JWT - powering decision making

JWT London is an integrated international creative agency. The company works with global brands such as Shell, HSBC, Nestle, Lego and Nokia to create and execute memorable and effective marketing campaigns. Founded more than 100 years ago, JWT, now part of WPP Group, is one of the largest advertising agencies in the world.

The challenge

Access to up to date information is critical to almost every aspect of the work that JWT London carries out. From sending out a daily newsletter to all employees to conducting research for new business opportunities, JWT London needs constant access to timely and accurate information to drive its decision making.

JWT London invests heavily in research , with a dedicated department headed up by Business Intelligence Director Marie Stafford. Part of Marie's role is to ensure her team has access to relevant information at their fingertips: "We use over 30 different tools to provide access to different kinds of information and insight – from market and consumer research data to news gathering – which makes information an important and significant investment for JWT London, " commented Marie.

The solutions

Nexis® is a comprehensive global news and business resource with more UK regional coverage than any similar provider, plus biographical, company, regulatory and legal information. Nexis contains over 23,000 news sources, local, national and international, and a huge range of company, financial and industry sources. The database also includes access to a variety of trade and professional business journals.

JWT London has a hugely diverse need for news and information gathering. Requirements vary from researching new business opportunities to gathering data on brands, markets or consumers.

The research team use Nexis to provide information that powers decision making within JWT London: "At the start of the day we use  Nexis  to alert us to relevant news on clients. During the working day we use Nexis to monitor cultural shifts, track trends or gauge the growth of new technologies. Of all the tools we have access to, Nexis is the most indispensable ," commented Marie.

The benefits

• Information from trusted sources
• An archive of up to 35 years
• More than 23,000 news sources
• Easy access to information

Stafford believes Nexis provides three key advantages over information that is freely available on the internet: "I know that I can trust the information that I get from Nexis. With the public web it can be difficult to tell the difference between information from a genuine news source and a personal blog. Nexis also enables me to search thousands of news titles through one tool – delivering the results I need quickly and effectively. Furthermore the archive in Nexis goes back decades – something that we have been grateful for on more than one occasion."

Stafford appreciates the simplicity that comes with using Nexis. "Unlike a web page, you can instantly download numerous articles on one go, without needing to strip out images or copy and paste. It would take considerably more time and resource to complete the work that we do without Nexis." An unexpected benefit of using Nexis has been a reduction in the number – and cost – of printed media being purchased: "Because Nexis has access to more than 23,000 news sources, we no longer need to purchase most of the publications that we used to."

Nexis is a critical tool for delivering the news and information that JWT London needs to thrive. As Stafford outlines: "Of the 30 or so information products and services we subscribe to, Nexis would be one of the last that I would give up. It is so versatile and the content is very current. My job would be immeasurably more difficult without access to Nexis – much of what we need as a business is there."