I-COM worldmeasurementnews

Word-of-Mouth Goes Mainstream, Is Now Measureable

Three Useful Insights for Marketing's Not-So-Silent Partner

Ed Keller [pictured], CEO of Keller Fay Group writes at AdAge: A white paper by marketing-analytics expert MarketShare provides concrete evidence that consumer word-of-mouth about brands directly drives sales by amplifying the impact of advertising and marketing of all kinds.

In the cases studied, social voice increased marketing effectiveness up to 54%, and a 10% increase in social voice resulted in a sales lift of up to 1.5%. Also, offline WOM had a more significant impact on buying outcomes than social media. More...

The Blossoming of Standards: Measurement Spring Is On Its Way

The Paine of Measurement

Katie Delahaye Paine [pictured], Chairman of KDPaine & Partners and Chief Marketing Officer of News Group International blogs at The Measurement Standard: That’s how I view the current state of the development of standards for public relations and social media measurement. After virtually no movement for decades, the industry is finally waking up, taking steps to establish much-needed standard definitions. It's springtime in the land of measurement. More...

In US, Extole Secures $7.6 Million in Financing

Leading Social Advocacy Platform Continues Momentum as Marketers Recognize the Value of Word-of-Mouth Social Marketing

San Francisco, Calif. -- January 24, 2012. Today, Extole, www.extole.com, the leading social advocacy platform, announced it has closed an additional $7.6 million in funding. The investment was made by Extole’s current investor roster including Shasta Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures and Trident Capital.

"Social media marketing is going through a fundamental transition. Marketers are shifting their focus from simply measuring social activity to driving measurable marketing ROI," said Jim Barnett [pictured], Chairman of the Board at Extole and General Partner at Shasta Ventures. "The power of word of mouth is critical to this shift, and we believe that Extole's approach to social advocacy uniquely positions the company to drive the next wave of innovation in social marketing." More...

In US, Cision Introduces New Social Influencer Content Search Feature

Keyword Search Gives PR and Marketing Professionals A New Way to Find and Engage Digital Influencers

CHICAGO, March 8, 2012 – Cision, the leading provider of PR software, services and tools for the marketing and PR industry, today announced the launch of the Social Influencer Search, a new way for Cision users to search by keyword and find digital influencers publishing content on a particular topic. 

“Because of the vastness and the reach of social media, uncovering the most qualified and prominent people who are influencing conversations online can be a challenging task for PR and marketing professionals,” said Peter Granat [pictured], Chief Executive Officer of Cision North America. “Now with Cision’s Social Influencer Search, our users can find influencers by their most recent blog posts and tweets, determine which ones are the most prominent and research the best way to get in touch with them, all with the click of a button. More…

In China, Burson-Marsteller Launches New Social Media Services and Weibo Strategy Guidebook

Beijing, February 29, 2012 – Who are China’s “Wei-people” and “Wei-influencers’”? Burson-Marsteller today announced the expansion of its fully-integrated social media and digital content marketing services in China. The leading global PR and communications consultancy firm, with five offices in Mainland China, also released a new social media strategy guidebook: “Weibo: Seven Steps to Better Corporate Reputation, Crisis Preparedness and Digital Communications in China.”

“Digital tools and social media communities arrive and evolve with tremendous speed and scale in China, with much of this activity taking place on weibo,” said Chris Deri [pictured], CEO and Market Leader, Burson-Marsteller China. “For both domestic and foreign companies operating in China today, any reputation management or stakeholder engagement effort should be built upon a complete understanding and appreciation of weibo. These platforms must be fully integrated into a firm’s communication strategies, programs and measurement activities.”  More...

In US, Don Bartholomew Joins Ketchum as SVP, Digital and Social Media Research

Dallas, Nov. 22, 2011 - Ketchum, one of the world’s leading public relations agencies, hired Don Bartholomew [pictured] to serve as Senior Vice President of Digital and Social Media Research for the Ketchum Global Research Network effective Nov. 21. Bartholomew brings his more than 15 years of experience to Ketchum’s established research team to lead the agency’s digital and social media research, measurement and analytics. In his new role, he will manage the Ketchum Global Research Network’s operations in Ketchum South and Ketchum Midwest, and he also will work closely with Ketchum’s specialty groups and complementary businesses, including Ketchum Digital, word-of-mouth-marketing agency Zócalo Group, and Access Communications, Ketchum’s consumer and high-tech PR agency.

“We are thrilled to welcome Don and the expertise he brings to the rapidly changing social and digital research field,” said David Rockland, Partner and Managing Director, Ketchum Global Research Network. “Don further bolsters our research, measurement and analytics offering, which is a core differentiator of Ketchum in the communications industry.”  More…

In UAE, Maktoob Founder Joins Salience

mrweb reports: Tamara Deprez [pictured], the former Head of online agency Yahoo! Maktoob Research, has joined media content analyst Salience Research as its General Manager in Dubai.

In her new role at News Corporation-owned Salience, she will oversee a team which specialises in measurement and analysis of PR and corporate reputation. More…

In UK, Carat, Omnicom and ESPN Back Keller Fay’s WOM Study

UK - 22 August, 2011. Keller Fay Group has launched its TalkTrack® word-of-mouth research programme in the UK on a continuous basis, with Carat, Omnicom Media Group and ESPN signed up as clients.

The TalkTrack® study was launched in the US in 2006, and, like its UK equivalent, carries out interviews with consumers about their online and offline brand-related conversations. Keller Fay says the programme will analyse more than 250,000 conversations across all major consumer categories each year.

Keller Fay’s UK MD Steve Thomson [pictured], said: “The importance of word of mouth and its ability to drive sales and brand health have been proven many times. But to date there has been no ongoing system for listening to all brand-related conversations across all channels or one that is representative of the total population.” More...

In Australia, Ogilvy PR drops ad-based valuation for a new set of metrics

SYDNEY- After years of questioning the accuracy of measuring public relations returns via advertising valuation equivalency (AVE), Ogilvy PR Australia has decided to drop it in favour of its own set of ‘value metrics’.

AVE is the cost or value of editorial coverage if it was advertising space or time.

“PR no longer merely equals publicity,” Ogilvy PR Australia CEO Kieran Moore [pictured] told Campaign. “As an agency we provide value in areas spanning brand communications to government relations – it’s time we stood up for what we do.” More...

Word-of-Mouth research firm Keller Fay names Steve Thomson as UK lead

Brian Tarran of Research Magazine writes: Keller Fay Group, a US-based word-of-mouth research and consulting firm, has opened an office in the UK headed by Steve Thomson [pictured].

He said: “Word-of-mouth is hugely important to marketers, and Keller Fay is pre-eminent in the field.  I’m excited to be leading Keller Fay’s expansion into Europe, and looking forward to showing British companies how best to leverage WOM to their advantage.” More...