Market research used to mean someone holding a clipboard asking if you could spare five minutes.

“People may think we are boring but we know more about the consumer than anyone else,” said David Lowden, the chief executive of Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), the market research group, which this week announced plans to merge with GfK, a German rival.

It is difficult to argue with Mr Lowden. Market research used to have a bland image. However, the industry has become one of the most dynamic sub-sectors in the media industry on the back of increased demand for research in emerging markets and the rise of online market research.

In a challenging advertising market,where publishers and broadcasters are under pressure, market researchers are having the last laugh. While many of their clients are advertising agencies and television networks, giving them some exposure to the advertising market, their dependence on advertising is small.

WPP, the advertising group, this year predicted market research as an area of long-term growth. There is market chatter that WPP is considering an approach for TNS in an attempt to expand its presence in the market research industry, although the company has refused to comment.

Mr Lowden said that even the credit crunch had a positive effect on its business. “Clients are continuing to spend well and we are not feeling the doom and gloom. They are looking more at ways of spending their money to get the best returns. Whenever you get change or competition increases, there is a need for research ... Financial services groups are more concerned about their corporate image and there is a lot of work in this area.”

Similarly, as advertising faces challenges, TNS is working with its media industry clients to understand how best to tackle these issues.

Then there is the benefit of expansion in emerging markets, with market research an area for significant growth as advertisers search to find the most effective ways of attracting increasingly wealthy young consumers. “In China and India, the research market is still small and there is huge growth potential,” Mr Lowden said.

Media research groups have also embraced the internet as “a cheaper, faster, and often more accurate” research tool, said Paul Richards, an analyst at Numis Securities.

Internet market research is particularly useful when a fast response is needed in a crisis. During the Celebrity Big Brother racism row, Carphone Warehouse is understood to have used online market research to decide whether to pull out of its sponsorship arrangement. A decision was needed quickly and the internet was the most effective means of achieving this.

Similarly, when Mattel, the owner of Barbie, was last year forced to recall toys on concerns that they contained lead, a research firm was hired to study internet blogs on the issue.

“Crisis management is big business for us,” Mr Lowden said.

The speed and accuracy of online market research led to the creation of YouGov, the online market research group, in 2000.

Although a market research minnow, YouGov is growing and recently announced that it would launch a hedge fund, using its opinion poll findings in investment decisions. Mr Lowden has reservations about online market research in emerging markets. “YouGov will be challenged to expand globally,” he said, citing low internet penetration in countries such as China. Twenty-five per cent of TNS's business is online; it is trying to increase this to 40 per cent.

While not the best paid area of market research, political polling probably gets the most attention. In the latest campaign for London Mayor, YouGov has had its fair share of column inches. Ken Livingstone's campaign said this month that it was launching an official complaint against YouGov, accusing it of using flawed methodology.

Regardless, companies are turning increasingly to market research. As Mr Richards said: “It has come a long way from the days of someone with a clipboard on the street or even telephone research.”

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