Blog
Taking Stock in Affinities and Market Performance
If you haven’t checked your 401(k) or IRA in the last month, you are probably going to discover some dramatic ups and downs, as the markets first reacted to the weight of world events, and then rebounded on the strength of the economic recovery. Of course, the market is no stranger to volatility. Take a…
Read MoreWhen Good Partnerships Go Bad
At Affinity Answers, we are in the business of unlocking the power of mutual affinity to help our clients figure out which celebrities (or TV shows, websites, etc.) are most relevant to fans of their brand on social media. These insights have added a lot of value for clients, as seen in our case studies. However, mutual affinity cannot predict when celebrities will act inappropriately or how events might be judged in the court of public opinion. Today, when outrage on social media is more common than not, we thought it would be interesting to look at how people engage with these celebrities on social after a major scandal. Do fans of the brand become less engaged with the celebrity? Most importantly, what implications does this have for brands?
Read MoreFall TV Success Hinges on Audiences as Much as Viewers
Just as we did in our last blog post, we take a look at another sign that fall is here: the start of the new television season. Although we are in a time when cable networks’ year-round schedules and shortened seasons have prompted broadcast networks to follow suit, this event still holds particular significance because of its tradition, and more importantly, the financial health of the “Big Five.” In a marketplace with heightened competition for eyeballs, it has become increasingly necessary for a program to establish itself as its own brand, reaching the consumer wherever she is.
Read MoreSuper Bowl Halftime Show: Is It Worth the Pay to Play?
The NFL season kicked off last Thursday, so in the eyes of many, fall has officially arrived. Football is arguably bigger than it has ever been – last season, the most watched program in the United States was NBC’s
Read MoreHow Coca-Cola Won the World Cup
The World Cup festivities have ended, and Team Germany has taken its victory lap. But the war between soft drink titans Coke and Pepsi is never over. Which was the off-field victor in the 2014 World Cup? There are many different metrics that can define success for marketers. I’ll review some of them in a moment, but let’s first take a look at which soft drink brand won the title of greatest growth among fans of the tournament, according to Affinity Answers data… Coca-Cola’s reach among tournament fans grew at twice the rate of its chief rival Pepsi. Affinity Answers data also shows that Coca-Cola was and is the #1 soft drink among tournament fans
Read MoreThe MillerCoors Deal with FX Networks: Better with Social Affinity
Last week MillerCoors signed a three-year deal with FX Networks to place its beer brands on shows on the FX, FXX, and FXM channels. In a minute, we’ll talk about how this partnership could benefit from using social affinity to find the best fits between specific MillerCoors beer brands and specific FX Networks programs. But first let’s take a look at the rationale behind the deal.
Targeting Audience Segments with Relevant Content
This is an exclusive deal for product placements, not just advertising or other sponsorships, which brings key benefits for both parties:
– Unlike advertisements, product placements will live on after the FX shows — Sons of Anarchy, The Americans, and so on — go into syndication.
Online Ad Targeting Using Social Affinity: Chris O’Hara in AdExchanger
This week our advisory board member Chris O’Hara published a column in AdExchanger that gives a good overview about how social affinity facilitates a more complete understanding of your consumers. Here’s the link to his post: Social Affinity Data: The Key To The Fabled ‘360 Degree View’ As Chris makes…
Read MoreFacebook Strategic Shift: The Importance of Social Affinities in a Pay-to-Play Environment
Big changes are underway at Facebook — ones you should know about if you rely on Facebook for reaching your fans. These changes are discussed in detail in a new whitepaper, “The New Facebook Strategic Shift: Reach & Frequency Model,” just published by social media marketing agencies Fanscape and The Marketing Arm. The report’s author, Tom Edwards, keeps a close eye on Facebook, and his study is comprehensive about the ways…
Read MoreChanging Our Name: Affinity Answers
This month we’ve changed the name of both our company and our flagship service to Affinity Answers. We did this to make it as easy as possible for everyone in the marketplace to understand what we do. The name reflects our own belief that we’re not simply providing our clients with data, software, insights, consulting, or targeting. Rather, we’re committed to using consumer affinity data to bring our clients the answers for their specific marketing questions. That’s how we help our clients get results.
Our CEO, Sree Nagarajan, chose the name Colligent when he founded the company in 2005…
Read MoreAre You An Index Or Alpha Marketer?
Marketing on the quantitative side can be treated essentially as investment management. Thus there are parallels marketers can learn and apply from the investment world. In the investing world, there are two competing approaches – Index investor. Believes you can not beat the market, so buy a piece of every stock in an index (e.g.,…
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