Here are the major points included:

• Value gained exploiting shows undervalued by Nielsen
• Hyper-segmentation approaches that go beyond “Adults 18 to 49″
• How smart ad buys and owned content can be leveraged for a bonus of earned social lift
• Successful branded integration ad for the Corolla
• How social can point the way to premium audiences at non-premium prices

If you attended the webinar and would like to revisit it or share it, you can download it here. And if you missed it, all the more reason to download!

The disparity between shows high in viewership and shows high in engagement is reflected in the fact that more than half the shows in the SocialSenseTV Top 20 don’t appear in Nielsen’s top 20. The Hollywood Reporter covered the report and noted how ratings and fan-base don’t always match up. (digiday:DAILY also wrote about the report and our new SocialSenseTV offering.)

So how does this help a media buyer or a network? What can social engagement tell us that matters to the bottom line of those engaged in this spring rite of traditional media?

This is the time of year when networks, agencies, and brands all try to assess what a TV show is worth — and what it’s likely to be worth months later — so they can buy inventory now, at upfront prices. “Scatters,” or ads bought closer to air date, can cost 20 to 30% more than upfront buys. Shrewd, informed buying now saves agencies and brands a lot of money. Bad, misinformed choices will stick them with ads on shows that are dogs.

Social media provides a rich vein of conversation to mine that can measure engagement and passion around a show, an actor, or any other topic you care to explore. We can listen to the social conversation to discover why a show is popular, which shows are a good match for a brand, and ultimately, where to buy or sell TV inventory.

We can even analyze and “rate” shows that haven’t aired yet, by listening in on the early buzz about new shows and their stars.

Advertisers are seeking highly engaged audiences with the idea that they are more likely to watch live, see commercials, and appreciate the connection of brands to their favorite shows. Social media listening provides the perfect platform to find those engaged audiences and then discover what they are talking about.

For networks, the same dynamics are at play. If a network is cultivating shows with highly engaged fans, they’ll want to measure that and capitalize on it. They can use the data to prove value and legitimately increase the cost of TV ads. They can also find good matches between brands and shows by finding those shows with fans that care about a given product or category. Note (in the chart below) how network ranking changes when measured by social media ranking or Nielsen ranking of shows.

In a time when advertisers are worried about viewers skipping over commercials, branded content is a hot topic. We looked at two instances. It’s well known that Subway rescued “Chuck” from cancellation. And the fans seem grateful. They’re still talking about Subway when they talk about the show.

We also looked at the “Modern Family” iPad brand integration episode. Though iPad brought a lot more equity to the partnership (word is Apple didn’t pay cash for the deal, but their buzz is much higher online than that of the show), they did get a substantial lift: $516K in earned media.

These are just examples of the kind of campaign evaluation that social media analytics can provide. It’s a powerful new way to measure the impact of a campaign or tv event, because it aggregates effects from multiple channels: if you saw it live or delayed, on TV or on Hulu, in a bar or on a plane, the buzz registers the same online.

The full report includes more analysis of the uses of social media in informing upfront buying and selling, and more insights around specific shows. Please download it and let us know what you think. And if you are ready to enlist social media in your media buying or selling, check out SocialSenseTV, our new listening platform and custom reports services tailored to television.

We were an ad:tech sponsor. And I presented as part of the Marketing Masters series. We expected about 200—and got 500—at a session  expertly facilitated by Susan Bratton.

It seemed there were a lot of ad network folks at the conference and fewer vendors of, say, online video. But when it comes to figuring out what over 11K people are talking about, it’s best to bring in the listening platform. Our analytics identified these key themes, included here with commentary and sample quotes, ranked in order of prominence:

Parties
The ad:tech crowd is social in every way…

“The entire EWA crew is going there and sponsoring a big party on 4/20, hopefully we can meet some of you guys there. This is my personal favorite conference – you can actually breath at this one and meet people on a more personal level.” (From Warrior Forum.)

Mobile and social media
The increasing proliferation of mobile devices creates a boundless opportunity for marketers. Social media and mobile will develop together. For instance, social dating sites combined with mobile technology make it easier to connect when out and about.

“Driving this growth in usage is mobile access. I know you’re all thinking ‘here’s another mobile blog post’. But with the launch rate and uptake of new mobile devices, the web is an anytime, anywhere proposition that’s no longer about sitting in the corner on your PC.” (From Speaking Sensis.)

iPad: You have to go pretty far off the beaten path to escape this topic…
The iPad is creating plenty of buzz and technolust drooling even in the middle of the country, where we live. But Apple couldn’t find a more on-target demographic than the ad:tech crowd in San Francisco.

“…that glorious iPad…. I am going to pack loads of business cards and drop them in as many fishbowls as possible. That iPad is mine, baby.” (From Two Men and the Internets.)

(Note: We know this hopeful attendee didn’t win the iPad that Acxiom gave away on day 2, because our director of marketing did.)

Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketers need to change with the technology. Mobile creates a new opportunity for affiliates. Their role hasn’t gelled yet, but those who can help serve up the right offer to the right person in the right place will get a piece of the pie.

“I’ve long wondered when affiliate marketing would enter the mobile space, and now seems to be the time.” (From Luffemann.)

Travel issues
Sometimes the real world interferes with the virtual one. The volcano gets the last word.

“There is no excuse for missing an Ad:Tech meeting quite like a volcano blew up so i have to stay home.” (From Wicked Fire.)

Activities that are more strategic and proactive are best informed by an analytical listening platform like Networked Insights’ SocialSense. We cover the orange section of the chart. Those activities in the gray section are typically associated with monitoring solutions. Sure, there’s some value in the gray area. But with all the interest in quantifying and evaluating ROI from social media, the orange activities are worth noting for their high ROI value.

Being smart and informed early in the process (regarding Market Research, for example) pays greater dividends than being smart later (Crisis Management, for example).

Still, a marketer’s first thought about using social-media data is often found at the bottom left of the chart around PR activities. I hope this chart encourages marketers to think more broadly. As you begin to track patterns over mentions, moving rightward and upward across the landscape of the Analytics chart, you’ll reap greater rewards and realize significant, measurable ROI from your social-media listening efforts.

Where do you fit on the continuum? Are you operating in the orange area? I’d love to hear your feedback. And please share this chart, either by linking here or passing it along.

The New York Times picked up on part of our report. Here’s the rest.

This was Networked Insights’ second year reporting on the buzz around Super Bowl ads. The analysis from our SocialSense listening platform reports on engagement, a measure beyond frequency of posts. It factors in other post consumption (eg, reads) and influence of the poster. Like last year, we’re also calculating Social ROI — what a company spent on ads in relation to the lift they did or didn’t get.

Teleflora gets an “Insighty” for winning two years in a row. Volkswagen and Focus on the Family also sparked high engagement for dollars spent, placing second and third.

The data shows Motorola bringing up the rear. And there were other players, like the e-Trade baby ads, whose online buzz didn’t measure up to the pre-game hype.

Both Coke and Pepsi (the latter who famously didn’t buy an ad this year) were in the middle of the pack. But, comparing the spend on Coke’s two ads to Pepsi’s social media spend, we rate Coke at a Social Media ROI of +26 (160% increase in interactions) and Pepsi at virtually flat ROI (+10% interactions).  So, though Pepsi’s campaign certainly had merit and created buzz in the weeks before the game, they might have done better to top it all off with a traditional TV ad.

See the chart below for the big winners and losers.

You can and should read the whole article, but here’s the crux, worth repeating:

“Listening is scary. … It’s a big change from our traditional way of thinking. So, the single biggest opportunity in the history of consumer marketing lays dormant. The singular opportunity to tap into the brain of today’s newly empowered consumer in such a natural way that what we hear is the purest ‘research’ ever is buried in nay-saying.”

In as much as that’s true, it signals a tremendous missed opportunity. Though it’s important to note that many ad agencies and large brands DO get it. They understand that listening can fuel insights that drive better campaigns, ad buys, and ultimately, business. Our client list features many forward-thinking, major brands and agencies, and it’s growing.

But Neff is right, generally, about the foot dragging. And here’s one explanation, beyond “new is scary.” It’s the confusion between the benefits of monitoring and listening.

Monitoring is best at finding threats. Listening is best at identifying opportunities. Many times, these terms are confused or used interchangeably.

Even Neff’s piece, which starts off talking about “listening,” devotes much of the space to discussing the value of tracking threats (e.g., Johnson & Johnson Motrin-gate).

It’s understandable that marketers might be resentful about the need to monitor threats via social media. After all, brands used to own their reputations to a much greater degree before social media came along and handed the keys to the consumers. It hardly seems like a gift if it means one more new front to defend on. Previously, the only way into a brand’s castle was via a phone-based market-research report.

Monitoring will become increasingly routinized, straightforward, and inexpensive or free. The future of listening holds limitless possibility.

As ad agencies and brands increasingly understand the real advantage of listening—letting consumers’ opinions and ideas provide the fuel for insights—the value becomes clear. Consumers now provide a speedier, comparatively inexpensive source of market research and innovation. And that’s a far different perspective than watching consumer activity like a dark cloud on the horizon.

• Nerds use social networking to find big red balloons. Would you like that $40,000 in cash or check? MIT students quickly solved Darpa’s treasure hunt by going viral.
• See traditional and digital marketing integration at its finest: 5 companies that got it right in 2009.
• I call your “search-engine optimization” and raise you “real-time search” plus a huge dose of social-branding reality. The nimble behemoth continues to evolve as Google integrates real-time search.
• Now when drug dealers say, “everybody’s doing it,” they’re telling the truth. Pharmaceutical companies take their recommended dose of social-media medication.
• Step right up. Don’t be shy. Brands look to flex their marketing muscles on the social web.
• CEO: Are you sure this is going to work? CMO: 2/3 of us think so. Companies to increase social media budgets in 2010.
• Come out, come out, wherever you are. The location-based social networking space just got a little more crowded.
• I want $55k/year, 401(k), vacation, stock options, medical/dental insurance, tuition reimbursement, gym membership, and access to my social networks. See the future of employee compensation demands.

Such a great point. Counting brand mentions is only the tip of the iceberg yet it’s what so many of the current crop of social media monitoring tools are trading on. They count brand mentions, aggregrate content, and report on it. While they get you looking at social media, they are decidely slim on contextual information unless you have time to do a LOT of reading. Malcolm talks about the importance of framing social dialogue and I think that is key to the next step in the evolution of these tools.

Framing (Malcolm’s take may be slightly different so I won’t speak for him) is essentially a more holistic view of data. It’s putting data in context – relative to a market, a segment, a shared affinity or a goal. This is a shortcoming of many current monitoring tools as they focus on mentions, popularity, sentiment etc. but don’t do much to help you understand the implications of all this data.

Searching for brand mentions and verbatims is relatively cheap and easy to do (as evidenced by the price pressure in monitoring right now). Marketers need more context than brand mentions to make sound business decisions and large companies just coming to the social media table are reluctant to bet significant sums of money on such thin evidence when it comes to informing a large marketing campaign.

So what’s next? Malcolm mentions the new feature from Scout Labs called “Quotes”. It’s a good first step. They are attempting to push the envelope a bit in terms of giving their data more value to the end user. But what can you do to really push the envelope?

How about trend discovery and text analytics? Monitoring solutions rely on keywords – that means that you will find what you look for. What current monitoring tools lack is the ability identify trends or patterns in data that you didn’t know to look for. Text analytics opens this door.

Text analytics is basically a trend discovery engine of the best kind. It identifies trends or patterns in data that you didn’t know to look for. It is a very compelling and powerful technology. Combine deep text analytics with a segmented approach (something we do with SocialSense) and you have what we think is the next step in the evolution of social listening tools. I’m curious, what do you think is next?