The Internet has spawned a disruption in the market research world, giving birth to the era of “listening.” A study comparing traditional research methods with online listening techniques paves a new way of providing holistic consumer insights.

David Wiesenfeld, Vice President, Insights & Innovation, Nielsen Online
What’s driving all the excitement and energy around “listening?” After all, the basic notion of “listening” – observing and interpreting naturally occurring consumer behavior – is not new. In fact, when the first professional market researchers sat in consumers’ living rooms and talked with them about their lives and their needs, they were engaging in “listening” as much as they were asking questions. These pioneers were literally the eyes and ears of their organizations. They brought consumers to life in ways that …

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 …

Following Nielsen Online’s BuzzMetrics recognition as an “industry leader” in the “The Forrester Wave: Listening Platforms, Q1 2009,” Pete Blackshaw, executive vice-president of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Services, discussed the factors that drive success when it comes to listening.

Forrester’s report is available for download via Nielsen Online.
Read the full press release.

Melissa Davies
In the category of letting the customer tell you what the customer needs, Dell this week launched its new IdeaStorm for Healthcare and Life Sciences, an online community where users can share their best ideas for how technology can help improve the field of healthcare. Visitors to the site can vote on others’ ideas, bringing the best ones to the top for possible action by Dell. The idea list is sortable by most recent ideas, most popular ideas, and “Ideas in Action” that are being implemented as a result …