TNS to Switch Partners in Pakistan

In Pakistan, Kantar agency TNS and qual and quant agency Aftab Associates will be ending their partnership at the end of March 2016, when the regional franchise agreement will move to sister agency MRB Pakistan.

The partnership with Aftab Associates, which is led by CEO Quratulain Ibrahim, was formalised in 2010, to offer services in Pakistan and Afghanistan under the brand name TNS-Aftab. These services include customer satisfaction studies, market segmentation, market sizing, concept tests, mystery shopping and opinion polls, conducted from four offices (Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Kabul) and ten field centres.

Aftab Associates will remain the sole TNS representative in Pakistan until 31st March, when the franchise agreement will be transferred to Karachi-based MRB Pakistan (formerly known as Oasis Insights). MRB, which specialises in brand tracking, consumer and segmentation studies, along with NPD, media and ad research across a wide range of industries, also has offices in eleven other cities (Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Lahore, New Multan, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta, Sahiwa, Sukkur and Bahawalpur).

Commenting on the change, Stephen Hillebrand, CEO TNS Middle East, stated: 'TNS and Aftab Associates formally entered into a franchise agreement back in 2010, and Aftab Associates has done a tremendous job in promoting the TNS brand in the market since then. I would like to thank Aftab and Quratulain for their support and wish them all the best in the next phase of Aftab Associates' growth, while we look forward to entering the next stage of our growth with MRB Pakistan'.

TNS is on the web at: www.tnsglobal.com while MRB Pakistan will soon be online at: www.mrbglobal.pk .