Professional Services Flagship Report

Fractional economist lead on 8AM's inaugural flagship report on the state of professional services firms — covering economic health, AI adoption, and financial trends across legal and accounting. Three-layer data synthesis designed for press distribution.

The brief

8AM (PR firm for AffiniPay) wants a flagship market report that establishes them as the data authority on professional services firm economics. The audiences are the firms themselves, press, investors, and 8AM's internal teams as a sales asset. Target: early-to-mid September 2026, ahead of Kaleidoscope conference.

Engagement routed via Aaron Terrazas referral.

What I'm doing

Phase 1 (May–June 2026): Kickoff on 8AM's internal platform data. Macro framework for legal and accounting services. Survey co-development — 15–20 questions designed so the findings serve the narrative, not the other way around.

Phase 2 (June–August 2026): Three-layer synthesis — platform data, survey results, and macro/national statistics. Report narrative drafted iteratively with 8AM's team.

Phase 3 (August–September 2026): Finalisation and Kaleidoscope conference prep. Optional press outreach to Bloomberg, WSJ, and Business Insider built into the timeline from the start.

What this demonstrates

End-to-end research programme ownership. This is the first post-LDT commercial engagement under Creo Insights — a fractional research lead role spanning methodology, data synthesis, survey design, narrative architecture, and press strategy across a 4-month timeline.

The press distribution strategy is not an afterthought. It is built into the research design from Phase 1.