TNS, the global market information and insight provider, today announced that it has created a new entity called TNS media. The move combines the North American operating units TNS media intelligence and TNS media research along with newly-acquired companies Compete and Cymfony under one business unit. Building on the company’s leadership position in providing clients with a comprehensive suite of marketing, media and audience insights, TNS media will strengthen the company’s ability to provide global measurement and analysis of consumer behavior across all media and digital platforms.
“With the formation of TNS media and our acquisitions of Compete and Cymfony, this new group is set to expand our digital measurement capabilities and provide a single platform to deliver our services globally throughout the TNS network of companies and partners,” said David Lowden, chief executive of TNS.
Concurrently, TNS announced Dean DeBiase has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of TNS media, overseeing all North American operating units, including:
– TNS media intelligence, the leading provider of strategic advertising and marketing information, provides tracking technologies to collect advertising expenditure, occurrence and creative data, and marketing analytics platforms.
– TNS media research, a worldwide provider of Internet, TV, set-top box and radio audience measurement leveraging the latest technology in digital audience monitoring.
– Cymfony, a brand monitoring and analytics company sifts and interprets the millions of voices at the intersection of traditional and social media to gain insights that help organizations understand people, issues and trends impacting their business.
– Compete, a leading digital intelligence company which helps global brands to improve their marketing based on the online behavior of millions of consumers.
TNS media will provide marketers, facing an increasingly complex media landscape, with an integrated view of their marketing mix by deploying the latest digital measurement solutions. According to the TNS media intelligence 2008 advertising forecast, spending on Internet advertising is expected to climb 14.4 percent in 2008, more than double the increase in cable television (5.0 percent) and dwarfing the growth of network television (2.7 percent). At the same time, social media is growing in scale and impact. A recent Cymfony study revealed nearly half of senior marketing executives believe social media should be monitored at the executive level and allocated significant resources.
“TNS brings together the best people, services, technology, and insights from Silicon Valley to Madison Avenue, to provide marketers, agencies and media partners the next generation of tools and insights they need to innovate and compete in their industry sectors, as well as target and connect with consumers,” added Dean DeBiase, newly appointed CEO of TNS media. “We will continue to develop our platform of traditional and online advertising, audience, performance and engagement data services, that global brand companies rely on, through our expanding network of partners and new companies.”
As money shifts towards more Internet advertising and social media gains greater dominance, TNS media will provide a full suite of innovative solutions that enable market executives to track their competition and measure ROI. Through the acquisition of Cymfony in 2007, TNS integrated Cymfony’s expertise in tracking and analyzing the intersection of traditional and social media, with TNS media Intelligence’s extensive suite of advertising products. This established TNS as the only media intelligence company providing marketers with greater visibility into the most important influences shaping consumers’ purchase decisions today.
With the most recent acquisition of Compete, TNS media will significantly enhance and extend its digital measurement capabilities. Compete offers the most advanced and sophisticated Web analytics, including the largest, most diverse and most precise online consumer behavior panel in the industry, and provides marketers with the deepest insight into both customer behavior and competitive intelligence. Together, Compete and TNS will provide consumer, brand and media research, and measurement services to help businesses succeed in the digital world. Global clients and partners will be able to turn to a single company for comprehensive insights into consumers’ – online and offline behavior and attitudes – pushing the boundaries of digital research and media measurement capabilities.
Dean DeBiase Named CEO of TNS media
A new media industry veteran, DeBiase has an extensive background running Internet, media and digital services businesses, with a proven track record of taking companies to the next level of scale and market leadership.
“We are delighted to have Dean on our team, bringing our North American companies together and leading our digital and Internet expansion strategy through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth,” said Jean-Michel Portier, Global Head, TNS media. “As consumers experience media through a broader landscape of channels and platforms, TNS will be there to measure and interpret that experience for our global clients.”
Prior to TNS, DeBiase was Chairman and CEO of Fathom Online. He has built leading consumer and business services companies in media, entertainment, advertising, cable TV, technology and Internet industries, and has led Fortune 500 subsidiaries and independent companies, like Autoweb, AT&T Imagination Network, AOL, Zenith and FedEx, through strategic growth phases, including expansion, turnaround, M&A and IPO.
About TNS
TNS is a global market insight and information group. Our strategic goal is to be recognized as the global leader in delivering value-added information and insights that help our clients to make more effective decisions.
As industry thought leaders, our people deliver innovative thinking and excellent service to global organizations and local clients worldwide. We work in partnership with our clients, meeting their needs for high-quality information, analysis and foresight across our network of more than 70 countries.
We are the world’s foremost provider of custom research and analysis, combining in-depth industry sector understanding with world-class expertise in the areas of Retail and Shopper Insights, Stakeholder Management, New Product Development, and Brand and Communications. We are a major supplier of consumer panel, media intelligence and internet, TV and radio audience measurement services.
TNS is the sixth sense of business.
