Our Forward-Leaning History

An unparalleled throughline of enterprise continuity and methodological advancements that shaped the history of the discipline.

1911

1911

Creation of the “world’s first business research company” by Philadelphia-based Curtis Publishing Company; first formal use of “advertising research” to help companies like Campbell’s Soup target and message effectively.

1920s

1920s

Shift from internal Curtis function, providing support for its advertisers, to broader commercial resource, expanding the role for opinion research in marketing.

1930s

1930s

Invention of probability sampling, enabling US government to better predict crop yields when Dust Bowl conditions threatened national food supply.

1940s

1940s

Spin-off as National Analysts (1943), creating one of the US survey industry’s leading firms and accelerating the momentum behind growing role of opinion research as tool for public policy and marketing.

1960s

1960s

A series of major methodological milestones that dramatically expanded the market research toolkit, including early commercial application of “focus group” technique (first ever in healthcare marketing) and one of the first surveys ever admitted as evidence in federal court.

1970s

1970s

Acquisition by global consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, setting stage for genesis of unique hybrid research/consulting firm and inspiring a new period of innovation.

First published use of “occasion-based” segmentation (in collaboration with The Coca-Cola Company) and early work in other emerging techniques, including conjoint and multidimensional scaling, created new ways to model and map markets.

1980s

1980s

Debut of the industry’s first dedicated healthcare practice, helping revolutionize pharmaceutical marketing with introduction of industry’s first forecasting algorithm customized for the pharma industry.

First text on theory and practice of qualitative research methodology and landmark book presenting framework for B2B market segmentation.

1990s

1990s

Emergence as independent research-based consulting firm through acquisition by two Booz.Allen partners (Susan Schwartz McDonald and John Berrigan).

EARLY

2000s

EARLY

2000s

Restructured as employee-owned stock ownership firm (ESOP), industry’s first, under leadership of Susan Schwartz McDonald.

2010s

2010s

Centennial anniversary and rebranding as NAXION to better reflect 21st century global capabilities and contemporary suite of consulting services.

2020s

2020s

With transition to full ESOP, firm renews commitment to shaping direction of the insights industry through employee-owned boutique service model.