May, 2026.- Brand tracking has a reputation problem. Slow. Expensive. Backward-looking. A report that gets skimmed once, nodded at, and then parked in a folder never to be opened again. Ben Farnsworth knows this because he lived it—not as a vendor, but as the client.
Now, as the newly appointed Sales Director at The Research Agency (TRA), Farnsworth is bringing an enterprise SaaS mindset to the insights industry. His mission? To build a proper commercial engine around TRA Tracking and finally give marketers what they’ve been missing: speed, usability, and a clear line between brand health and commercial growth.
In this interview, Farnsworth explains why traditional tracking has become disconnected from the real-time decisions marketers actually need to make. The answer is not just better dashboards or faster reports. It’s a fundamentally different proposition: an always-on, fully customizable platform that pairs generative AI—through an assistant named Arti—with genuine human consulting expertise. Because AI, he argues, cannot replicate trust, distinctiveness, or the emotional shortcut that makes someone choose your brand before even considering a list.
Farnsworth also brings a rare perspective, having launched and scaled businesses across APAC, the UK, and Europe. He understands the nuance of selling insights versus traditional SaaS. It’s less black and white. More consultative. You have to help clients see the value, not just demonstrate it. And he is building a product marketing function from the ground up to ensure that TRA Tracking stops being “the best kept secret” and becomes a commercial asset rather than a discretionary expense.
From democratizing access within organizations to navigating the rise of AI-generated “slop” that threatens to flatten everything around brand, this conversation is a masterclass in how to reposition brand tracking as essential—not just for CMOs, but for CFOs as well.
1. The Newly Created Sales Director Role: You’ve joined TRA in a newly created role to drive growth for TRA Tracking. What gap in the agency’s commercial capability did this role exist to fill, and how do you define success in your first 12 months?
The role really exists to build a proper commercial engine around Tracking. TRA’s always had great product and thinking but this new role allows me to push Tracking harder commercially than it previously has been.
For me, success in the first 12 months is simple. Get Tracking properly into market, land some key clients, and build the TRA brand. If we’ve got momentum and a few strong new logos on board, that’s a win. I can’t wait to get my first run on the board.
2. From Enterprise SaaS to Insights: Your background is in enterprise SaaS, having launched and scaled businesses across APAC, the UK, and Europe. How does selling an insights platform differ from selling traditional SaaS? What’s similar, and what’s fundamentally different?
There’s a lot that’s similar. You’re still selling into multiple stakeholders, you still need a clear value story, and of course, still need to show ROI. I’m also pretty used to selling into CMOs while navigating procurement at the same time, so that part feels very familiar.
The difference is insights is a bit less black and white. It’s not just “this tool does X”. You’re selling a combination of data, thinking, and impact on decisions.
So, it’s a bit more consultative. You’ve got to help clients see the value, not just demonstrate it.
3. The TRA Tracking Proposition: You described TRA Tracking as “exactly what the market has been missing.” What have marketers been missing from traditional brand tracking, and how does TRA’s combination of human-centered consulting and AI change the game?
Speed and usability have been the missing links. Traditional tracking is often slow, backward-looking, and ends up as a report that gets skimmed once and parked.
What we’re offering is an always-on and usable day-to-day product. You’ve got the dashboard, you’ve got Arti – Tracking’s AI assistant – to help surface insights quickly, but importantly you’ve still got the human layer to interpret it properly.
It’s also fully customisable. Unlike a lot of platforms, you’re not locked into a fixed set of questions. You can tailor it to what matters most to your brand.
That combination is what changes it from reporting into something you can actually use to make decisions.
4. Commercializing in a Global Context: You noted that the opportunity to “commercialise TRA Tracking in a global context” was a key driver for you. What does global commercialization look like for TRA, and what markets are you most excited about?
For me, global just means not being limited to where TRA has traditionally operated. The product is strong enough to travel, and we already have clients using Tracking across 28 markets.
Short term, it’s about building on the success the team has had in Australia over the past few years. There’s a clear opportunity across APAC and beyond, but honestly we’re still barely scratching the surface here in Australia.
The exciting bit is that the challenges marketers face are consistent globally, just with some local nuances. So, if we get the growth model right here, it can be replicated overseas.
