Market Research Agency San Diego

Southern California's innovation coast. Kadence delivers market research for organizations in San Diego, combining understanding of one of America's most dynamic biotech, defense and tourism markets with a global research network spanning Asia, Europe and the Americas.

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San Diego offers brands a unique combination of world-class research institutions, a thriving life sciences sector, significant military presence and one of the most desirable lifestyle markets in the United States. Kadence brings over 30 years of global expertise to this distinctive Southern California market. For San Diego-based companies looking to research consumers and markets beyond the US, our global office network delivers on-the-ground expertise across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

San Diego's position in the US market

Research briefs coming out of San Diego tend to sit across several very different audiences inside the same metro, and Kadence designs studies with that mix in mind from the outset. Work is shaped around the call the team is actually trying to make, whether that is a local read or a study that extends well past the city.

San Diego studies most often work across customer and segmentation research, product and concept development, brand and communications evaluation, and the synthesis step that turns findings into something teams can act on, alongside the wider Kadence research offer. Where the decision actually gets made shapes how each piece of work is built, whether the team sits in San Diego, elsewhere in the US, or is coordinating across the Americas, Europe or Asia.

Across more than 30 years of research with many of the world's most recognizable brands, Kadence has learned to read markets where the commercial story changes quickly between neighboring zip codes. San Diego sits squarely in that category, and our work here is built with the pace of its biotech and defense sectors and the commercial weight of the San Diego-Tijuana border, the busiest land crossing in the world by traffic volume, firmly in view.

Our Global Expertise for San Diego

Kadence operates from offices across Asia, Europe and the Americas, with our US presence anchored by teams in New York and San Francisco. Our global network spans London, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai, Jakarta, Mumbai, Bangalore and beyond.

For San Diego-based organizations expanding internationally, particularly in life sciences, technology and defense, our network provides seamless coordination and genuine local expertise in each market.

We’re consistently recognized as a leading market research agency across multiple markets.

AURA Innovation of the Year award

Innovation of the Year

Finalist

— The AURAs, 2021
Agency of the Year Awards, 2021

Market Research Agency of the Year

Winner – Gold

— Agency of the Year Awards, 2021
Marketing Interactive Agency of the Year, Winner - Gold, 2021

Consultant of the Year

Winner – Gold

— Agency of the Year Awards, 2021
Kadence team collecting Agency of the Year award

Consultant of the Year

Winner

— Agency of the Year Awards, 2020
Agency of the Year Awards, 2020

Market Research Agency of the Year

Finalist

— Agency of the Year Awards, 2020
Quirks Supplier of the Year Kadence International

Market Research Supplier of the Year

Winner

— Marketing Research & Insight Excellence Awards – 2019
Kadence International Market Research Agency of the Year Singapore

Market Research Agency of the Year

Winner

— Agency of the Year Awards, 2019
Kadence International is Highly Commended for Global Agency of The Year

Global Agency of the Year

Highly Commended

— Market Research Society Awards, 2019
Market Research Society's Operations Awards, 2019

Best Data Collection (face-to-face)

Finalist

— Market Research Society's Operations Awards – 2019
Best Data Collection, Finalist — Market Research Society's Operations Awards, 2019

Best Data Collection (telephone)

Finalist

— Market Research Society's Operations Awards, 2019
MRS Opperations Awards Trophy

Best Training and Development

Highly Commended

— Market Research Society's Operations Awards, 2019
MRS Young Researcher of the Year

MRS Young Researcher of the Year

Finalist

— MRS, 2023
ESOMAR Best Congress Paper

ESOMAR Best Congress Paper

Winner

— ESOMAR, 2023

San Diego Market Research

Our US team delivers end-to-end market research for organizations operating in San Diego and across the United States. Projects cover the full research lifecycle, from early exploration and market sizing through concept and product development, brand and advertising work, and into launch tracking and longer-term measurement. Some programs run as tight sprints built around a single decision; others are multi-wave studies following a market across several years. The common thread is research teams actually use, delivered in the format that matches how the decision gets made.

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FAQs

How diverse is Asia Pacific culturally?

The short answer is that Asia is incredibly rich and nuanced from a cultural standpoint: the multitude of religious beliefs, histories, languages, and other cultural markers means that each market is more different than similar. This can make Asia Pacific market research challenging without the right partner to help you understand the intricacies of each country. That said, though, the ‘urban Asia’ experience is similar to some extent, and popular culture does form the basis to link up a couple of the Asian markets, so there can be ways to seek out common threads amidst the vibrancy of difference.

Do I need to do all my market research in Asia in local / vernacular languages?

As a rule yes. By conducting research in the local language, consumers will have the capability and confidence to express their thoughts and feelings toward the brands, products or services in question. Unlike some market research agencies in Asia, Kadence has a range of languages in-house thanks to our network of Asian offices, so local language moderation is a service we can provide. That said, it is possible to carry out research in English in some markets (e.g. Singapore, India, Philippines), depending on the subject matter and education level of the respondents you want to reach.

For large Asian markets like China and India, how many cities do we need to cover with our research?

We recommend at least a combination of 1st tier and 2nd tier cities, as well as 3rd tier and rural locations, if possible. On top of getting a read on geographic and demographic differences in the reactions to your products and services, lifestyle / intra-market attitudinal variations exist, so the wider you are able to carry out your research, the more comprehensive your resulting understanding of the market will be.

Are there certain research approaches or methodologies that work better in one Asian market, compared to another?

Yes. Cultural differences between Asian markets mean that you need to carefully consider your methodology. For instance, we find that in-depth interviews, rather than group-based discussions, can work better for some topics in markets like Japan, where there can be a tendency to ‘self-censor’. In contrast, the one-on-one format lends itself better to building trust and establishing bonds between interviewer and respondent, often leading to more productive conversations. 

You’ll also need to consider the technological infrastructure of the markets you’re researching. In India, for instance, you’ll need to take a mobile first approach for reaching those outside metros and tier 1 cities. This is also true of mobile-first markets like Indonesia and China. Whilst cultural considerations can be diverse and numerous, we’re on hand to help, based on our long history of conducting market research in Asia.

Does the sequence of which markets I do my research first in Asia matter?

Unless there are specific roll-out plans that have strategic importance for your product or service across markets, our experience has taught us that any order comes back down to organizational preference. Your internal stakeholders may want to start the research in a market that is a stronghold for the brand to establish ground understanding, then venture into unfamiliar grounds to gather ‘new news’, or vice versa. Ultimately, Kadence is flexible in terms of how / when / where to start a piece of research, and in the absence of real preference, is willing to provide our suggestions and justifications for any arrangements.

Our Customers

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Bloomberg
Unilever
Samsung
Panasonic
Mitsubishi
Mars
Arla
Discovery Networks Asia Pacific
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FAQs

How does San Diego's biotech cluster affect consumer research?

San Diego's concentration of life sciences and biotechnology companies creates a significant professional workforce with higher-than-average incomes and distinct consumer preferences. Research design benefits from understanding how this innovation economy shapes the region's consumer landscape alongside the military and tourism sectors.

What industries does Kadence research in San Diego?

We work with organizations across San Diego's key sectors, including life sciences, biotechnology, defense, technology, tourism, healthcare and consumer goods. Our researchers understand the competitive dynamics specific to the Southern California border region. For San Diego companies in these sectors looking to expand internationally, our global offices provide the same depth of industry knowledge and local consumer understanding in each target market.

Does Kadence run research across the San Diego-Tijuana commercial corridor?

Yes. San Diego and Tijuana function as a single commercial corridor for a large share of manufacturing, supply chain and cross-border consumer work, and our studies regularly reach from South Bay into Baja California where the brief calls for it. Fieldwork design accounts for the bilingual nature of the audience and the operational links on both sides of the border.

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