Who are we?

Patterson, Langlois is a marketing and marketing research consultancy. We help global, national and local clients with their marketing problems and challenges. Guided by its two principals – John Patterson and Madeleine Langlois, the company partners with global and national research corporations, and talented individuals. We have been in operation – and successful – since 1995.

The one thing we feel defines who we are and what distinguishes us is our focus on how research projects are framed, and the effort we put into understanding the problem at hand.   This is difficult work that demands that we get to know our clients, a stockpile of mutual trust, and a tolerance for honest exchanges.   It explains why we tend to work for long periods of time for just a few clients.  

 There is no shortage of methodological expertise and basic competence in the world of marketing research, but these are no help if applied to a poorly framed question.  In our experience, good research is as much an “inside job” as it is something that happens “out there”.   

What do we do?

It’s perhaps cliché, but we actually believe we bring insight to our clients. We try to do that by helping them understand the harmonies and clashes between their way of thinking and that of their target audiences.

To this end, we approach all of our clients and projects with certain predispositions:

First, we presume to the building of a long -term strategic partnership with our clients, with all of the exposure, learning and attentiveness that implies. Our experience has taught us that these are the only relationships worth working for, and the only ones that can help provide the kind of enhanced strategic perspective our clients seek.  

Second (and an unabashed bias): that focus on the complexity of consumers and constituents is crucial. We are all about putting them at the center of your models, your preoccupations, and your strategic decisions. It needs to be re-emphasized: people are highly fractured, heterogeneous and constantly evolving. Because of this, no question on brand, strategy, communications, positioning, promotion or priority can be answered properly without clear and validated accounting for their diversity.

Otherwise, we actually do the following:

• Qualitative research projects from start to finish;
• Quantitative research projects, including orientation, client liaison, design, analysis and reporting (we do not have fielding capability);
• Brief Writing;
• Consultation on research needs and design;
• Project management;
• Marketing and organizational consulting.