• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, June 2, 2009

BuzzLogic has launched a reporting and analytics dashboard that allows advertisers and agencies to track social media campaigns running on its blog ad network. The company's Conversational Advertising Dashboard lets users see exactly where ads are placed and the type of social "conversations" that ads are appearing next to.

In addition to traditional reporting on clicks and impressions, the free service also provides new IAB social media metrics related to conversation size, or the audience around certain topics or specified phrases across blog sites. More than a dozen brands and agencies are involved in beta testing the BuzzLogic dashboard, including 360i, OmnicomMediaGroup and the Organic Trade Association.

"People are excited about the fact that conversations are going on but they need more information," said BuzzLogic CEO Rob Crumpler. "They want transparency and control over where their ads are appearing." The San Francisco-based company's Conversation Ad Network launched last year already screens participating blogs to ensure that sites are "clean, well-lighted places" for advertisers.

But the new dashboard goes further by letting marketers monitor how campaigns are performing in real-time to remove any sites, if necessary, or adjust site selection to boost results. "It's a very intuitive dashboard for reviewing campaigns, from the results to the sites involved," said David Berkowitz, director of emerging media and client strategy at digital agency 360i. "Also, while it's designed for advertisers, the social graph of blogs in the campaign can be used to pinpoint influencers for digital word of mouth programs or other earned media efforts."

BuzzLogic's Conversation Ad Network spans about 3,000 blogs and includes sites such SearchEngineLand.com and urban travel guide Gridskipper.com. The company also uses its targeting technology to connect advertisers with influential bloggers and groups of blogs across third-party networks such as Adify, Google AdSense and BlogAds. Overall, BuzzLogic reached an audience of 33 million unique visitors in May, according to comScore.

Ad units include standard display, rich media, video and sharing- and poll-based ads, served on a CPM basis, with a typical range of $8 to $18, according to Crumpler. Despite the recession, he said that ad spending via BuzzLogic was up from a year ago.

"Last October was a wake-up call for everyone in the ad world and people were looking at buying more closely," he said. "But more and more large brands are entering this space and eager to reach these audiences through this rich type of content." He mentioned Microsoft and the Public Broadcasting Service as advertisers working with BuzzLogic to tap into the blogosphere to promote products or programs.