Sparks Research names Mckee Chief of Strategy; launches new brand and website

Brand enhancement and new website driven by McKee’s vision for innovative, data-driven solutions that maximize client value

CLEMSON, SC – Sparks Research, a leading national marketing research and business intelligence firm for over 40 years, announced its naming of John-David McKee as Chief Strategy Officer, and to introduce its new brand image and website.

In this new position, McKee leads the corporate strategy for Sparks, setting the future direction of the company.  His primary responsibilities include strategic business planning, marketing, product development, strategic partnerships, and new growth opportunities.

McKee is an entrepreneur, educator and consultant, having joined Sparks from Umatch, Inc., the technology company he founded which focused on increasing college student completion rates through interest-based social networking and data-driven intelligence tailored for administrative decision making and resource allocation.  He has a reputation for building innovative solutions out of research and intelligence, and brings valuable skills and experience which include corporate strategy, technology, digital marketing, analytics and marketing research.

“John-David is always looking to the future and how to make the company better.  His entrepreneurial outlook and experience, deep understanding of marketing and technology, and his research and analytical background make him uniquely qualified to guide the Company’s continued growth and transformation,” said Richard Groom, CEO, Sparks Research.

As his first major initiative, McKee led the company through a re-brand and launch of its new website http://www.sparksresearch.com. Sparks’ new website takes a solutions-based approach, and features dynamic visuals to compliment the new brand.  The site is the heart of the Sparks brand, where visitors can seek out solutions, talk to a researcher, or engage with the original content that ranges from research best practices, client success stories and numerous educational topics.

“Our brand enhancement is visual reinforcement of our commitment to innovation and quality that is at the heart of our ability to serve our clients’ needs,” said McKee.  “Our team is committed to continually strive to push our limits and get better.  Within the research side of our business, we are leveraging innovative technology and techniques to re-envision the final product our clients receive to ensure it is easy-to-interpret, dynamic and aesthetically pleasing. Most importantly, we are doubling-down on what in recent years has become our key differentiator – our proclivity for delivering high-impact, meaningful insights.  We’re also expanding our efforts and focus in business intelligence, analytics and predictive modeling.  We already do a lot of work in these areas, and we are seeing an ever-increasing demand and need for quality, reliable services in this space.  Data is everywhere, and businesses are struggling to make it work for them.  Our experienced BI [business intelligence] and analytics team has a proven ability to take data, whether it’s data we’ve collected or their [the client’s] existing data, and pull out the key information that will help drive business decisions.  At the end of the day, it’s all about having the critical pieces you need to move the needle, and we’ve proven time and time again that we can do that as well as anyone in the industry.”

About Sparks Research

Sparks Research is a full-service marketing research and business intelligence firm located in Clemson, SC.  Founded in 1971 by marketing research pioneer Dr. David Sparks, Sparks Research translates marketing research and analytical findings into marketplace solutions for its clients, which include Fortune 100 global companies and leading national and regional companies in industries such as financial services, retail, higher education, automotive, professional services, utilities, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, manufacturing, and general services industries. 

Sparks Research’s marketing research and analytical services are built around its four pillars – Customer, Consumer & Market, Concepts, Products & Services, and Employee, Associate & Organizational.  Sparks offers full-service marketing research capabilities that ensure it can select the best methodologies for its clients and the business questions they’re trying to answer.  Sparks’ experienced, accessible management team can handle nearly any project, including Quantitative Studies (e.g., telephone, mail, online surveys; intercept surveys; Competitive Intelligence; customer panels), Qualitative Capabilities (IDI’s; focus groups, observational research and projective techniques) and reporting.  Business Intelligence and analytical capabilities include forecasting, predictive modeling/analytics, prescriptive modeling, big data analytics, social data intelligence, price modeling, data mining, and machine learning.