Nielsen - PRNewser

Twitter Buzz Helps Boost TV Ratings

Patrick Coffee — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:11:58 +0000

The biggest PR/marketing story of the week so far involves Coca-Cola‘s surprising announcement that social media “buzz” doesn’t translate to short-term boosts in sales. On the television front, however, research comes to the opposite conclusion: yesterday we learned, via our sister blog Lost Remote, that Nielsen finally released a yearlong study firmly tying Twitter mentions to increased ratings for popular shows.

How does that relationship work? Let’s check out the numbers:

The Twitter effect is least influential on season premieres. an 8.5% increase in buzz (or related tweets by volume) leads to a 1% bounce in viewership among the 18-34 set, while a 14% increase creates the same gains among viewers aged 35-49. For midseason episodes, however, the numbers are more impressive: the amount of buzz required to create a similar 1% ratings bump is almost half the size for episodes airing midway through the season.

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Nielsen and Twitter Team Up to Measure Social TV

James F. Thompson — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:04:23 +0000

The present is a great time to be in the public relations industry: never before have so many people done so many things while in contact with so many others.

Thanks to social media and the continuous miracle that is technology, we never do anything alone anymore (with a few obvious exceptions, ahem).

There was a time when television was a passive pursuit that involved tuning into a favorite program and ignoring the rest of the world. That dynamic, however, has changed. Watching TV has become an active–even interactive–experience.

So it makes perfect sense for TV ratings monolith Nielsen to join forces with Twitter, creating a new ratings system that will generate metrics for viewers who comment on TV shows and those people who read or interact with said comments.

It’s fun to open a bottle of red wine and log onto Twitter while movie stars walk down the red carpet to accept awards in clothing worth more than your apartment. It’s entertaining, cathartic and always good for a laugh.

But if the Oscars aren’t your thing, there is always the NFL, which suffered a major public relations disaster this weekend as the league’s less-informed (and, let’s be honest, flat-out racist) fans took to Twitter to vent their displeasure about President Obama’s speech in Newtown, CT, taking precedence over the New England Patriots vs. San Francisco 49ers game. Wow. Not exactly the image the NFL wants for its fans.

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The Unpredictable Power of Live Television

James F. Thompson — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:46:59 +0000

We human beings know that unpredictability is a profound force in our world. No matter how much we make plans, diligently practice and religiously strive to control the outcomes of our days, years and lives, we are all subject to the whims of a universe that is simply too vast, powerful and indifferent for us to control in any significant way. We hate, and love (or is it need?) unpredictability.

Either way, it’s not surprising that a new survey highlighting the latest Nielsen research proves that people still love to watch live television. We’re addicted to the unexpected.

These findings pose a unique problem for PR professionals like us who loathe the thought of losing control of our connection with the public. We’ve learned the hard way that even the most disciplined messaging strategy can be sabotaged by unexpected factors–like Clint Eastwood and an empty chair.

Nevertheless, we must adapt to human nature and harness its formidable power–fighting natural law brings nothing but disappointment and catastrophe, which is why PR students need to study Shakespeare as much as business management. Business is about desire and money, life is about love and unpredictability, and PR is about all of the above. continued…

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Music PR News: Radio Still Rules the Roost

Patrick Coffee — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:46:43 +0000

Some recent Nielsen findings will be relevant to anyone with more than a passing interest in playing and/or promoting music. In short: The more things change, the more they stay the same. A newly released study reveals that old, reliable, traditional radio is still the way to go when it comes to getting your material heard–and making some money in the process (perish the thought!).

Now that digital music officially brings in more revenue than physical recordings (nearly $9 billion in 2012 alone), how can musicians and their representatives make the most of the “new” business model? Two answers: old-school broadcasting and YouTube.

Despite all the torrenting and streaming that’s supposedly going on, radio still dominates the industry: 48% of respondents told Nielsen that they discover new music most often on the air; “friends/relatives” ranked a distant second at 10%. This statistic didn’t even include services like Spotify, Pandora or Last.fm, so if your tunes don’t appear on the AM or FM dial then you’re going nowhere fast.

A more surprising number comes from the all-important teenage demographic: continued…

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Roll Call: Hill+Knowlton Strategies, 451 Marketing, Crafted, and More

Elizabeth S. Mitchell — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 10:24:27 +0000

Ipswich, MA based integrated digital agency, Crafted, has appointed Emma Plummer as PR Director. Emma will head up the company’s new offline public relations department, in recognition of the increasing need to combine digital communications with more traditional forms of marketing. With more than 12 years’ experience in PR, Emma brings with her a raft of clients from her own consultancy, which she ran prior to joining Crafted. In her time at Blue Poppy PR, Emma handled Crafted’s public relations for just under two years. (Release)

Karyn Martin has been promoted to the role of vice president at Boston, MA based 451 Marketing. As vice president, Karyn will continue to oversee strategy and management of integrated public relations campaigns for clients including The Yankee Candle Company, Hood Ice Cream, The Annie Selke Companies (Pine Cone Hill, Dash and Albert, Annie Selke Home, Fresh American Spaces), Netwatch, and Entertainment Cruises. (Release)

Hill+Knowlton Strategies announced today the appointment of Susan Thiele as U.S. healthcare practice leader, effective immediately. Thiele will continue to be based out of the firm’s New York office. Thiele has been with the H+K Strategies healthcare group for more than two years helping healthcare companies navigate the opportunities and challenges of an evolving communications landscape. She has deep expertise in building strategic communications platforms that include brand positioning, audience activation, stakeholder engagement, and crisis and issues management. Thiele has counseled numerous healthcare clients at H+K including Amgen, Merck and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. (Release)

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Three Studies Take a Closer Look at Hispanics on Social Media

Tonya Garcia — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:35:31 +0000

A Nielsen study, “State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative” shows that Hispanic viewers spend six hours and 29 minutes per week watching online video, and four hours and 20 minutes watching video on mobile phones, far out-watching non-Hispanic white viewers on both counts.

Historically, fewer Hispanics have had at-home Internet connections (62 percent vs. 76 percent for the larger population). However, home broadband use rose 14 percent during the past year in the Hispanic community, but only six percent in the general population.

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Roll Call: GolinHarris, Women at NBCU, Allison + Partners, and More

Tonya Garcia — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:16:05 +0000

Margaret Shubny has joined GolinHarris in Chicago, filling a new executive director role. She will be leading several accounts in the healthcare practice as part of the firm’s “Catalyst” group. Shubny was most recently MD of Burson-Marsteller’s healthcare practice.

The Women at NBCU advisory board has six new members: Julie Eddleman, marketing director for North American media and shopper marketing at P&G; Annie Young-Scrivner, global CMO of Starbucks and president of Tazo; Fiona Morrison, who was most recently director of brand and advertising for JetBlue Airways; Susan Whiting, vice chair at Nielsen, responsible for client relations and marketing; Sarah Greenberg Roberts, head of publicity at The Weinstein Company; and Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN. Women at NBCU is the female-targeted marketing and research initiative at NBC.

Allison + Partners has named Trudi Boyd GM of the firm’s Washington D.C. office, helping to build the public affairs practice and managing growth and client service for the office. She previously spent 14 years at FTI Consulting, most recently serving as MD of the Health and Life Science practice.

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Oprah Tries to Boost OWN Ratings, Broke Nielsen Rules in the Process

Tonya Garcia — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:17:00 +0000

While most of the tweets that turned up on our feed last night were about the #Grammys, I remember one in particular from my (imaginary) friend @Oprah that was not: “Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Neilsen box.” Because we’re (imaginary) friends, I took a quick look and remember thinking, “Hey, now, that’s a pretty strange tweet.” Then I quickly returned to the Grammys. Bruno Mars!!

Some fans and the Nielsen company weren’t quite as dismissive as we were. Followers called the tweet “desperate” and “unethical.” After a discussion with Nielsen, Oprah has deleted the message and issued a statement apologizing for any offense caused. Nielsen will make a note of “possible biasing effect” next to the ratings for that episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter.

It’s no secret that OWN has struggled. But everyone, even the mighty Oprah Winfrey, must be careful about how they use promotional muscle to turn things around. These days, particularly with social media, it’s far too easy to overstep.

[image via George Burns, OWN via AP]

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A Few Details About the Upcoming Twitter Analytics

Tonya Garcia — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:34:29 +0000

How many people will pass this around?

News broke yesterday at TechCrunch Disrupt that Twitter Web Analytics are on the way. Currently in beta format, we have a few details about the kind of information that will be available once it goes public, including: monthly, daily, and weekly click numbers generated by tweets sent from a site’s “Tweet” button; and top links for the day, week, or month.

Measurement is a big PR focus right now, so this service couldn’t come soon enough.

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For Today’s Teens, Less TV, More Texting

Tonya Garcia — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:39:11 +0000

It's not just the crew on 'Gossip Girl.' Teens are constantly on their mobile devices. Photo: Eric Liebowitz, The CW

A Nielsen report identified a shift in TV viewing habits of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 years old. They watched, on average, 23 hours and 41 minutes of television per week during Q4 2010. That’s significantly less than the 34 hours and 39 minutes of the average American.

Moreover, they’re talking on the phone less, but texting more. In Q1 2011, teenagers aged 13 to 17 years old sent a mind-boggling 3,364 text messages per month. Eighteen- to 24-year-old adults sent the next highest number, 1,640 texts per month.

The report also found that teens are tuning in to tons of video on their mobile devices. Teens watched an average of seven hours and 13 minutes of video on their mobile phones versus the average four hours and 20 minutes of the general population.

PR lesson here: If you’re targeting teens, hit them up on their cell phones.

[via Variety]

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Nielsen Ends Radio Measurement

Tonya Garcia — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:05:44 +0000

Nielsen announced that it is discontinuing U.S. radio measurement, two years after starting the program. International areas – there are 11 – will not be affected. Nielsen clients will be able to access historical data and some parts of the company’s Radio Advisor software.

However, Ad Age adds, Clear Channel customers can gather measurement info through its partnership with Aribitron, a contract that has been renewed until 2016.

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