TNS Global website
The TNS Global history of success
The merger of TNS and RI means the coming together of two companies with a rich and diverse history. Here we share with you how both organisations have evolved, the heritage they bring to our new organisation
A Distinguished Heritage
TNS in the 60s
The 1960s saw the creation of five of the market research companies that formed the heart of the Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) group:
- Intersearch in the USA in 1960
- AGB in UK in 1962
- Sofres in France in 1963
- Frank Small Associates in Australia in 1963
- Taylor Nelson in UK in 1965
But the very first seeds had been sown in the USA in 1946, when NFO (National Family Opinion) opened for business.
RI in the 60s
Research International was originally part of Unilever, and grew out of its worldwide market research and marketing departments.
In the UK, where Unilever was based, the market research business was set up as a separate company - Research Bureau Limited (RBL) - in June 1962.
Owned by Unilever, RBL operated as a separate profit centre and was later allowed to work for non-competing outside clients.
This mirrored developments in Unilever around the world and the various Unilever research companies increasingly collaborated.
70s & 80s
TNS in the 70s & 80s
In the 1970s and 1980s, all these companies grew significantly, introducing a wide and increasingly sophisticated range of market research solutions and using the latest technological developments. And as they and their clients grew, they started to create their international networks:
Sofres opened offices in six European countries, the US and 12 countries in Asia Pacific.
Taylor Nelson and AGB each developed a UK network of offices and began to acquire businesses in Europe.
NFO grew to become the by-word for managed access panels in the USA.
RI in the 70s & 80s
In 1972, these market research companies were brought together under one international management group and Research International (RI) was born.
In 1987, after 15 years of rapid expansion, RI was sold by Unilever to the US-based Ogilvy Group.
Two years after that, The Ogilvy Group – including RI – was acquired by WPP.
It soon became clear that brands were becoming global, and brand owners would need global market research information partners. In the 1990s, the market research industry started to consolidate, as major clients demanded an increasingly international service.
90s & Beyond
TNS in the 90s & Beyond
NFO made a series of acquisitions around the world, and the companies that now form TNS responded to the changing market by joining forces, enabling them to deliver consistently high quality services to customers around the world.
- Taylor Nelson joined with AGB (1992)
- Sofres combined with FSA (1995)
- Sofres acquired Intersearch (1997)
- Taylor Nelson AGB and Sofres merged (1997)
- TNS acquired NFO (2003)
- TNS was acquired by WPP/Kantar (2008)
RI in the 90s & Beyond
Research International established itself as a core business within Kantar, WPP’s research, insight and consultancy network, giving RI us access to an even greater wealth of marketing expertise.
TNS & RI in 2009
TNS and Research International merge (2009), to form the world’s largest custom market research company, together shaping the future of the research industry.
Today, many of the world's leading Market Research Consultants work for TNS.
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