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from Theresa Quintanilla

An Archive of the old QViews Typepad Blog

Measuring Engagement

051202Although I share Erwin Ephron’s scepticism about chasing engagement, I think this new service from BuzzMetrics will be valuable. It will be analyzing engagement in programs, not advertisements, but they will break out a lot of details about media usage, program involvement and historical buzz. More data is better.

ClickZ News: BuzzMetrics to Monitor TV Show Buzz by Kevin Newscomb

The new TV*BuzzMetrics ratings, which will be in pilot phase through June 2006, will track the top 30 prime time network programs, and will be delivered in a monthly report that ranks each show’s "buzz level" and sentiment to assign an engagement index the company calls a "TV Buzz Rating." Data will be gleaned from discussions occurring on blogs, message boards and other social media. "By tapping into the passionate communities and commentary naturally occurring around television programming, we can reveal the DNA that binds programming and viewers, and move closer to understanding the drivers of engagement," said Jonathan Carson, president and CEO of BuzzMetrics. The service aims to help television executives and advertisers by helping to explain key drivers of viewer engagement, and to understand the potential value of new programs, Carson said.

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One response to “Measuring Engagement”

  1. Max Kalehoff Avatar
    Max Kalehoff

    Theresa,
    Thanks for your interest in and support of TVBuzzMetrics. We firmly believe that buzz is a powerful indicator of the drivers of engagement – simply, if people are talking and expressing opinions about something, they are engaged. And that is precisely why this unaided data set – comprised of hundreds of millions of passionate conversations on blogs, message boards, public email, groups, etc. – is so powerful. It’s applicable to brands, to ideas and concepts, as well as to entertainment and programming, as we are demonstrating with TVBuzzMetrics. To your point about engagement in advertisements, and the connection with buzz, that is an important area in which we are conducting pathbreaking work on a custom basis with clients. And some of that research is highly connected to programming and content. For example, did post-television show buzz have any resonance with the advertising spots occuring around that show? Or did product placements have any bearing on post-show buzz, hopefully positive for the brand? Of course, the ultimate question is what impact did advertising or a marketing campaign have on the brand and sales.
    Finally, to your point about Erwin Ephron’s scepticism about chasing engagement, he was kind enough to join our informal TV*BuzzMetrics advisory group and offer commentary for our launch: “What consumers talk about, good or bad, is a leading indicator of what is actually being communicated,” said Erwin Ephron, founder and partner of Ephron, Papazian & Ephron. “It’s foolish to ignore it when the data are available.”
    We certainly look forward the feedback of Erwin and others as we develop this concept and service!
    Max Kalehoff, vice president, marketing, BuzzMetrics

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