Nielsen and McKinsey Form Social Media JV

Nielsen and management consultancy McKinsey have formed a joint venture - NM Incite - to help companies use social media intelligence to drive business performance.

NM Incite builds on the social media and online brand metrics, consumer insights and real-time market intelligence provided by Nielsen BuzzMetrics, to help firms with their product development, marketing, communications and customer service initiatives.

McKinsey's contribution to the initiative is to provide expertise in marketing and sales, organization and service operations, as well as areas such as digital marketing, marketing ROI, word-of-mouth marketing and consumer purchase behavior.

NM Incite is headquartered in New York and is led by Dave Hudson, who previously served as EVP, Global Client Services of Nielsen's Telecom Practice. He brings more than 20 years' experience in operating and consulting roles.

'Our venture with McKinsey will extend our ability to help clients answer one of the central questions facing CEO's, how to unleash the promise of social media,' explains Nielsen CEO David Calhoun.

Initial areas of focus include measuring and improving marketing effectiveness, product launch optimization and customer service experience.

The unit will work with interactive, marketing and strategic communications firms and other technology and social media companies to implement client solutions, help shape future offerings and develop new metrics.

'Social media is an increasingly critical issue for business leaders and an area of untapped opportunity for many of our clients,' says Dominic Barton, Global MD of McKinsey. 'This joint venture will equip institutions with real-time insights to help their leaders drive better results.'

Web sites: www.nmincite.com , www.nielsen.com and www.mckinsey.com .