WPP has reported revenue up just 1.2% to £1.19bn in its consumer insight division in the first half of the year, while headline operating profit fell slightly to £84m. The group has also confirmed that following tax changes, it plans to move its HQ back to the UK from Ireland. More
TNS has opened its first office in Cambodia, through a partnership with local market and social research firm MSD, which has a network of locations across the country. More
WPP shareholders have voted against a proposed 60% increase in CEO Sir Martin Sorrell's pay package. Separately, WPP says its Consumer Insight arm has been 'stable' in the first four months of 2012, with a 3.3% revenue rise adding to the group's £3.2 billion turnover. More
Kantar has paid around $1.2 million for a minority stake in online automotive customer feedback specialist Enprecis Inc. More
WPP has reported first quarter revenues up 7.4% at constant currencies, to £2.39 bn. Organic revenue growth was 4.0%. However the consumer insight division once again lagged behind with revenues up 3.3% on a constant currency basis, or 1.3% excluding acquisitions. More
TNS has signed an agreement with research agency UNIMER to expand its operation in Central America. More
Tamer El Naggar, the former CEO of Synovate Middle East & North Africa (MENA), has joined TNS as Chief Executive Officer of its North Africa business. More
In Miami, TNS has appointed former Synovate exec Franck Sarrazit as Global Director in the company's Brand & Communication practice, with a remit to support the development of its offer globally and a particular focus on the needs of clients in Latin America and the US. More
After more than seventeen years at ORC International, Martin Grimwood has left to head the financial services team at TNS-RI. More
TNS Global Chairman Jamie Hall is to retire next week, after nearly 30 years in the market research industry. More
In the UK, TNS has appointed Rebecca Wynberg as CEO of its qualitative business. She returns to Kantar to take up her new role in January. More
WPP Chief Exec Sir Martin Sorrrell has told the UK government that its proposed tax reforms do not go far enough to lure his business back from Ireland to its original UK headquarters. More
In Poland, opinion and social research specialist TNS OBOP is to merge with ad hoc research provider TNS Pentor in early 2012. More
TNS has acquired the remainder of Polish firm OÅ“rodek Badania Opinii Publicznej sp.z.o.o. (OBOP) from Telewizja Polska S.A. (TVP), Poland's public broadcasting corporation. The research giant already owned 60% of the company. More
WPP has reported third quarter revenue of £2.46bn, representing like-for-like growth of 4.7%, but says its insight division grew much slower than any other, revenues rising less than 1%. More
TNS has today announced the appointment of Kristin Sharp as global COO of its qualitative business, starting immediately. She joins from Ipsos' US qual division Understanding UnLtd, of which she was CEO and President. More
WPP's consumer insight group Kantar has acquired the remaining shares in Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB), in which it already had a 49% stake. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
TNS has appointed Research International veteran Mark Kingsbury as Global Head of Marketing Sciences, based in the UK and responsible for building the firm's existing technical capabilities and developing new solutions. More
WPP's salary body is to consider a fifty percent rise in the basic salary of CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, who in November 2008 rejected a scheduled review as 'inappropriate' for the economic climate. Sorrell's £1m basic, unchanged since January 2007, is a smallish part of his total income from the firm. More
TNS has taken its TRI*M Reputation Manager product into the digital sphere, to help clients analyse online media and take appropriate action. More
In the UK, TNS Omnibus has launched ChatterBus, which offers access in short time segments to general or targeted groups via an online community format. More
WPP has made a non-binding offer to acquire the shares of ad and marketing services company D.A. Consortium Inc. (DAC) from Japan's Asatsu-DK Inc., in which the ad and insights giant already has a 22.9% stake. More
Jan Hofmeyr, formerly Synovate's International Director of Innovation, has joined TNS in a 'global thought leadership role', responsible for building the firm's approach to behaviour change and embedding this across the group. More
WPP's Consumer Insight division has reported a meagre 2.3% rise in like-for-like revenue (1.3% actual) for the first half of the year, following slower growth in the US, the UK and Japan in the second quarter. However, pre-tax profits rose 37% to £334.3m. More
TNS has been awarded the Flash Eurobarometer contract by the European Commission and European Parliament, beating four rival bidders. The four-year contract could be worth up to EUR 60 million. More
TNS has hired Martin Lambie-Nairn as Creative Director, a new position with a remit to improve the look and feel of the company's deliverables and work with local and global management to develop their creative capabilities. More
TNS has announced a European partnership with digital ad measurement specialist Alenty, to deliver a solution assessing the business impact of display ads. Initially available France, Germany, Spain and the UK, the service should roll out to more countries soon. More
Kantar is to roll out MarketTools' TrueSample quality solution across its network, following the breakdown of the Promedius Group, the not-for-profit quality consortium it launched with GfK and Ipsos less than a year ago. More
WPP Chief Exec Sir Martin Sorrell has suggested that the group may double the amount available for acquisitions this year, as it looks to invest in new media and emerging markets and take advantage of better conditions in the ad industry. More
In Germany, Andreas Kösters has been appointed to the management board of TNS Infratest, replacing Bruno Hötzel who steps down to focus on his role as Director of TNS Central Europe. More
TNS has appointed former Harris exec Stephan Sigaud as Head of its North American Customer Experience Management practice. The firm has also hired former GfK HR strategist Paul Fiolek as Head of Human Resources. More
Kantar has today announced a partnership with online facilities company ActiveGroup Ventures, giving the research giant worldwide access to facility based research via video streaming. More
Kantar Chairman and CEO Eric Salama has taken on the additional role of CEO of TNS from Pedro Ros, who now becomes TNS non-executive Chairman. Ros replaces Jamie Hall, who will leave the business 'as planned' at some point in 2011. More
TNS-BMRB, the social research arm of Kantar, today announced the appointment of Ben Toombs, previously a Director at independent qual specialists Cragg Ross Dawson, as Qualitative Director. More
Consumer insight revenues at WPP have risen 3.4% on a constant currency basis, to £552.8m in the first quarter of 2011, compared with £542.5m in the prior year period. More
TNS has opened an office in Miami to serve regional clients across Latin America. The operation will be led by industry veteran Gustavo Alvarez, who joins as Regional Accounts Director, Latin America. More
TNS has appointed Ivan Browne as Head of its Retail & Shopper Sector, based in London. He leaves GfK NOP, where he served as Business Development Director for the consumer products and retail division. More
In London, automotive research veteran Andy Turton has returned to TNS as Client Services Director for the Global Automotive Sector. More
Marcoms giant WPP has recorded a 4.4% increase in 2010 revenues to £2.43 billion in its Consumer Insight division. Meanwhile operating margins improved by 1.1 points to 9.7%. More
TNS Chairman Paul Edwards has left to join Omnicom-owned brand and communication research specialist Hall & Partners as European Chief Executive Officer, with a focus on leading the London office. More
In the UK, TNS has appointed former Microsoft marketer Tim Isaac as Global Marketing Director, based in the firm's London headquarters. More
TNS has expanded in Hungary, through the formation of a new joint venture with former RI affiliate Hoffmann Research International, now rebranded as TNS Hoffmann. More
Kantar-owned global trend research consultancy The Futures Company (TFC) has partnered with sister firm TNS to serve multinational and local clients in India. More
TNS Canada has announced that Dr Michael Antecol, Vice President for Western Canada, passed away suddenly on December 29, 2010 at the age of 42. More
TNS has kicked off the new year with a new 'global positioning' known as DISCOVER, which it says reflects its commitment to 'leading the way in research into new frontiers and making discoveries that help clients to develop opportunities'. More
TNS has acquired a majority stake in the Research and Marketing Services (RMS) group of companies in West and Central Africa. More
TNS has acquired Belgian shopper research specialist Retail Insights, and appointed its CEO Kristien Laureys to head up the Retail Insights division within TNS Belgium. More
TNS has restructured its operations in Asia Pacific (APAC) to reflect the differing needs of the region's diverse markets, and named its Singapore office as its new APAC regional headquarters. More
Kantar has increased the size of its Worldpanel in the UK by 20%, to include data from 30,000 households by the end of 2011. The firm has also announced other enhancements to the overall Worldpanel service. More
In the UK, TNS has moved James Fergusson to the post of Global Technology Head, responsible for leading the sector team and strengthening its presence across all markets. More
India's Federal Government has been asked by the Kerala regional government to 'investigate' a door-to-door survey asking Muslims for their views on sensitive questions concerning religion and politics. Interviews were by TNS for Washington-based Princeton Survey Research Associates (PSRAI). More
TNS has re-organised its operations in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (APMEA) into two separate regions - TNS Africa and Middle East (AME) led by Kim Macilwaine and TNS Asia Pacific (APAC) headed by Chris Riquier. More
TNS has formed a new central division called Corporate Development, incorporating a number of current areas of marketing and strategy expertise. Matthew Froggatt, until now Technology Sector Head, has been appointed to lead the new unit as Chief Development Officer. More
Kantar Media has introduced DirectHEAT, a new subscription service delivering custommised multimedia ad intelligence to media sellers. More
WPP-owned sister firms TNS Research International and digital agency Wunderman have partnered in Africa, to help clients maximize opportunities in the 'digital sphere', while providing information about the potential of mobile Internet. More
Kantar has linked its Worldpanel scanned FMCG household purchase data with data from Kantar Media's TGI consumer insight survey. The resulting service, TGI Worldpanel, promises clients a detailed understanding of the link between media consumption, consumer attitudes and UK purchasing. More
In the UK, Kantar Media has rolled out a new approach to regional readership data collection, which it says offers a 'considerable cost saving' for publishers conducting regular readership research. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media - which specializes in providing TV, Internet and radio audience measurement services - has hired veteran media analyst Jeffrey Boehme to drive the development of new products and applications for set-top box (STB) data. More
TNS has hired Synovate's former CEO Iberia and Latin America Ignacio Galceran as Regional CEO Latin America, and a member of its Global Executive Committee. He joins the firm in October and takes up his new post next January. More
Kantar Media is planning to add qualitative research to its futurePROOF quantitative study, to provide an understanding of how media behaviour changes among early adopters of the iPad. More
Revenue and profits in WPP's Consumer Insight division rose in the first six months of 2010: the former slowly, up 2.4% on a like-for-like basis from a low comparative, but the latter more rapidly with headline profit before interest and tax (PBIT) up 22% to £83.7m. More
In the UK, Kantar-owned TNS-BMRB, which offers insight for government and not-for-profit clients, has launched a mixed mode research programme to prompt new thinking and best practice for tracking social trends across multiple modes of research. More
Two of the research industry's top four firms, Kantar and GfK, have announced an initiative aimed at promoting and assuring online data quality. The firms will seek 'broad industry participation' in their not-for-profit consortium, the Promedius Group. More
TNS has promoted Margit Huber to the position of Global HR, Talent Manager & Culture Director, with a remit to create an 'inspirational culture' across the group. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media has released 'Connect', a new solution that integrates a publisher's own web site metrics with survey data, to create a single-source database that links online behaviour to the attitudes that drive it. More
Kantar-owner WPP has reported improved results for the first five months of the year. Both Group revenues and those for the Insight division rose around 2% worldwide on a like-for-like basis while growth in May was well over 5%. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has developed a predictive tool to provide insights into how consumers will react to newspapers introducing paywalls on their web sites. More
TNS has promoted Michael Ennamorato to the post of Managing Director for Canada, with overall responsibility for direction of the firm in the Canadian market. More
WPP Group is gearing up to restart its acquisition strategy across the Asia-Pacific region, according to CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, speaking at The Financial Times and Marketing magazine event in Singapore on Tuesday. More
TNS has appointed Ian Stewart as Regional Director for Youth for the Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa region (AP MEA), charged with building a specialist youth practice and driving the firm's TRU teens syndicated service across the region. More
TNS has appointed Fabrizio Giordano as Managing Director of its Portuguese office, supported by Teresa Veloso as Client Services Director. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell says the figure reported in the press for Nielsen's possible valuation is 'out of the ballpark' and 'doesn't work in any way, shape or form'. Both companies reported encouraging results today, WPP forecasting growth for the year and Nielsen seeing 4% real revenue growth over Q1 2009. More
In the UK, marcoms giant WPP has developed a dashboard which combines media spend and performance data from its GroupM media arm with research from insight division Kantar, together with information on social media content, web analytics and client CRM data. More
Kantar Media has merged its media measurement and evaluation agency Millward Brown Precis Europe/UK into its Intelligence Sector. The merger will be effective 1 May 2010. More
In the US, WPP-owned Kantar Media North America - which provides insights, analyses and audience measurement services - has hired former Starcom MediaVest research chief Richard Fielding for the newly created post of Chief Client Officer. More
WPP's CEO Sir Martin Sorrell says the firm may return its tax domicile status back to the UK if a new government guarantees it will not subject overseas profits to UK tax. Since relocating 18 months ago, the firm has saved around £50m by avoiding tax on its 'foreign profits'. More
In the US, TNS and its sister company Cymfony have partnered with FMCG client Emory University to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new tracking model, designed to prove how including social media in the marketing mix can yield better results. More
TNS and Research and Marketing Services (RMS) have formed an agreement to provide customized research in West Africa. More
Marcoms giant WPP saw revenues in its insights division fall 9.5% on a like-for-like basis during 2009, whilst on the same basis gross margin fell by 7.7%. More
TNS has formalised its partnership with qual and quant agency Aftab Associates, to offer services in Pakistan and Afghanistan under the brand name of TNS-Aftab. More
Kantar owned TNS and Compete have launched a web evaluation service, which identifies areas of a brand's web site that are underperforming, and goes on to recommend how the client can enhance the site for optimal performance. More
ACNielsen HCI - a firm researching pharmaceutical promotions which was transferred to WPP in a 2008 regulatory asset swap - has been added to Kantar Health's Marketing Insight practice. More
In its second rebrand of the week, Kantar has re-named the TNS Worldpanel network as Kantar Worldpanel. Earlier in the week the group rebranded its media assets. More
WPP-owned insight consultancy Kantar has re-branded the media assets of TNS, KMR Group and BMRB Media as Kantar Media. More
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) has announced that its stations will no longer be included in audience measurement provided by AGB Nielsen Media Research, which has been carrying out TV audience research in the region since 1989. More
In the UK, TNS-BMRB has launched another new division, the Social & Political Attitudes Unit (SPA), which will focus on tracking social and political trends. More
TNS-BMRB has announced the launch of its first new division, 'The Communications Research Centre', a UK-based specialist team dedicated to communications research for the public sector. More
WPP Chief Martin Sorrell has told a Reuters summit that with 'vicious' price activity in the market, he expects the group's 2010 revenues to be flat. Sorrell says new business activity in his media businesses is strong, but in MR and creative functions there is less cheer. More
The recently launched Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) is to make digital set-top-box data (STB) its first priority, following a recent meeting held with audience measurement leaders. More
Kantar Media has expanded its Global Target Group Index (TGI) Network of syndicated single-source marketing and media studies, following parent WPP's acquisition of TNS. More
The recently formed Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) will be hosting a meeting with Nielsen, Rentrak, TiVo, TRA and TNS to discuss how the firms can work with the coalition to foster set-top box data research innovation. More
WPP has reported a like-for-like revenue decline of 8.7% for the third quarter - a smaller drop than was seen in the second quarter. Consumer insight revenues stayed depressed although margin was better. The firm also pointed to strong regional differences and predicted a 'LUV' shaped recession. More
In Turkey, TNS has been awarded a four-year contract to provide TV audience measurement, by local industry committee TIAK. The current deal, which expires in 2011, is held by AGB Nielsen Media Research. More
Today sees the official merger of TNS' UK Custom Division and Research International UK to become TNS Research International UK; and the merger of TNS Custom's UK Social sector with BMRB's social research team to become TNS-BMRB. More
In the UK, TNS has launched a tool that claims to provide clients with an 'early warning' of rival ad campaigns, and which it says 'bridges the gap' between ad pre-testing and tracking. More
TV technology firm NDS and TNS Media Research have enhanced their joint TV audience measurement offering by adding the ability to identify individual viewers in homes signed up to participate in a measurement panel. More
In Canada, ratings giant Arbitron and TNS Media Research have launched what they describe as the 'world's largest combined panel for TV and radio audience measurement', designed to support industry organisation BBM Canada's own multi-media measurement initiative. More
In Australia, TV technology firm NDS and TNS Media Research have partnered to track and analyze audience behaviour across pay-TV operator Foxtel's network, to enable it to introduce advanced advertising products. More
UK marcoms giant and Kantar-owner WPP has reported a 47.9% drop in first-half net profit to £108.4m from £208.2m a year earlier, but predicts a brighter performance for the rest of 2009. Like-for-like consumer insight revenue was down 10%. More
Shopper behaviour consultancy TNS Magasin has combined EEG (electroencephalography) and eye tracking technologies to capture shoppers' emotional and cognitive responses at what it describes as 'an unprecedented level of detail'. More
TNS Healthcare and consumer comms agency McCann Healthcare have linked to launch the first in a series of studies providing insights into the Singapore health sector. More
Australian readership research is in flux as incumbent currency provider Roy Morgan declines to take part in a new-look tender. As of yesterday, magazine publishing giant ACP has quit its national association in support of the Roy Morgan survey. More
Analysts expect ad giant and Kantar owner WPP to cut its sales forecast again this week. However the firm's debt position and strategic focus are considered solid, while buoyant reports in the UK press suggest business confidence in general has turned the corner. More
WPP's insight arm Kantar has appointed Marita Carballo as President for Latam (Latin America) and Fiona Keyte as Global Account Director for client, Procter & Gamble (P&G), in a move designed to strengthen the firm's client relationships and regional capability in Latin and South America. More
In the US, TNS Media Research has partnered with digital entertainment technology firm Rovi Corporation to develop advanced TV and set-top-box (STB) measurement solutions. More
TNS has launched a series of reports measuring the sporting and entertainment passions of consumers in Asia. More
TNS Media Research has been awarded a ground-breaking three year audience measurement contract to gain new insights into the viewing and behaviour of audiences in subscription TV homes across Australia. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has extolled the virtues of organic growth; of helping ad budgets to follow consumers online; and of a balance between local and multinational clients, as he looks five years into the future of WPP. More
In Germany, TNS Infratest has promoted Jens Krnger to the post of Head of Consumer & Retail, as part of its integration with Research International (RI). More
Kantar Health has hired Scott Davies as General Manager of China, to direct the group's growth strategy in the region. Kelly Wong has also been appointed as Business Leader and Head of Research, China. More
In Germany, the TNS Infratest Group - which includes TNS Emnid - has announced that it is to shed 35 staff positions at its Bielefeld site. While 20 employees have been made redundant, 15 others have been offered jobs in the firm's Hamburg office. More
WPP's insight division Kantar is to merge Lightspeed Research's online panel business with the TNS 6th Dimension network of online managed access panels. More
Following the merger of TNS and RI earlier in the year, the company has announced that TNS Infratest will now be known in Germany as TNS Infratest RI. More
Millward Brown has announced the launch of a new structure for its Europe business, merging the UK/Ireland and Continental Europe regions. Seven Directors are named for a new European Board. More
Kevin Meyer, MD of Millward Brown (MB) in Taiwan, has left the firm to pursue 'non-market research related personal interests'. More
In the UK, a group of organisations led by TNS has won a contract from the Department for Transport (DfT) to deliver the first in-depth study into how public attitudes to climate change impact travel preferences. More
At today's AGM, WPP shareholders gave the thumbs up to a scheme which could see CEO Sir Martin Sorrell receive a £60m bonus over the next five years. Meanwhile Sorrell announced a 6.7% dip in like-for-like revenues for the first four months of the year, which sent shares tumbling 4.8% to 456.25p. More
Marcoms giant WPP has sold Mediafax - its Puerto Rico-based media research agency - to Brazilian media, market and opinion research specialist IBOPE. In return, WPP has increased its shareholding in three IBOPE businesses. More
Shareholders at marcoms giant WPP are opposing a scheme which could result in CEO Sir Martin Sorrell receiving up to £59.7m ($95m) worth of free shares during the next five years. More
US web analytics firm Omniture and WPP's insight and consultancy division Kantar have created a new platform, which enables clients to see how their online and offline activities impact on one another. More
WPP-owned healthcare data collection agency All Global has integrated the TNS JStreet panel into its online physician panel across the US and Europe, thus boosting its number of active physician participants by 50% across key specialities. More
In Slovakia, PMT Ltd - which was founded in 2002 to implement electronic measurement of the country's TV viewing - has awarded TNS SK a five year contract to measure both analogue and digital viewing. More
Procter & Gamble veteran Kim Dedeker is joining WPP's insight and consultancy division Kantar in a new role as Chair, Americas, where she will focus on the group's global research quality initiatives. More
Marcoms giant WPP, which eliminated 3,600 positions in Q1, is planning to make 6% of its global workforce redundant resulting in the loss of 7,200 posts in all this year. More
TNS Travel & Tourism is planning a May launch for 'the world's first activities-based research panel', which promises to help clients reach groups based on their participation in niche sports and leisure activities. More
UK marcoms giant WPP has reported a 5.8% fall in Q1 revenues, excluding the impact of acquisitions and currency fluctuations. The firm says this reflects a cut in client spending in reaction to the global financial and economic crisis. More
TNS has beaten IPSOS, Gallup and Synovate in a pitch to win what it describes as 'one of the largest market research contracts ever commissioned' - a four year €65m EU project to provide a measure of public opinion in Europe. More
Marcoms giant WPP is preparing to make thousands of staff redundant this year, in response to declining revenues and its £1.1bn debt-financed acquisition of TNS. Credit agencies S&P and Moody have downgraded the firm's rating from stable to negative. More
TNS has announced further changes to its senior management team, following its recent merger with Research International. The latest appointments cover global roles, North America and Europe. More
TNS has appointed a new Regional Operating Board for the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa (ALM) region, led by former TNS Regional MD Jamie Hall, who assumes overall responsibility for the region as ALM CEO. More
Eleven universities are to receive funds from the initial round of WPP and Google three-year Marketing Research Awards Program. The money will enable them to conduct studies into how online media influences consumer behavior, attitudes and decision making. More
Martin Sorrell has talked of 'big, big opportunities' and 'a tsunami of funds... waiting for the recovery' in an interview with the BBC. The WPP chief also discussed his views on headcount reduction in a recession, on Google, and the future market share of different advertising media. More
WPP has reported healthy results for the full year 2008. Like-for-like revenue growth of 2.7% came from a combination of a strong first half and slower second half. Insight division Kantar provided 17.1% of all WPP revenue and 12.8% of operating profit. More
The Kantar Group is streamlining its businesses after buying TNS. The TNS Custom business will merge with Research International and will be generally known as TNS. A new social research force for the UK is established in TNS-BMRB, while Kantar has four new vertical sector operating units: Media, Health, Retail and Worldpanel. More
TNS is to close a call center in Indiana, USA at the end of March, with the loss of 128 jobs. More
Marcoms giant WPP has announced a partnership with US web analytics firm Omniture to provide clients with 'more effective insights' across both digital and traditional media channels. The deal involves WPP investing $25m in Omniture stock. More
The UK's Royal Mail has named former TNS Chairman Donald Brydon as first choice to lead it through a forthcoming part-privatisation. If appointed, he would replace current Chairman Allan Leighton when he steps down in March. More
Global communications group WPP is planning to move away from its role as a traditional media and advertising supplier, to concentrate on becoming a more insight-led organisation, says CEO Sir Martin Sorrell. More
In the US, web analytics unit TNS Compete has launched a service to deliver behavioural and survey-based insights on iPhone and other smartphone users. More
Nielsen and WPP have signed an asset swapping agreement. Nielsen will acquire WPP's half of AGBNielsen Media Research (AGBNMR), and in return, WPP will take over three of Nielsen's media services assets. More
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced that it will not intervene in WPP's acquisition of TNS, after receiving court-enforceable undertakings from WPP regarding its TAM (Television Audience Measurement) services. More
TNS CEO David Lowden has left after nine years with the firm, following the completion of WPP's takeover of the business. WPP's insight arm Kantar Group made no comment about Lowden's departure, but instead confirmed a series of senior management positions at TNS. More
In the UK, WPP has announced that all the conditions of its offer to buy TNS have been fulfilled and that the offer is now unconditional. As of this afternoon, valid acceptances had been received by shareholders representing 95.54% of TNS stock. More
Marketing communications group WPP has now received acceptance from shareholders representing 91.72% of TNS, for its offer to buy the UK market research agency. More
GfK has received a break fee of around €13m (£10.6m) from TNS as compensation for the abandoned 'merger of equals' deal planned earlier in the year. The German firm has also reported a bulging order book. More
WPP has declared its offer for TNS 'unconditional as to acceptances' after securing the approval of shareholders representing 81.78% of TNS stock by its latest deadline of 3pm today, UK time – well over its new 75% target. More
Global online panel company Authentic Response is opening an office in Toledo, Ohio and has appointed former TNS Director Paul Hudson as Vice President of Technology to run it, while steering the firm's overall technology strategy. More
Following WPP's announcement on Friday that around 61% of TNS shareholders had accepted its bid, the TNS Board has recommended that shareholders accept, to avoid the risk of being left with a minority interest in an unlisted company. More
WPP has announced that its bid for TNS had been accepted by around 43% of the latter's shareholders as of 2.30pm Monday – up from just 34% on Friday. The acquisitive ad group also says it will move its 'domicile' to Ireland due to the current 'complexity' of the UK tax system. More
WPP has again extended its deadline for TNS shareholders to decide on its £1.2bn bid - to this Friday, October 3rd - but has now received acceptances from 33.8% of them - up from just 11% two weeks previously. More
TNS has today issued its shareholders with a new statement urging them to reject WPP's offer for the firm, underlining its strength as a standalone group. More
TNS is to adopt research software provider Vovici's Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) Platform and Community Builder Model as its standard platform for building custom online panels and communities for its customers. More
WPP has received a qualified approval from the European Commission for its offer to buy TNS. The deal will comply with EU merger rules, provided two divestments are made. More
TNS has appointed David Kieselstein as CEO for North America, responsible for the US and Canada Custom Research businesses. He joins from D&B where he was General Manager of the Small Business Credit Division. More
Hajo Riesenbeck is to resign from the Supervisory Board Chairmanship and Presidency of GfK Nürnberg e.V. Riesenbeck was closely associated with the TNS bid, while CEO Klaus Wübbenhorst is said to have been more convinced of the firm's ability to grow on its own. More
The European Commission has extended by ten working days its investigation into the potential effect on competition of communication group WPP's takeover bid for global agency TNS. More
WPP has extended its offer to buy shares in TNS to 3pm London time on September 12th. The company's original deadline passed on Friday with only 8.61% of TNS shareholders accepting its offer. TNS continues to recommend rejection. More
In the UK, employee-owned investment firm Cedar Rock Capital – the largest shareholder in TNS - is understood to have rejected ad giant WPP's latest £1.1bn offer. More
GfK has cancelled plans to acquire UK rival TNS after failing to secure funding for the deal. TNS, whose shareholders must vote this week on the bid of its remaining suitor WPP, also announced 6-monthly results today with revenue and profit rises both in double figures. More
GfK will use the time available to it before making any offer for TNS, according to CEO Klaus Wuebbenhorst. This is likely to mean September, while WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell will see TNS shareholders vote on his proposals on 29th August. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell says GfK is misleading the market about being able to pull together the resources to buy British rival TNS, and about having access to an 'unidentified but substantial source of capital'. More
WPP has posted TNS shareholders a formal offer for the company, valuing it at $2.28bn. It includes news of an option to sell TNS' television monitoring arm TAM to Ipsos, if required to meet EU competition law. More
GfK's discussions regarding a possible offer for TNS are 'progressing positively' the company said today, as it announced a strong order book from the first half of 2008 and a two-week delay in financial reporting. However, TNS has reportedly been talking to Sir Martin Sorrell and scouting for other possible buyers. More
GfK is understood to have had talks with European private equity firm Cinven about finance for its bid for TNS. Such a partnership is likely to be treated with caution by major shareholder the GfK-Verein. More
GfK will not take 'unreasonable' financial risks in bidding for TNS, according to Klaus Wuebbenhorst. The CEO has played down the pressure on his firm, which is said to be in talks with 'other wealthy German families' in addition to the Herz family. More
GfK is said to be discussing financial backing for its counter offer for TNS with Mayfair, the Hamburg investment vehicle owned by billionaire siblings Günter and Daniela Herz, who inherited their wealth from their coffee magnate father. More
German market research agency GfK has stressed today that there is no certainty it will make an all-cash offer for UK rival TNS, after the pair scrapped their plans to merge yesterday. More
GfK, backed by an as-yet unnamed investor, is preparing to make a counter-offer for TNS in response to WPP's £1.08bn ($2.1bn) hostile bid announced this morning. More
In the US, TNS Healthcare has made three new senior hires, appointing Marty Silverman as SVP/Practice Leader, Sales Force Effectiveness; Michael Smolens as VP of Brand Research: and Porter Hibbitts VP Client Services, Brand Management. More
Despite approval from the Board of the GfK Verein, the 'merger of equals' with TNS continues to face pressure from two sides: Sir Martin Sorrell, who has one more day to decide for or against a 'hostile' bid; and workers and a former Chairman at the German firm he describes as 'very traditional'. More
The Administrative Board of GfK-Nürnberg e.V. has approved the firm's merger with TNS, leaving the vote of Verein members on 21st July technically unnecessary, 'though 'important'. Meanwhile, the bosses of TNS and WPP have been exchanging increasingly hostile comments. More
TNS has fended off a third approach from communications giant WPP, stating that the bid still substantially undervalues the company. More
In the UK, the Panel Executive, an independent body which administers the City Code on takeovers and mergers, has ruled that marketing firm WPP must clarify whether it intends to make a firm offer for TNS by 9 July. More
The proposed 'merger of equals' of GfK and TNS faces political opposition in Germany, reports suggest, with some German local authorities represented in the company's majority shareholding 'Verein' saying they will oppose the deal at next Friday's key meeting. More
Both TNS and WPP have reported healthy revenue growth in the first five months of 2008 - the former doing particularly well in the UK, balancing a slight decline in the US. Meanwhile Martin Sorrell has again asked TNS for more financial information. More
In the US, Information Resources Inc. (IRI) will be integrating TNS' Shades of Green methodology into its Consumer Network Household panel, to delve deeper into consumer attitudes and behavior towards environmental issues and motivation to purchase green products. More
TNS Chief David Lowden has today met with WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell to present him with the data his firm has already disclosed to GfK as part of the nil premium merger announced in April. More
WPP has refuted TNS's claim to have provided it with the same information given to GfK as part of the recent merger agreement. Sir Martin Sorrell's firm says it has only been given access to a subset of the information provided to GfK Verein, GfK's controlling shareholder. More
TNS has agreed to open its books and give WPP the same information it gave to GfK as part of their recent merger agreement. Meanwhile, reports suggest that the GfK-TNS merger may face an EU competition probe; and may be 'sweetened' by a cash bonus for TNS shareholders. More
Sir Martin Sorrell is said still to be considering this week's GfK-TNS merger announcement and whether or not to come back with a fresh offer for TNS. Quoted in the UK's Guardian newspaper, the acquisitive WPP boss described the GfK-TNS proposal as 'a defensive merger'. More
WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has increased his offer for TNS from £948m to £996m (($1.9bn), but has been rejected for a second time by the market research group's Board. More
GfK CEO Klaus Wübbenhorst has told employees of the German-based global agency that the proposed merger with TNS would mean more jobs, not fewer. Prof. Wübbenhorst said comments suggesting the contrary from WPP's Martin Sorrell were 'morally reprehensible'. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has said that he is surprised and disappointed by TNS' 'cavalier' rejection of his £1bn part-cash / part-share offer to purchase the firm. More
Top five global MR firms TNS and GfK are in discussions about a possible 'merger of equals', which would create the world's second-largest market and information group. More
UK radio audience body RAJAR will cut short its investment in its experimental electronic measurement panel, run by TNS using Arbitron's PPM, and will launch an industry-wide review of audience research options. It will also field test a new online diary system, to be designed by Nunwood, in July. More
BBM Canada, supplier of radio and television audience ratings services to the Canadian broadcast advertising industry, has selected a joint bid by TNS Media Research and Arbitron Inc to deploy Portable People Meter (PPM) technology to measure TV and radio in Canada. More
In the US, former TNS MD Amaury de Condé has joined Ipsos as SVP and MD of its Global Product Center; an international role with responsibility for the worldwide Ipsos Marketing Consumer Goods business. More
Compete, TNS media's newly-acquired online behaviour measurement company, has promoted Scott Ernst to the position of President – he was previously Chief Client Officer. More
In the US, TNS Healthcare has introduced a new service to help pharmaceutical and biotech companies measure the effectiveness of their own and competitive sales calls. More
TNS and consumer privacy organization TRUSTe have released the results of a study into US Internet users' knowledge, attitudes and concerns about behavioral targeting and online privacy. More
TNS has grouped several of its North American operating units into a new division, TNS media, with Dean DeBiase as CEO. TNS media intelligence and TNS media research join newly-acquired companies Compete and Cymfony to form the new entity. More
TNS has promoted Richard Marks to the position of Global Sector Head of TNS Media Research – the Internet, TV and radio audience measurement arm of TNS Media. More
TNS has announced an agreement to acquire online behaviour measurement company Compete, Inc. for US$75m in cash, doubling if targets are met over two years. The company also reported full year results for 2007, with revenue of UK£1,067.7m, representing underlying growth of 5.4%. More
In an article published on 4 January we reported that Israeli MR company MarketWatch and its partner agency Gemius had been commissioned to conduct Internet rating surveys on behalf of a consortium including the Association of Advertisers in Israel; and that the work had previously been conducted by TNS's research company in Israel, TNS Teleseker using its bi-annual TIM (Teleseker Internet Monitor) survey (www.mrweb.com/drno/news7760.htm ). More
TNS has bought Stockholm-based financial services specialist Prospera Research, and says the buy will help it to further develop syndicated services for extension across the Nordic region and then elsewhere in Europe. More
TNS has promoted Robert Tomei to President, Areas of Expertise and Marketing for its US Custom Research business, and Kimberly Bastoni to SVP US Custom Marketing and Development. More
TNS has acquired specialist US-based consultancy Landis Strategy & Innovation for an undisclosed sum. More
TNS has unveiled BriefScape, a research product for the early stages of brand communications development. The global agency says its range of offerings in the area now constitute 'a research solution for the complete brand communications lifecycle'. More
TNS has bought a 15% stake in Berlin-based usability research firm Eye Square, reflecting increased client demand for usability advice and consultancy. More
TNS has appointed Shari Morwood as Executive VP of Technology, Telecom and Media in North America. She has spent the last eleven years at IBM, in roles including Vice President of Worldwide Market Research. More
TNS has issued a trading update, ahead of reporting interim results on 3 September. The group says its previously troubled US custom business has returned to growth and expects underlying organic revenue growth of over 5% for the first six months of 2007. More
Crawford del Prete has joined TNS as President of Client Services in North America. He worked previously at technology specialist IDC, as Senior VP for Communications, Hardware, Software and Professional Services Research. More
TNS has acquired the Financial Services Research division of US business research and consulting group, Abt Associates. Senior Abt staff Scott Rosa and Sarita Bhagwat will join TNS to manage the integration of the two organisations. More
Marc Drake has retired from TNS after more than three decades at the firm, including spells as Joint MD of the UK Superpanel business and Head of TNS Business Solutions. He joined the original Taylor Nelson Research business in 1976. More
TNS has expanded its focus in the travel sector with its acquisition of the Sydney-based Travel Research Centre (TRC), and consolidated MD Carolyn Childs' role as Director, Travel and Leisure Research. More
After a 13 year career with ACNielsen, Robert Tomei has joined TNS as Global Head of Access Panels to establish, lead and deliver a growth strategy for the firm's global access panel business, 6thdimension(TM). More
TNS has formed a partnership with marcoms measurement consultancy Integration, to market the latter's brand experience tool, Market ContactAudit(TM) (MCA). The firms will also work together to develop new business solutions for brand and advertising management. More
Iceland has adopted the Arbitron PPM system, under licence from TNS, as its audience measurement currency for both radio and television – the first instance worldwide of a meter system being used for electronic collection of data on both audiences. More
Retail and consumer information firm, NPD Group, has bought TNS's foodservice tracking businesses in the UK and Spain, and integrated them into its CREST® food purchase information service. More
TNS has announced the launch of its '6thdimension' online services in the Middle East, including access panels and other solutions. The first phase will cover Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with other markets likely to follow soon. More
TNS has released full year results for 2006, showing revenue almost flat at £1,004.2m (up 0.5% from £999m in 2005). However the firm, whose US custom business has been restructuring since reporting problems a year ago, said results in other divisions were good. More
TNS has announced three senior appointments. Dawn Airey and Drummond Hall join the board as independent non-executive directors, with effect from 12 April, while David Reim joins TNS Healthcare in the new position of Group President, US. More
TNS has appointed Lincoln Merrihew as Senior VP to lead the Automotive Segment for North American Custom Research. He has more than twenty years' experience in the industry, including senior forecasting and busdev positions with J.D. Power, Standard & Poors and DRI/McGraw Hill. More
TNS has acquired US shopping behaviour specialist Sorensen Associates for an undisclosed sum, and created a global practice, TNS Retail and Shopper Insights. More
Jon Harding, a former President of TNS US Client Services, is to work with Indian MR outsourcing firm Annik Technology Services Pvt. Ltd as a Chief Strategist, providing guidance, training and strategic input to Annik's sales and operations teams. More
TNS has further boosted its North America Custom management team under Kimberly Till with the appointment of Enzo Micali as Chief Information Officer. Micali previously held the same role at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. More
A substantial majority of people in Asia (59%) believe that expenditure on space exploration is justified, according to a CNN/TIME poll conducted by TNS. Still more (68%) believe that Asians countries should take a more active role in space exploration. More
TNS has appointed two Executive Vice Presidents for its North America Custom Research leadership under Kimberly Till. Michael O'Keeffe joins to lead Operations and MCP, and Larry Levin to head up U.S. Consumer Goods & Services. More
TNS has promoted Jeni Lee Chapman to the role of Executive VP of North American Custom Research business in its Advertising and Brand Performance Division (ABP). More
TNS Media Research has signed up a first agency client for its new digital audience measurement service based on anonymous set top box data. Media and communications agency Starcom USA will receive information from 300,000 digital subscribers in LA. More
TNS has bolstered its presence in Latin America with the acquisition of a controlling interest in Time Research SA, the largest independent custom research business in Chile, for an undisclosed sum. More
TNS has announced the launch of a dedicated technology team in Vietnam, expanding its Asia Pacific network of technology sector researchers. The team will be led by country MD Ralf Matthaes and supported by Technology Sector Head Hong Nguyen and Sector Champion, Lester Sualog. More
Despite mobile phone providers' endeavours to recruit 3G customers, third generation technology remains a low priority for mobile users across the globe, with cost the biggest deterrent, according to Global Technology Insight (GTI), the massive annual mobile study by TNS. More
TNS Media Research has entered an agreement with US digital television service provider DIRECTV, Inc. to launch audience measurement services that will focus on the latter's interactive subscriber households. More
TNS has appointed Michelle Griffin as Regional HR Director for its Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa (ALM) region. She replaces Wyn Black who will leave TNS to return to his native New Zealand. More
TNS has appointed two key North American managers to support new President Kimberly Till in revitalising the business. Rob Wengel joins as Executive VP, Client Services and Nancy Narraway as Corporate VP, Marketing. More
TNS has announced its unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 June. Unspectacular overall revenue growth of 4.5% (underlying growth 3.0%) reflects a decline in US custom business, while the rest of the group achieved organic revenue growth of almost 6%. More
TNS has today announced the launch of a Global Interactive business unit, led by Arno Hummerston as MD, and bringing together three co-ordinated areas – commercial, development and Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) support. More
TNS has renewed its partnership with CNN and TIME magazine, supplying an up to the minute public opinion barometer on the issues of the day, from twelve Asia Pacific countries, via methods including its 6thdimension access panels. More
TNS has today launched a Travellers' Panel, the fifth sub-panel of its 6thdimension service. The new panel provides access to 500,000 international respondents across 6thdimension's half dozen European countries. More
TNS has announced agreements with the two leading broadcasters in the Philippines, ABS-CBN and GMA, to set up a new PeopleMeter service in the country. A representative panel of 1200 households reporting their viewing daily from the beginning of next year. More
David Moxley has joined TNS to head up a new Customer Insight Consulting Team. The move is described by the global agency as the third senior hire supporting its drive to deliver more strategic business insights, following those of John Abraham and Gaurav Bhalla. More
TNS has announced the acquisition of FutureView, a segmentation and positioning tool. The tool measures and classifies consumers according to how 'future influential' they are. Its developer, Malcolm Law, joins TNS as part of the deal. More
TNS' UK share price looks more stable today after a dramatic fall on Thursday and Friday last week. The drop followed a warning on full year operating margin and comments by Chief Executive David Lowden, who blamed problems on the 'unacceptable' performance of the American custom business. More
TNS has formally recognised the success of its Conversion Model(TM) business tool by giving it its own Global Centre of Excellence, with an operational hub in Cape Town. The Model played a part in projects bringing TNS over US$120 million in revenue in 2005. More
TNS has appointed a Global Innovation Director, Gaurav Bhalla. Based in Washington, Bhalla's role is to 'drive and effectively implement innovative solutions across the commercial businesses'; and to take overall responsibility for identifying new products and services. More
TNS has appointed Kimberly Till as President of its business in North America. Her previous experience includes work for Microsoft, AOL, Sony and the FBI. More
Broadband entertainment and comms firm Charter Communications, Inc. has entered an agreement with TNS Media Research, to launch a video audience measurement service in the Los Angeles area. More
Synovate has appointed four new US-based executives in its Technology & Telecom practice - three of them from TNS. Steve Levine joins as Senior Vice President & Sector Head; and Beth Ritchey, Karen Stuth and Holly Edmunds as Vice Presidents. More
TNS has announced results for the year ended 31 December 2005. Revenue is up 5.7% (adjusted 4.1%) to £999.0m and adjusted operating profit up 9.5% to £112.6m. Strong growth across syndicated services and in custom business in continental Europe and emerging markets contrasted with 'challenging conditions' in the US and UK. More
TNS Media Research has appointed Bud Breheney as Senior VP, Sales and Affiliate Relations, reporting directly to COO George Shababb. Breheney will be responsible for identifying new business opportunities and strategies as well as managing client relationships with major cable, satellite and telephone operators. More
The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) has renewed its partnership with TNS Media Intelligence (TNS MI). The multi-year agreement gives 14 IPG agencies access to competitive advertising information covering 2.2m brands. More
Harris Interactive achieved revenue of $54.8m in the last quarter of 2005 - ahead of its expectations, despite a fall in European revenue. The company has also announced that it now has exclusive European ownership rights to the Harris name. TNS previously held rights to the name and trademarks in Europe. More
TNS Media Research in the US has appointed Anne Drake, formerly of Mediamark Research, as VP for InfoSys Sales & Marketing. She will be responsible for overseeing the introduction and operation of InfoSys, the company's TV and Radio audience analysis software. More
Revenues for the TNS Americas division will show a larger than anticipated decline for 2005, thanks to decreased demand for custom research in the US. Asia and Latin America, on the other hand, achieved strong growth, and the company expects underlying revenue growth of around 4% for the year. More
Synovate Diversity - Synovate's growing multicultural research business in the US - has hired a team of four researchers from TNS Market Development. Everett Hernandez joins as Senior VP and General Manager; Steve Moylan as VP; Denise Marks as VP, Research Studies; and Anna Marie Lopez as In-person Project Field Services Director. More
US consumer confidence rose in November following a substantial drop over the last few months. Four different confidence indexes - from TNS (for the Conference Board), Ipsos (for the Royal Bank of Canada), BIGResearch, and the University of Michigan - all report similar patterns of recovery. More
Recent studies from NPD and Packaged Facts find US consumers eating more takeaway meals and using fewer fresh products, while also becoming increasingly concerned about food safety. Meanwhile, dietary concerns are spreading to Australia, where a TNS study finds 67% of women overweight, and a third of teenagers underweight. More
The number of US households with more than one million dollars in net worth (excluding primary residence) has risen by around fifty percent so far this century, according to recent figures from TNS Financial Services. The total of 8.9 million such households is up for the third year running. More
TNS Healthcare has announced the creation of a Specialty Healthcare Group in North America, backed up by four senior appointments. In line with other recent group restructures, TNS says the move should help 'meet the unique needs of emerging submarkets as the healthcare industry evolves'. More
TNS Healthcare has made a series of appointments and promotions in its North American Major Pharma Group, strengthening client service. Amongst the eleven senior moves, Paul Barnes, formerly the group's Executive VP, has been promoted to President. More
TNS today announced 'weaker than anticipated' growth in UK and US custom research. It expects overall revenue growth for this year to be line with the market at about 4% - a more cautious prediction than earlier in the year, when the company said it hoped to outpace rivals. More
Marketing research firms in the US saw a healthy growth of 7.2% in 2004, according to the latest Honomichl Annual Review, prepared for US Marketing News magazine. The firms in the top ten are the same as last year, while many of the changes in the top 50 are due to company mergers. More
A new study from Yahoo! shows that the Internet has taken over from the high street for consumer banking. However, separate surveys from TNS and Gartner suggest that increasing concerns about identity theft could slow down the Internet banking and shopping boom. More
TNS has appointed Dr. Randy Emond as President of Advertising and Brand Performance for North America, replacing Dr. Larry Friedman who was recently promoted to Global Director of Brand and Advertising Research. More
Americans are growing increasingly unhappy with their jobs, according to a recent report from The Conference Board, based on research by TNS. The decline in job satisfaction is widespread among workers of all ages and across all income brackets. Half of all Americans say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from nearly 60% in 1995. More
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