• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, July 20, 2015

WPP media management arm GroupM has entered into an exclusive partnership with social analytics firm Networked Insights for access to NI’s Kairos platform.

The global agreement will help GroupM agencies including Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, Maxus, Xaxis and other GroupM specialists optimize client campaigns using real-time consumer data from the social web.

After testing the platform with mutual clients, GroupM selected Networked Insights to enhance audience segmentation, content strategy, media investment and brand health diagnostics for all its agencies.

“GroupM’s technology stack and data investments enable us to continuously set the bar higher for insights-driven strategic media management,” said Irwin Gotlieb, global chairman, GroupM. “Real-time social data represents an enormous opportunity for brands, but technology must artfully enable insights based on what audiences are saying -- and not saying. Networked Insights provides real rigor and discipline, and we have fully integrated it into our technology stack. We believe the combination provides us with real competitive advantage.”

Reporting the deal Sunday, The Wall Street Journal online site wrote that the deal was the first time NI reached an access agreement with an agency firm -- usually it deals directly with marketers. The exclusive partnership gives more than 27,000 GroupM employees access to the Kairos platform, which NI says provides data and insights about consumer emotion and interests, brand health metrics like purchase intent and customer loyalty, and other metrics.

Dan Neely, founder and CEO of Networked Insights, said: “The rollout of Kairos across GroupM represents one of the largest-ever marketing SaaS implementations. The partnership shows how social data can transform the way agencies and brands make marketing decisions. Brands and agencies are pressed to act quickly to deliver exactly the right message at the right time to seize their opportunity to convert customers.”