TNS Media Intelligence acquired Cymfony, a market-influence analytics company, in a bid to integrate traditional ad data with the tracking of new media, such as blogs and social networks, officials said Monday.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The deal is meant to position TNS as a media-intelligence company that can provide marketers with greater visibility into the most important influences shaping consumers’ purchase decisions, including advertising, public relations and social media, through advanced analytics and proprietary data.
Social media is having increasing power and influence within the overall marketing mix, according to TNS. Two-thirds of online consumers visit social-networking sites and have increased their use of these sites 414% in the past three years, according to Compete.
The Compete study also noted 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 more than 50% of journalists reading blogs for story ideas, according to a study conducted by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Based in the Greater Boston area, Cymfony combines traditional and social media research and analysis, helping organizations to extract insights into consumer behaviors and emerging market trends by monitoring, measuring and analyzing consumer-generated and traditional media.
Forrester Research recently awarded Cymfony top scores for its Current Offering, a combination of features including data sources, functionality, reporting and scope of services.
Cymfony staff will join the TNS organization and remain at their current location. The new TNS unit will be known as TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony.
