Market Research Agency Toronto

Kadence is a trusted market research agency supporting brands in Toronto with insight that drives confident decisions. As Canada's largest city and financial capital, Toronto is the gateway to the Canadian consumer market.

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With over 30 years of experience, Kadence has partnered with some of the world's most recognizable brands. Our researchers understand the cultural diversity, competitive intensity and commercial scale that define Toronto, and we design every study to deliver clarity that informs real business decisions.

Research expertise for Canada's financial capital

Toronto is home to nearly seven million people across the Greater Toronto Area, making it one of North America's largest and most diverse metropolitan regions. The city serves as Canada's center for financial services, technology, media, healthcare and professional services, with a consumer base that is highly educated, digitally engaged and shaped by immigration from every corner of the world.

This diversity is Toronto's defining characteristic for research. Over half the city's population was born outside Canada, with significant communities from South Asia, East Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe. Consumer attitudes, media consumption and brand preferences vary substantially across these communities. Research that treats Toronto as a monolithic market misses the nuance that drives real purchasing decisions.

Toronto is also Canada's media capital and the primary market for national brand campaigns. Understanding how advertising lands here, how brand perception shifts across audience segments and how digital and traditional channels interact in this market is essential for organizations competing at scale.

Kadence helps brands build that understanding. Our research helps brands understand their audiences, evaluate opportunity and make informed strategic choices. Whether the objective is to segment the Toronto market, test a new proposition, evaluate campaign effectiveness or map customer experience, we design studies that deliver practical, evidence-based answers.

Our Global Expertise for Toronto

As part of Kadence International, our Toronto research connects to a global network of offices across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Teams in New York, San Francisco, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City support projects that extend beyond Canada's borders.

For Toronto-based organizations expanding into Asian markets, our deep regional presence across the continent is a clear advantage. We bring genuine local knowledge from each market, combined with the methodological consistency that makes multi-market research comparable and useful. For international brands entering Canada through Toronto, our team provides the cultural understanding and market context needed to compete effectively.

We’re consistently recognised 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

Toronto Market Research

Toronto's scale and diversity require research that is carefully designed to reach the right audiences and produce insight that accounts for the city's complexity.

We work with organizations across financial services, technology, healthcare, retail, CPG and media to build a detailed picture of their Toronto audiences. Our segmentation and customer understanding research identifies the distinct consumer groups within the GTA, what motivates them and how their needs differ from audiences in Vancouver, Edmonton and other Canadian markets.

For brands developing new products or services, we run concept testing and proposition validation that draws on Toronto's diverse consumer base. Brand tracking and creative research measure performance in Canada's most competitive advertising market, where cutting through is harder than almost anywhere else in the country.

Our fieldwork covers the full Greater Toronto Area and extends across Ontario and nationally as needed. We manage recruitment and data collection using online, telephone and in-person methodologies, ensuring every study reaches the audiences that matter most.

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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 Kadence account for Toronto's multicultural population in research?

Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities, with over half its population born outside Canada. Kadence designs studies that reach specific cultural communities through targeted recruitment, multilingual fieldwork options and research frameworks that account for cultural differences in attitudes, media habits and purchasing behavior.

Can Kadence manage research across the full Greater Toronto Area?

Yes. The GTA covers a vast metropolitan region with significant demographic variation between neighborhoods and municipalities. Our recruitment strategies ensure geographic and demographic representation across the full GTA, from downtown Toronto through to Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Vaughan and beyond.

What makes Toronto strategically important for Canadian market research?

Toronto is Canada's largest city, financial capital and primary media market. It accounts for a disproportionate share of national consumer spending and is the market where most national brand campaigns are tested and launched. Understanding Toronto is often the first step for any brand serious about competing in Canada.

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