Is there much competition between local firms and global agencies?
In Malaysia, market share is dominated by the global agencies but we are finding that local boutique agencies are becoming more prevalent and confident in their offerings. I think this trend will only grow in the coming years. Many global companies also have a presence in Malaysia with some of them even establishing regional research hubs in Kuala Lumpur. A relatively low-cost labour hub coupled with strong IT infrastructure is making Malaysia an attractive business destination. We are certainly seeing many more ‘multi-country studies’ where Malaysia acts as the coordinating base. Are more ‘outside’ agencies looking to take a foothold in the country? Yes, in the last couple of years we have had two large global agencies set-up a presence in Malaysia and there are still one or two others that are not present. I’m sure it won’t be long before we have the full set. Which methodologies are proving popular with clients and in which sectors? We are finding that qualitative is growing very fa
