OZ's 'viZual Listening' Tames the Social Media Metaphor

In Pittsburgh, PA, research based consultancy Olson Zaltman has launched a new capability called viZual Listening, to improve understanding of social media conversations. The firm says the system captures and understands the metaphors and imagery people use and not just brand mentions and keywords.

The company was founded by Dr. Gerald Zaltman (pictured) from Harvard Business School and Dr. Jerry Olson from Penn State University, and offers proprietary methodologies ZMET (the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique) and IAT ( Implicit Association Test) to examine consumers' thoughts and feelings. ZMET uses cognitive and clinical psychology, neuroscience, anthropology and sociology to model how the mind works, while IAT is an implicit and qualitative tool used for concept evaluations and decision-making.

The new viZual Listening system was developed in partnership with Dr. Michael Mulvey of University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management and Dr. Christopher Belanger of Belanger Analytics, and taps Olson Zaltman's quarter century of experience in the area. The firm says its approach 'goes beyond just counting brand mentions, and analyzes the metaphors and imagery people use in social media conversations - from their symbolic language to photos, videos, gifs and memes'. It adds: 'The patterns in those metaphors help companies and brands read the mind of the market. viZual Listening provides companies and brands the context, insight and inspiration needed for creating messages, posts and addressing pain points to touch the hearts of consumers'.

Web site: www.olsonzaltman.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.