Folks...It's Official!!!!

Today we formally announce the finalization -- yes, finito -- of our Intelliseek + BuzzMetrics + VNU-Nielsen deal.  We're now the Nielsen BuzzMetrics service. and it's no small coincidence that my ClickZ article this morning -- "The Gold Medal of Questions: Is the Web TV?" -- further probes the complimentary, symbiotic relationship television programming and web content, including consumer-generated media (CGM).  So much of what we'll be tackling as the "Global Measurement Standard in Consumer-Generated Media" will involve dissecting the relationship brand experiences (e.g. advertising) and consumer engagement (e.g. propensity to speak-out, recommend).  Naturally, this exercise implicates all forms of advertising, especially television. Quite honestly, I could not imagine a more exciting time to be in the center of the exciting, transformative changes in marketing and market research. In some respects, I feel like I'm back at Procter & Gamble when we just started to work through the implications of "new media" on marketing.  Back then my P&G mentor, now friend, Denis Beausejour, kept reminding me of a simple adage as we struggled to make sense of this new environment of consumer power and control.  "The consumer is our teacher -- listen and learn."  And so the journey continues.  I'm pumped!