Established in 1981, the Oregon-based Adscope will be run as a division of CMR, currently the largest US advertising tracker as bought by TNS in Summer 2000. Adscope provides continuous monitoring of business-to-business advertising expenditure, primarily for high-technology publications. It is believed to track nearly US$7 billion in advertising expenditure annually.

Adscope’s turnover for the year ended 31 December 2000 was US$1.0 million with net assets of US$14,000. It employs 18 staff and until now has operated as a privately owned business. Its former president will remain with the business.

Commenting on the acquisition, Jean-Michel Portier, Head of Taylor Nelson Sofres Media Intelligence sector, said "The activities of Adscope bring additional expertise to CMR and the acquisition reinforces our leading position in advertising expenditure tracking in the US. CMR already sources data from Adscope and is aware of the quality and reliability of its work. Our business is about market measurement and media monitoring is one of the most dynamic areas in which we operate. As advances in technology increase the range of media to which consumers are exposed, the demand for competitive advertising intelligence also rises."