Advertisers Look to Social Media, Economics

Advertisers are looking
to new sources of data for their yearly negotiations, reported
The Wall Street Journal.

For example, Comedy
Central's South Parkranks 211 by number of TV viewers, according to Nielsen, but
4 according to

Optimedia US's 'Content Power Ratings,' which includes the numbers of video views online. Advertisers are looking to
these new numbers, which include social media and economic statistics, to
negotiate their upcoming ad commitments.

Research teams have begun monitoring conversations online
social networks as well as the impact an ad has during a particular show. The use
of this data reflects advertisers' new insight on how to invest their budgets.

"It will be a sellers' market. For
us, being able to come to the table with a threshold of what programs at what
cost will drive our clients' business is extremely helpful," says Michael
Haggerty, director of marketing accountability and research at Universal
McCann, a media-buying firm owned by Interpublic
Group
of Cos., which has recently begun using social media in their
rankings.

 While
the new data has yet to prove its value, marketers have used them in this year's
ad spending. Networked Insights, a start-up company working with Publicis's
Starcom Worldwide, measures the how presence in social media affects the show's
advertising value. The firm states that Fox is leading with its social media
talk about upcoming X Factor, with
NBC's Awake and Grimm following.

The new data "add more value to the billions of
dollars we're investing in this marketplace," says Brandon Starkoff, a
senior vice president at Starcom Worldwide.