TNS Media Intelligence moves into analysis

Social media - blogs, viral video and other user generated content - is changing the way consumers interact with brands. This could be good as long as the interaction remains positive. To help track how brands are seen, TNS Media Intelligence is moving into the analysis realm with the purchase of Cymfony.

by Kristina Knight

Cymfony, a marketing analytics company, monitors social media like blogs to see how brands are faring. "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,” said Cymfony chief executive officer Andrew Bernstein.

According to Compete, roughly two-thirds of online consumers visit social networking sites regularly. The use of social sites has increased more than 400% in the last three years. Consumers are visiting the sites to find consumer reviews and make decisions on purchases. They also visit these sites for news and other information.

According to Steve Fredericks, president and CEO of TNS, the Cymfony buy will allow TNS to view, analyze and interpret data for their clients, in turn helping clients build stronger brands.

The purchase puts TNS directly in the line of Nielsen and its BuzzMetrics unit. In 2006, Forrester Research released a report that placed Nielsen BuzzMetrics and Cymfony at the top of brand monitoring and analysis.