK business under the Ipsos MORI name.

  Aftermath

  The combined business became a major Ipsos operation in the United Kingdom, retaining the MORI name while drawing on Ipsos's global capabilities.