Ipsos and Amgen scoop 2 MRS Awards

The Market Research Society awards our syndicated ethnographic study on patients living with Psoriasis

Ipsos and biopharma company, Amgen, were double winners at the MRS Awards 2014 – taking both the Grand Prix for Greatest Impact Award and the Award for Healthcare Research.

Both awards were in recognition of their ground-breaking submission, ‘Cultures of secrecy and hiding: a global syndicated ethnographic investigation into patients living with Psoriasis'. The award-winning study was conceived and delivered in collaboration between Ipsos’s Ethnography Centre of Excellence, Ipsos Healthcare’s Autoimmune Therapy Monitor Team and Amgen.

The uniqueness of this global study comes in many forms: its ethnographic video approach when Psoriasis patients are difficult to engage due to the sensitivity of their condition; the fact it is syndicated and offers efficient access to these hard to reach patients; and its focus on the patients’ own experience of living with their disease rather than the doctors’ perspective.

The judges applauded Ipsos and Amgen for the responsible and innovative use of ethnography, and commented that this contribution should be read by next year’s would-be winners and “any researcher interested in the power of research for genuine social change.”