Nielsen Co. and management consultant McKinsey & Co. this morning unveiled N M Incite, a joint venture to monitor and analyze the impact social media has on companies. The companies said that
Nielsen's existing social media tracking division, BuzzMetrics, would become part of MN Incite, which will be headed by Dave Hudson. Prior to leading N M Incite, Hudson was executive vice
president-global client services of Nielsen's Telecom Practice.
The announcement did not say what the role of Pete Blackshaw, the former head of BuzzMetrics, might be, but Blackshaw's most
recent role in Nielsen has been executive vice president-digital strategic services, Nielsen Online.
In a statement, Nielsen CEO David Calhoun explained the reason for merging its social media
practice with McKinsey is to, "extend our ability to help clients answer one of the central questions facing CEO's, how to unleash the promise of social media."
The companies said McKinsey is
contributing "client capability building and expertise" to the venture, and the alliance seems intended to push the role of social media up into the enterprise levels of corporations, well beyond
advertising, marketing and online media operations.
The companies said the practice would "drive organizational transformation," and said they already have begun working with "select pilot
clients," with the first set of "three solution areas" expected to rollout this fall.
"The initial areas of focus are measuring and improving marketing effectiveness, product launch optimization
and customer service experience," the companies said.