What is Ipsos?

Ipsos is a market research company that provides data and insights on brands, markets, individuals, and society. Innovation, market strategy and comprehension, retail and consumer intelligence, observer, public affairs, mystery shopping, quality measurement, social intelligence analytics, media development, retail performance, and employee relationship management (ERM) are among the company’s solutions. It helps healthcare market segments, clinics, mobility labs, audience measurement, brand health tracking, corporate reputation, customer experience, strategies, creative excellence, and more. Ipsos serves the business needs of consumers, clients, employees, citizens, doctors, and patients in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific by collecting, processing, and delivering quantitative survey data through offline and online channels. The headquarters of Ipsos is in Paris, France.

Founded: The company was founded in 1975

Industry type: Market research

Traded as: Euronext: IPS

Headquarters: Paris, France

Area Served: Worldwide

Ranking: ESOMAR Global Market Research Report 2019 showed that Ipsos was the 5th largest market research company by revenue.

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Ipsos was established in 1975 by Didier Truchot. Truchot focused on providing services to advertising and media companies and developed methods for measuring the success of their campaigns. This was something that was new in France. The Baromètre d’Affichage (BAF), a tool for evaluating the efficacy of billboard advertisements, was the first of these methods in 1977. The France des Cadres Actifs (FCA) was used in 1979 to determine the reading habits of French executives and was followed by a media-specific instrument.

Prior to Jean-Marc Lech’s appointment as co-chairman, the company’s profitability remained modest despite the success. It then began conducting public opinion studies, an additional novel activity in the French market. The company became France’s fifth-largest media research company by the end of the 1980s. The company’s position was strengthened, particularly in the public opinion research sector, as a result of the significant activity of French policymakers at the time.

Ipsos expanded into Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Central Europe, and Hungary, primarily through acquisitions, in the 1990s.

In order to increase its purchasing power, the business was made available for private investment in 1992. Baring Private Equity was the first new shareholder. Truchot and Lech, the significant investors, held 66% of the company.

Ipsos made the decision to expand on a global level in the middle of the 1990s when it had become one of the most important research companies in Europe. Ipsos acquired new investment partners by selling 40% of the company to François Pinault’s Artemis Group and Walter Butler’s Amstar investment fund.

Ipsos entered the South American market in 1997 by purchasing the Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico businesses of Novaction. In 1998 it entered the North American market with the acquisition of the American organization ASI Market Research.

Ipsos went public on the Paris stock exchange in 1999. Ipsos was able to continue its growth and Artemis and Amstar were able to cash out on their investments as a result of the successful offering. The company then contributed to the formation of the joint venture for Internet audience research known as MMXI Europe, with partner Media Matrix holding the majority of the shares and Ipsos holding 20%.

Additionally, the company acquired four NFO Worldwide subsidiaries specializing in the creation of access panels. With the acquisition of the Canadian company Angus Reid, which was renamed Ipsos-Reid in 2000, the expansion continued in Asia, South America, and particularly North America.

The Synovate division of Aegis Group Plc was purchased by Ipsos in 2011.

On the 30th of October 2018, Ipsos made the announcement that it had acquired Synthesio, a Social Intelligence Suite which has been named the leading global Social Listening platform by Forrester Research since 2014.

Ben Page took over as CEO in November 2021, succeeding the founder, Didier Truchot, who remained Chairman.

Ipsos has branches located around Australia. The Australian branch has been functional since at least the year 2000 and as of 2022, the company has registered branches around Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. It conducts opinion polls on a variety of topics such as community support for changing Australia Day’s date, abandoning coal, making Australia a republic, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health, and political preferences until 2019.

In Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), The Age, and the Australian Financial Review (AFR) publish Ipsos poll results. However, the Nine Entertainment group, which owns the SMH, Age, and AFR, decided to end its partnership with Ipsos following the unexpected victory of the Coalition in the 2019 Australian federal election, which was predicted by all opinion polls. The newspapers have not reported any political polling since then, and as of 2022, they continue to report the results of other Ipsos polls.

Ipsos has quite a number of subsidiaries. The subsidiaries are listed below;

• MORI
• Reid
• Business Consulting
• Alfacom
• Apoyo
• Archway
• ASI
• Bimsa
• Connect
• Healthcare
• Insight
• Interactive Services
• Loyalty
• Marketing
• Markinor (Ipsos South Africa)
• MRBI
• Novaction
• Observer
• Public Affairs
• RDA
• UU
• Vantis
• Livra.com
• Karian and Box
• ASI
• MediaCT

Their job is to ask the right questions so that the people they interview can share their thoughts, aspirations, and desires. Additionally, it entails observation, listening, and analysis; This is the daily work of their qualitative research specialists. Ipsos carries out this expertise aligned with new advancements in its six specializations.

The company investigates market trends and potential. They test advertisements and products. They assist clients in establishing long-term customer relationships. They investigate audiences and how they perceive various media. They track global shifts in public opinion.

The organization’s specializations are served by six global brands recognized in all major markets:

• ASI – The Specialists of Brand Expression
• Marketing – The Innovation and Brand Research Specialists
• MediaCT – The Media, Content, and Technology Research Specialists
• Public Affairs – The Social Research and Corporate Reputation Specialists
• Ipsos Loyalty – The Customer and Employee Research Specialists
• Ipsos Observer – The Survey Management, Data Collection, and Delivery Specialists

The company’s teams have extensive experience conducting quantitative and qualitative research utilizing online, mobile, CATI, CAPI, or mixed-mode surveys.  The company also uses face-to-face, telephone, and central location interviewing (CLT) survey methods to collect their data.

In the area of collection of data, the company has;

• Access to 100+ markets
• Ampario® Ipsos Real-Time Samples increase their capacity and representation, especially with targets that would normally not be part of a panel.
• Ipsos owned and managed panels in Australia and 59 other markets
• Strong Research-on-Research program with statisticians and methodologists providing operational insights on the best way to run Online & Mobile research.
• Sample quality commitment for real, engaged, fresh, and unique respondents
• On-shore hosting if required
• Inbound, outbound, and International calling capacity
• Ability to interview in languages other than English (LOTE)
• Real-time monitoring of interviews available in-house or remotely
• Fully customized data collection platform with multi-mode capabilities (SPSS Dimensions)
• Response rate maximization via computer-controlled call algorithms and Interviewer training
• Auto-dialler capability for improved efficiency and productivity
• Specialist teams for social research, business-to-business interviewing, financial, health, and consumer projects
• Dual-frame sampling

For the fiscal year of 2021 the company’s key financials in Euros are;

Revenue: 2.15 billion

Operating Income: 227 million

Net Income: 184 million

Total Assets: 2.74 billion

Total Equity: 1.33 billion