Joshua Hammond, Nielsen Online
Social media can be a great equalizer. Periodically we see a new consumer generated media (CGM) item that breaks barriers and demands a deeper dive. This month, we saw a true “David vs. Goliath” moment play out online for one of the most widely recognized brands in America.
In the spring of 2008, Dave Carroll and his band, the Sons of Maxwell, were traveling to Nebraska from Chicago on United Airlines. What should have been a routine journey turned into yet another cautionary tale for customer …

Recommendations from personal acquaintances or opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising, according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries.
Ninety percent or consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trusted consumer opinions posted online.
“The explosion in Consumer Generated Media over the last couple of years means consumers’ reliance on word of mouth in the decision-making process, either from people they know or online consumers they don’t, has increased significantly,” …

Charlie Buchwalter & David Wiesenfeld, Nielsen Online
More and more researchers are waking up to the reality that mining the growing volume of conversations on blogs, message boards and social networking sites (i. e., “listening” to consumers) can provide timely, penetrating insights on a wide range of issues and brands.
A series of parallel studies we conducted with Procter & Gamble demonstrates that both surveys and listening are often required to tell the whole story. We looked at a number of brands and products: everything from orange juice, to razor blades, to …

Starting March 30, experts from The Nielsen Company will participate in the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) convention and expo in New York City. During the event, Nielsen Wire will provide updates, overviews and excerpts of key presentations and sessions.
Listening And Social Networks
Jon Gibs, VP Media Analytics, will be facilitating a Listening Zone Learning Presentation focused on social networking, citing the importance of fostering a listening environment. The presentation will feature new data from Nielsen Online’s social networking study and demonstrate how brands are getting the most out of their …

As part of Nielsen’s kickoff presentation to the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) research summit, Nielsen Online presented two Brand Association Maps (BAM) illustrating how consumers’ online conversations have affected peanut butter in the wake of a nationwide Salmonella scare. What’s clear in looking at the pre- and post-event BAM maps is that online conversations about peanut butter soured very quickly. Once the first FDA report alerted consumers to salmonella-tainted peanut butter, online buzz tripled in a few short hours. Moreover, discussion was dispersed …

Has the era of the DVD passed? 
Today, the likes of Netflix, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Veoh, and Hulu are betting it has.  Instead, they’re throwing their resources into developing a new video source: online streaming movies.
These new media titans may have the right idea, according to recent research by Nielsen that found online streaming video usage almost doubled in the U.S. between 2006 and 2007.  A separate survey conducted by Nielsen in 2007 found that 40% of respondents had streamed some type of video, while just over 10% had downloaded a …

Small businesses are especially dependent on favorable testimonials — and for many consumers, online forums have become the favored means of sharing feedback about businesses and products.
“About 60% of Americans are putting content on the Web, and it can affect how your product or service is perceived in the marketplace,” Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, told Fortune Small Business in a recent Q&A.  “Consumers trust each other more than they trust advertisers or businesses.  The question is, how do you turn it to your advantage?”
In general, …

With online consumer forums and personal blogs in ascendence, communications strategies are being redefined — and PR firms, for one, have to adapt. 
That’s the message Pete Blackshaw emphasized in a recent discussion with the editors of The Council of Public Relations Firms’ The Firm Voice. 
Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, is the author of a new book, “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), which examines marketing in the era of empowered consumers. 
“I think PR firms are going to have to get much smarter and savvier about …

The new book from Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, is continuing to garner critical praise. 
On Monday, Adweek and the Miami Herald published reviews of “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday).  The Herald referred to Blackshaw as a “guru on customer interaction,” while Adweek’s review featured a video interview with the author (full disclosure: Adweek is owned by Nielsen) . 
“Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” has also received rave reviews from CNBC’s Gloria McDonough-Taub and TIME’s Andrea Sachs.

In separate reviews published Thursday, CNBC’s Gloria McDonough-Taub and TIME’s Andrea Sachs praised “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), the new book from Nielsen Online’s Executive Vice President of Digital Strategic Services, Pete Blackshaw.   
Sachs concluded that the book, which offers guidance for marketing to Web-empowered consumers, “deserves a spot on the desk of every executive who worries about his company’s reputational risk.”
In her “Bullish on Books” blog, McDonough-Taub echoed that advice: ”‘Satisfied Customers’ is a great guide for business leaders and marketing officers who want to build …