Taylor Nelson Sofres

Taylor Nelson Sofres plc

Type	Wholly-owned subsidiary
Founded	1997
Headquarters	London, England, UK
Key people	Bob Meyers (Chairman of the board), Pedro Ros (CEO)
Industry	Marketing
Services	Market research
Revenue	£1,068 million (2007)[1]
Operating income	▲ £102.7 million (2007)[1]
Profit	▲ £58.5 million (2007)[1]
Owner(s)	WPP Group
Employees	15,270 (2007)[1]
Website	www.tnsglobal.com

Taylor Nelson Sofres is a leading market research and market information group. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the firm was acquired by WPP Group in October 2008 for 1.6 billion pounds.

History

The history of TNS as a market research company began in 1946 with the establishment of National Family Opinion (NFO) in the United States.^[2] Since then, various mergers and acquisitions involving large companies from the US, Europe and Asia Pacific eventually became the Taylor Nelson Sofres group.

The 1960s saw the establishment of the six main companies that today form part of TNS. Starting with NFO in the 1940s, Intersearch in the US in 1960; then AGB in the UK in 1962; Sofres in France in 1963; Frank Small Associates (FSA) in Australia in 1964; Taylor Nelson in the UK in 1965.^[2] Over the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, these companies grew significantly as individual businesses.

The 1990s and early years of the new millennium saw consolidation in the industry. In 1992, Sofres acquired Secodip. In 1992, Taylor Nelson joined with AGB. In 1997, Sofres combined with FSA. In 1997, Sofres acquired Intersearch and then merged with Taylor Nelson AGB. In 2000, Taylor Nelson Sofres acquired CMR, followed by the NFO WorldGroup in 2003.^[2]

The TNS Group continues to grow, mainly by acquiring small research companies to strengthen its position in markets in which it already has a presence. For example, in December 2007, TNS acquired Landis Strategy & Innovation in the United States, a specialist research-based consultancy.^[3]

In the same month, TNS announced that it had reached agreement to increase its ownership of LatinPanel Holdings from 33.3% to 100%. TNS was formerly a joint venture partner with the NPD Group and the IBOPE Group in this continuous consumer panel business serving Latin America operating in 15 countries in Latin America, and covering 96% of the region’s GDP, providing local and international clients with access to a household research panel across the packaged groceries, toiletries and cosmetics, fresh foods and textile retail markets.^[4]

In early March 2008 TNS announced the merging of its North American operating units TNS Media Intelligence, TNS Media Research with the recently acquired firms Compete and Cymfony to create TNS Media Group ^{[5] [6]}.

On 29 April 2008 TNS announced that it was in talks to merge with German market research company GfK.^[7] The announcement was followed in May by two conditional offers from WPP to buy TNS for a combination of cash and shares, both of which were rejected by TNS’s board. The hostile WPP bid led to GfK and TNS abandoning their merger plans. GfK sought without success to find backing for a rival offer, leaving WPP’s hostile bid as the only one on the table. On 9 October 2008 WPP declared that its latest bid had been successful and that it was buying TNS for $1.93bn.^[8] TNS now sits in WPP’s Kantar Group. Many Kantar subsidiary companies are currently undergoing restructuring and rebranding as a result of the TNS deal. TNS itself will see various units either merged with other Kantar units or spun out into separate Kantar entities.

On February 23rd 2009 TNS Sofres announced that as part of a strategic realignment of the Kantar Group companies - TNS (Custom Division) and Research International - two of the world’s leading market insight and information agencies will combine strengths and merge to create the world’s largest custom research company.

Operations

TNS has chosen to specialise in eight market sectors:^[9]

• Automotive
• Consumer
• Finance
• Healthcare
• Media
• Political and social
• Technology
• Worldpanel

TNS separates its worldwide operations in over eighty countries into four main divisions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and emerging markets.

Research market sectors

TNS has chosen to specialise in eight market sectors.

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/industries

Automotive

TNS carries out research for clients who are major automotive manufacturers, component suppliers, oil companies, vehicle dealerships, parts distributors, repair specialists and advertising agencies who work with the sector. TNS claims to be the leading global supplier of research and market insights to this sector, with 250 dedicated researchers in over 50 countries.^[10] The kind of research work TNS carries out for its automotive clients includes concept tests, product testing, product quality monitoring, and vehicle dealer attractiveness and satisfaction studies. In October 2007, TNS surveyed 2,500 US consumers on how the weak housing market affected their purchase decisions. It found that several car manufacturers were blaming the weak housing market for weaker new vehicle sales.^[11] In December 2007, TNS launched the largest automotive study ever carried out in India, representing the responses of over 7,600 car buyers.^[12] New models launched by General Motors, Mahindra Renault and Maruti proved to be the most popular with customers.

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/automotive

Consumer – Fast moving consumer goods or consumer packaged goods

There are two aspects to Consumer research at TNS – customised research and syndicated consumer panel research. TNS claims to be the world’s leading provider of customised consumer market research solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and brand owners, retailers and outlets, as well as advertising and media agencies who work with them.^[13] All the world’s top 10 Consumer advertising agencies work with TNS.^[13] The company combines its custom research solutions link with marketplace insights from its continuous syndicated service, TNS Worldpanel.^[14]

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/fmcg

Finance

In the Finance sector TNS works with a wide range of companies, including retail and commercial banks, investment companies, payment organisations and insurers.^[15] It helps them solve a range of common marketing problems in areas such as product development, brand positioning, pricing, forecasting, communications, segmentation and stakeholder management. As well as a network of 250 finance professionals in over 40 countries, TNS has helped set up 45 syndicated business research programmes in 15 other countries.^[15] In October 2007, a TNS survey focusing on consumer reaction to the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States demonstrated that one third of American adults were planning to cut back on spending because of it. The research identified that consumers would be spending less on home improvements, major furniture purchases, travel for leisure and entertainment.^[16] In November 2007, TNS financial research in the UK showed that almost half of adults aged 55–64 have no financial arrangements in place for when they retire – despite the fact that 86 per cent of them believe that the state pension will not support them in retirement. TNS claimed that this supported the widely held belief that the UK’s pension situation is reaching crisis point and put pay to the rumour that it is only young people who are failing to plan ahead.^[17]

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/finance

Healthcare

TNS Healthcare provides advanced market research consulting and custom advisory services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries, as well as health-focused ad agencies, media and financial analysts.^[18] The company says it has supported the launches of 18 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical brands; that it has experience performing studies in 54 therapeutic categories; and has performed studies with more than 200,000 patients worldwide since 2000.^[18] In December 2007, TNS Healthcare published research on diabetes showing major differences between the prescribing of the drug Avandia in the US and Europe, raising concerns about cardiac safety.^[19]

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/healthcare

Media

TNS works in two areas of research in this sector - through Media Intelligence and Media Research. TNS claims that Media Intelligence has 16,000 clients throughout the world and is ranked number one worldwide in the monitoring of advertising expenditure. Whereas Media Research has a track record in audience research services across 33 countries and operates the world’s largest TV audience measurement panel (in China), including 149,000 people.^[20] In September 2007, TNS announced it was bringing Media Intelligence and Media Research together as a combined operation that would develop the significant long-term business opportunity of digital media measurement. The company said it needed to create a platform for new additional services that took account of the shift resulting from media fragmentation and growth of the internet.^[21]

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/media
• http://www.tnsglobal.com/mediaintelligence
• http://www.tnsglobal.com/mediaresearch

Political and social

By the political and social sector, TNS means public opinion polling on everything from elections to opinion on public policy, education, employment, environment, health and social services. TNS claims to be the leading provider of this kind of customised political, social and economic research for clients in 25 countries worldwide, for clients ranging from public sector and government bodies and political parties to media, non-governmental organisations, universities and scientific establishments.^[22] One of its major public opinion tracking services on social trends is Eurobarometer, which operates across thirty countries in Europe.^[22] In December 2007, a special Eurobarometer survey conducted for the European Commission found that six in ten Europeans would like to study a new language or improve one they already speak.^[23]

Also in December 2007, TNS public opinion polling in Hong Kong found that, on average, just 15% of young children aged 3 to 9 in China, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand are very concerned about the need for environmental protection due to issues such as air pollution, carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste recycling.^[24]

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/politicalandsocial

Technology

In this sector TNS works with some of the world’s leading IT, telecommunications, consumer electronics companies, internet service and content providers.^[25] With over 800 technology research professionals in 64 countries, TNS is able to interview 15,000 people annually on how they use technology.^[25]

In March 2007, TNS research in Canada revealed that, in the battle between telecoms companies to retain customers, Canadian phone users were welcoming the arrival of number portability, enabling them to discard their wired connection altogether without losing their familiar landline number.^[26]

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/technology

Worldpanel

Worldpanel measures consumer purchasing and consumption behaviour.^[27] TNS publishes its Worldpanel grocery market share figures every three months. In September 2007, its figures showed sales through grocers growing at an annual rate of 4%, leading TNS to suggest that the spending slowdown may be not as sharp as feared.^[28]

• http://www.tnsglobal.com/worldpanel

TNS around the world

TNS separates its worldwide operations in over eighty countries into three main divisions: North America; Europe; Asia Pacific and emerging markets.

Asia Pacific and emerging markets

This large geographical area includes Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. TNS says it is a leader in continuous market tracking, market segmentation, brand positioning and consumer panels across these areas.^[29] The company describes it as a network of integrated offices in 35 countries, in 40 offices, with over 4,000 permanent staff.^[29] In Asia, TNS operates Worldpanel Asia, which it claims is the region’s leading continuous consumer panel network in economies including China, Korea, urban Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, urban Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.^[29] The TNS Group carries out multi-country research in the region through its International Research Centre (IRC) based in Hong Kong and Singapore, incorporating an International Calling Centre.^[29] The Group has offices throughout Latin America and a service centre in Argentina, running the multi-country projects in the region.^[29] In the Middle East, TNS says it is the largest full service market information country, operating in seventeen countries.^[29]

Europe

Europe is the largest region for TNS, accounting for 40% of the Group’s revenues.^[30] TNS claims to be the largest market research company in Europe, with a network of over 33 countries. Most of the Group’s income comes from Consumer Research, with access to more than half a million consumer panelists across six countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK) through the TNS product, 6thdimension, which it says is the world’s leading network of fully managed online access panels.^[31] In addition, TNS Worldpanel is Europe’s leading continuous consumer panel network and provides purchasing information on the majority of household and grocery markets in main regional economies including France, UK, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal. TNS Worldpanel is also the joint owner of Europanel which provides consumer purchase information across the entirety of the European marketplace.^[30] TNS also runs media research audience measurement panels in 18 European countries.^[30]

North America

The company’s history goes back to the 1930s in the United States and Canada. It can count over 70 years of experience in Custom research and Media Intelligence, now monitoring advertising expenditure and occurrence activity on 2.8 million brands across twenty media. TNS North America also claims to be the industry leader in tracking speciality marketplaces such as political advertising, social media and FSI/coupons.^[32] TNS Healthcare is the leading market research agency for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries and has helped launch most of the top drugs marketed today in the US.^[32] In Canada, the TNS operation is run by Canadian Facts, a large marketing information and social research firm, with 170 staff and offices in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, London and Vancouver, working with a wide range of local and global clients.

Research areas, products and services

TNS works in a set of specialised research areas and has a wide range of proprietary products, services and solutions for market information and insight. To explain them to clients, TNS splits these into two: specialist research expertise; global insight brands.^[33]

Specialist research expertise

Rather than a range of products and services, this expertise comprises a series of specialist research fields in which TNS believes it leads the market information field: retail and shopper; stakeholder management; product development and innovation; brand and communications; custom research services; on-line research; opinion polling; audience measurement; continuous consumer panels; media intelligence.^[34] The company also offers research in the areas of business intelligence; consumption behaviour; employees research; international research; mystery shopping; purchasing behaviour; qualitative research.^[35]

Global insight brands

TNS owns a range of products which it uses right across the world. These global insight brands are: 6dTV; 6thdimension; AdEffect; AdEval; Brand Performance Optimisation; Conversion Model; FutureView; InnoSuite; Market Contact Audit; NeedScope; Optima; Revenue Growth Manager; TNSInfo; TRI*M; WebEval.^[36] Many of these have names which are self-explanatory. 6dTV is a real-time, interactive, online research tool which uses video streaming, polling and blogging techniques to combine qualitative and quantitative survey factors.^[37] 6thdimension is one of the world’s leading networks of fully managed online access panels, providing clients with insights that address issues from launching a new product to measuring attitude and usage.^[38] Conversion Model is a psychological model of consumer behaviour that helps brand managers manage the strength of the relationship between consumers and brands.^[39] InnoSuite offers clients a complete range of integrated new product development research solutions used to test over 20,000 concepts worldwide.^[40] Optima is a tool that provides brand managers with brand planning and effective data collection, enabling them to understand product usage and consumer attitudes.^[41] TNSInfo is an online information and analysis reporting service that allows clients to store and organise marketing information in one place on the Internet.^[42] TRI*M is, according to TNS, the global leader in customer stakeholder management research, with over 12,000 studies monitoring relationships with customers, employees, dealers, shareholders and the general public.^[43] Besides these products, services and solutions, TNS also offers an international omnibus research service that covers 80 countries, using online, face-to-face, telephone and mixed methodology research to find quick answers to specific questions posed by clients.^[44]

Corporate affairs

Corporate structure

The TNS Group is run by a global executive team consisting of 12 members. Current chief executive, David Lowden, was appointed to this position in January 2006, having previously been finance director and chief operating officer.^[45]

Other roles in the global executive team cover finance, operations, media, the three TNS regions, corporate change, global clients and market sectors, Worldpanel, strategic development and marketing.

The Board of Directors is headed by chairman Donald Brydon and includes Andy Boland, Drummond Hall, David Lowden, Paul Murray, Alice Perkins, Pedro Ros, and Remy Sautter.

Corporate and social responsibility

Through its ‘Imagine…’ fund-raising campaign, TNS supports UNICEF.^[46] The partnership began in 2005, when the group made a donation to UNICEF in response to the tsunami disaster. The Group then embarked upon its ‘Imagine…’ programme, a three-year project in Cambodia that funds the building of 120 new community pre-school shelters, to expand access to education to 14,400 children aged between three and five years. In addition, Imagine… funds the training of 950 community pre-school teachers and provides educational supplies.^[46]

In terms of environmental impact, TNS has been assigned a ‘low impact’ weighting for environmental impact by the FTSE4Good Index.^[47] Although the group does not yet have a system of formal reporting on this issue, it can point to good practice in its operations around the world. In the UK, TNS reports annually on energy and waste management performance against stated objectives. In 2006, it aimed to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 12%. It reduced electricity consumption by 12%, gas consumption by 22% and CO2 emissions by 24%. It also aimed to increase levels of recycling to 25% and managed 31%. Also a reduction of landfill rates of 5%, with an achievement in 2006 of 15%.^[47] In Europe, TNS encourages energy conservation, the recycling of waste materials and the professional disposal of electrical and computer goods. In North America, most sites have comprehensive recycling programs and systems for safe disposal of electrical and computer goods.^[47] The company uses document destruction vendors that recycle their output for building insulation.^[47] In Asia Pacific, most countries have in place systems for recycling and safe disposal of electrical and computer goods and energy conservation is encouraged.^[47]

Financial performance

Top ten of the market research sector 2006

References