Social media is having increasing power and influence within the overall marketing mix. According to Compete, two-thirds of online consumers visit social networking sites and have increased their use of these sites 414% in the past three years. The Compete study also notes that social media has a strong influence on consumer purchases, driving billions of dollars in online travel purchases each year and causing nearly one-quarter of online car shoppers to change their mind about a vehicle purchase. Blogs are also having a significant impact on traditional media, with over 50% of journalists reading blogs for story ideas, according to a study conducted by the Columbia University School of Journalism. This dramatic shift has left marketing, research and public relations professionals grappling with how to monitor, measure and understand the vast array of social and traditional media.

“The industry is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation from analog to digital platforms, which has created a tremendous challenge and opportunity for TNS MI to provide our clients with greater insight and intelligence into the entire media universe,” said Steven Fredericks, president and chief executive officer, TNS Media Intelligence. “Combining Cymfony’s advanced technology and position as a leader in the analysis of both social and traditional media with TNS MI’s expertise in competitive advertising intelligence brings marketers closer to today’s newly empowered consumer, enabling them to make smarter, faster decisions in this rapidly changing marketing environment.”

Based in the greater Boston Area, Cymfony is the innovator in combining traditional and social media research and analysis, helping organizations extract insights into consumer behaviors and emerging market trends by monitoring, measuring and analyzing consumer-generated and traditional media. Since the company’s inception in 1996, Cymfony has been a key force in bringing sophisticated text mining technology to the government intelligence, marketing, research and public relations communities.

Cymfony Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bernstein added, “As a part of TNS MI, Cymfony gains tremendous advantages to extend our position as a leader by rapidly growing our client base, expanding our offerings and jointly creating and delivering new products. We are now connecting the dots between all media. As marketers increase their activities in the emerging social media channel, they will have an integrated partner to turn to for guidance and insight analyzed within the context of the entire marketing landscape with TNS MI.”

Forrester Research, Inc. recently awarded Cymfony top scores for its “Current Offering,” a combination of features including data sources, functionality, reporting and scope of services. According to the 2006 Forrester Wave -- Brand Monitoring report (September 2006), “The Cymfony Orchestra product offers the strongest overall functionality, a robust user interface, and the most extensive coverage of data sources in the brand monitoring market.”

“This move is another step toward satisfying our goal for TNS Media Intelligence worldwide to provide the widest possible coverage of the media, in all its forms,” added Jean-Michel Portier, president and chief executive officer of TNS Media Intelligence worldwide. “As Cymfony is a recognized market leader in the U.S., this acquisition will not only benefit our Media Intelligence clients internationally, but also has the potential to be used in other TNS business units across our network.”

Cymfony staff will join the TNS Media Intelligence organization, and remain at their present location. The new TNS Media Intelligence unit will be known as TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony.

About TNS Media Intelligence

Established in 23 countries with more than 16,000 customers, TNS Media Intelligence is part of the TNS Group, ranked #2 worldwide in marketing information. TNS Media Intelligence monitors 3 million brands worldwide across a multitude of media, including TV, radio, print, Internet, cinema and outdoor. The company offers a full range of insights and analyses, including the tracking of advertising expenditures and advertising creative, as well as news monitoring and sports sponsorship evaluation.

In the US, TNS Media Intelligence is the leading provider of strategic advertising intelligence to advertising agencies, advertisers, and media properties. The company's tracking technologies collect advertising expenditure and occurrence data, as well as select creative executions, for more than 2.4 million brands across 20 media in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in New York City with sales locations in major markets throughout the United States. www.tns-mi.com

About Cymfony

Cymfony is the innovator in combining traditional and social media research and analysis, helping organizations extract insights into consumer behaviors and emerging market trends by monitoring, measuring and analyzing consumer generated and traditional media. Combining a powerful automated analysis with expert human interpretation, Cymfony provides products and services that deliver intelligence on consumer preferences, competitor strengths and weaknesses, and other information critical to a company's reputation, brands, products and employees. Cymfony works with marketing, research and PR professionals worldwide in industries including automotive, healthcare, technology, consumer packaged goods, and financial services. Cymfony offers a range of packaged services that address areas such as social media strategy, consumer opinions and trends, customer satisfaction, PR measurement, and reputation management. www.cymfony.com

About TNS

TNS is a market information group:

• The world’s largest provider of custom research and analysis
• A major supplier of consumer panel, media intelligence and internet, TV and radio audience measurement services.
• A leader in political and social polling

TNS operates across a global network in over 70 countries, allowing us to provide internationally consistent, up-to-the-minute and high quality information and analysis.

The group’s employees deliver innovative thinking and excellent service to local and multi-national clients worldwide. In the custom business, they combine in-depth sector knowledge with expertise in the areas of new product development, positioning and segmentation research, brand and advertising research and stakeholder management.

TNS’ strategic goal is to be recognised as the global leader in delivering value added information and insights that help our clients to make more effective decisions.

TNS is the sixth sense of business.

www.tns-global.com