TNS announces acquisition of US-based New Product Development Specialist Landis Strategy and Innovation

06.12.2007 UK and US

Acquisition provides strong new capability in ‘idea generation’

London. Decemer 6th 2007– TNS, a world leader in market insight and information, today announces that it has acquired Landis Strategy & Innovation, LLC in the United States. Landis is a highly regarded and specialist research-based consultancy that helps clients achieve more predictable and more sustainable topline growth. A key Landis capability in this regard is its Domain Ownership® discipline. Domain Ownership is a standardised way of structuring data about market needs and gaps via a relational database to generate powerful new product ideas and deliver growth platforms for established brands.

This acquisition strengthens TNS’s specialist capabilities in new product development by giving the group complete coverage of the entire cycle of services clients require. In particular, Landis’s Domain Ownership discipline provides TNS with an immediate and strong new capability in ‘idea generation’ the critical first component of the new product development cycle. Landis also complements TNS’s InnoSuite™ solution, which focuses on later stages in new product development, from concept and product development through to sales forecasting and launch tracking. TNS is making this acquisition in the face of increasing investment by global brands in new product development and intends to offer the Domain Ownership discipline across the TNS global network. By combining the expertise of Landis with InnoSuite™, the group aims to give clients the market-leading offer in this field.

David Lowden, Chief Executive of TNS, said: “New product development is a key business area for TNS and we are one of the world’s biggest players in this area. Landis is a top product innovation firm and this acquisition gives us full coverage in our new product development operations in our North America Custom business and elsewhere in the world. It will allow us to deliver additional insight to clients, especially in our Consumer and Healthcare sectors where TNS serves many of the world’s leading names, I know our clients will welcome the more comprehensive guidance we can now provide in generating new product ideas and applying innovation to products and brands.”

Landis serves clients in consumer products, financial services, food and beverage, hospitality, food service, travel and gaming, pharmaceuticals and consumer healthcare, consumer services, media and publishing. Established for over 30 years, and based in Florida, the business is run by Co-Chairmen Steve Landis and Robert Posten, both of whom have distinguished careers in market research and innovation and will remain with Landis after the acquisition.

SteveLandis said: “We are excited to have become part of TNS, one of the world’s top market information groups. TNS recognises the commercial and strategic importance of new product development and has a clear record of success in this key category of market information. I’m certain Landis can add immense value to TNS’s already strong capabilities, and I believe the two businesses are an excellent fit and will extend their powerful presence in NPD.”

Robert Posten added: “Landis solutions have helped generate profitable growth for quality brands across many categories, industries and markets. As part of TNS, Landis will continue to help clients go beyond the data to deliver innovative marketing strategy and solutions. Combining the new product development expertise of both Landis and TNS will bring major benefits to clients, and becoming part of TNS marks an exciting new phase in our growth, as we can take our Domain Ownership® offering across the TNS global network.”

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Note to Editors: TNS New Product Development and Innovation

TNS helps clients manage the risk of new product development. We aim to get the best ideas through the process faster, while killing the weak ideas early. We provide guidance on how to optimise the mix at each stage of development. And ultimately improve the return on investment.

As every client will have a different new product development process this means a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work – we need to tailor our offer.

With InnoSuite™ we have built a framework with enough flexibility to provide a customised approach, while still maintaining levels of standardisation which provide databases, benchmarking and facilitate knowledge management.

The InnoSuite™ range aids better decision making throughout the new product development process – from early stage screening, concept development, product testing and optimisation through to volumetric forecasting.

.. New product portfolio management through early screening

.. Prioritisation of the most promising concepts

.. Identification of potential disruptive innovation via the Future Opportunity Index

.. Evaluation of product fit versus consumer expectations

.. Benchmarking within specific target groups using the InfoScore database

.. Diagnosis and optimisation throughout to improve speed to market

.. Accurate sales forecasting built for today’s marketing environment

About Landis Strategy & Innovation:

Landis Strategy & Innovation is an international, strategic consulting firm dedicated to helping the senior management of Fortune 500 companies achieve more predictable, more sustainable topline growth. LSI's blend of art and science delivers a multi-year growth plan, defining the brand initiatives and improvement strategies that optimize the growth potential of existing ideas as well as bring to life ideas that are new to the category or new to the world.

http://www.landis-si.com/

About TNS

TNS is a global market insight and information group.

Our 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.

As industry thought leaders, our people deliver innovative thinking and excellent service to global organisations 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 over 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.