YouGov

2000–2010

Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi formed YouGov in the United Kingdom in May 2000. In 2001, they engaged BBC political analyst Peter Kellner, who became chairman and then, from 2007 to 2016, President.

In its initial years, YouGov hired a number of notable commentators to write columns on its website, including future UK prime minister Boris Johnson, and presenter John Humphrys. In April 2005, YouGov became a public company listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. In the same year, the company launched YouGov BrandIndex, which tracks public opinion on consumer brands using daily polls.

In 2006, YouGov began expanding outside the UK through acquisitions and acquired Dubai-based research firm Siraj for $1.2 million plus an eventual earn-out of $600,000. In 2007, the Palo Alto, California-based US research polling firm Polimetrix, headed by Stanford University professor Doug Rivers, was acquired by the company for approximately $17 million. Also in 2007, the company acquired Scandinavian firm Zapera for $8 million and German firm Psychonomics for $20 million. In 2009 and 2010, YouGov expanded its US operations with two acquisitions, first buying Princeton, New Jersey, research firm Clear Horizons for $600,000 plus an earn-out of $2.7 million, then Connecticut-based research firm Harrison Group for $6 million with a $7 million earn-out.

In 2010, YouGov bought a 20% stake of sports media data company SMG Insight. In 2018, the company acquired the remaining 80% of SMG Insight's stock. The new business was rebranded YouGov Sport.

Ahead of the 2010 UK General Election, YouGov entered an exclusive contract to provide political polls to The Times. The business also launched TellYouGov, which combined analysis drawing from social media data and polling results. The business continues to analyse social media, now primarily via YouGov Signal.

2011–2020

In 2011, YouGov acquired Portland, Oregon-based firm Definitive Insights for $1 million with a potential $2 million earn-out and also made its first organic expansion by opening an office in Paris. In January 2014, YouGov entered the Asia Pacific region with the acquisition of Decision Fuel for an estimated consideration of approximately £5 million. Also in 2014, YouGov launched Profiles, an audience segmentation tool, combining data points from its most active panellists showing how the public engages with traditional and new media channels.

In 2016, Peter Kellner stepped down as the company’s Chairman. In this year, YouGov began to use a methodology known as multi-level regression and post-stratification (MRP) in its political polling. Its first public use was during the United Kingdom’s referendum on EU membership. YouGov has used this approach around elections since.

In the 2017 UK General Election, YouGov’s projection was an outlier. While most pollsters projected large Conservative majorities, YouGov correctly predicted a hung parliament. YouGov modelling rightly projected a number of shock results, including in Kensington and Canterbury.