Ipsos

Ipsos sells 40 percent of its shares in order to fuel expansion into the United States. In 1979, Ipsos launched another innovative product, the FCA, or France des Cadres Actifs ("The French Businessmen Survey"), a tool that measured readership among the country's executives. Ipsos convinced a consortium of the country's newspapers and news magazines to share the costs of conducting the FCA. Ipsos had successfully recognized a trend in France, as the country began to see a growing number of financial and economic news and information magazines. In the mid-1980s, Ipsos began to adapt new technologies to its measurement instruments. In 1986, for example, the company began using computer technology for conducting surveys--debuting its CATI, or computer-assisted telephone interviews. Computer technology was later extended to personal interviews, with a new class of instruments called CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviews) put into use in 1992. The shift toward the globalization of the world economy that began in earnest in the early 1990s led Ipsos to begin plotting its own international expansion. As its customers extended their reach into the international arena, Ipsos was determined to accompany them in order to offer a unified product across national lines. Ipsos' initial expansion target remained Europe, especially Spain, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The company also built up interests in Central Europe, especially Hungary. A month after the Angus Reid acquisition, Ipsos returned to Canada, now acquiring Tandemar. That company held the lead in the Canadian market for its specialty, advertising effectiveness post-testing. Tandemar was joined to the company's American-based Ipsos-ASI Inc. subsidiary and renamed Ipsos-ASI Ltd. for the Canadian market. In 2002, Ipsos took a break from the rapid expansion that saw it top EUR 480 million in revenues in 2001. That figure enabled the company to pass its chief French rival, Taylor Nelson Sofres, for the first time. Slowing down its acquisition drive did not, however, mean stopping completely--in April 2002, the company moved to acquire Vantis, a division of AC Nielsen Bates, strengthening Ipsos' leading position in the marketing consulting segment. And Ipsos continued to aim high, targeting revenues of more than EUR 1 billion by 2005.