Nielsen Online unveils blog monitoring service for brands

Revolution UK 22-Jan-08

Buzz Metrics, a section of Nielsen Online, has developed a method for advertisers and agencies to monitor online conversations about their brands.

Brand Association Maps (BAMs) are created by software that crawls the
three billion consumer conversations occurring online at any time.

"The maps offer brands a way to understand what consumers are actually

saying about them, without having to prompt them," said Alex Burmaster,

European internet analyst, Nielsen Online.

The maps are targeted at marketers, agencies, PR specialists and media
buyers.

Buzz Metrics claims that BAMs can help advertisers manage their brands
online, identifying key issues related to their own and competitor
brands.

Burmaster said that this knowledge can be used to tailor messages in
online advertising, to create campaign slogans and to form a coherent
brand message from chief executive level through to marketing and sales
teams.

"If a BAM reveals negative associations, brands can deal with related
keywords and 'own' conversations around them," Burmaster added.

Buzz Metrics was launched in 1999 by the co-founders of Nielsen Online
(formerly Nielsen//Netratings).