Relative Insight

A Lancaster-based language analytics company, with a London office, that helps brands understand how different groups of people talk.

About Relative Insight

Relative Insight is a British data analytics and consumer research company. Its software compares large amounts of text, such as survey answers or social media posts, and finds the real differences in how groups of people communicate, including the words they use, their tone and the topics they raise. Brands and agencies use it to understand what customers care about and to choose messages that fit. Clients named on its public profile include Disney, Unilever, R/GA, Havas and Pearson.

We did not find a formal mission statement in the pages we could read. The company's idea is that analysing language reveals what people really think and feel, and that this is more useful when you compare groups with each other than when you read comments one at a time.

The technology came from about ten years of research at Lancaster University, where linguistics and cyber security researchers looked at language differences to detect online crime. The company was spun out in 2012, and Phil Greenwood and James Walkerdine are named as founders. Its UK government G-Cloud listing calls it a language analysis and comparative text analytics platform, and a Prolific North feature series profiled it as a northern start-up serving brands and agencies. Its first use was in law enforcement before it moved into marketing and consumer research. It is headquartered in Lancaster with an office in London. Ben Hookway and Rich Wilson joined in 2013, and James Cuthbertson is named as chief revenue officer. In 2017 Marketing Week included the company in its 100 Disruptive Brands list. People named in senior roles include Ben Hookway as chief executive and Phil Greenwood as chief technology officer.

Regional business press has described the company as a Lancaster start-up that grew out of university research, which is a good example of how a university idea can become a business outside London. We did not find details of its team size or workplace culture, so ask about this when you look at the company more closely.

A company like this needs software engineers, language and data specialists, customer success and sales staff, and marketers. It also appears on UK government G-Cloud listings, which shows it sells to the public sector as well as brands. It is a good one to follow if you like language, data and the way people talk about brands.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Finds the real differences in how groups talk.', 'title': 'Comparative language analysis'}
• {'desc': 'Turns text data into findings for brand and marketing teams.', 'title': 'Audience insight reports'}
• {'desc': 'Helps brands choose wording that suits an audience.', 'title': 'Message testing'}

Key facts

• Spun out of Lancaster University in 2012
• Founders Phil Greenwood and James Walkerdine
• Headquartered in Lancaster with a London office
• Clients named include Disney, Unilever, Havas and Pearson

Website: relativeinsight.com