Localspeak

Listening to Brands with Insight Scorecard

31 August 2011

As a language services consultant to the global market research community, Localspeak shares the conviction of early adopters—that we are at the cusp of harnessing invaluable brand insights with the advent of sophisticated natural language processing analytical tools.

So this summer we gave ourselves a two-fold assignment:

1. Learn how to use an advanced social media listening tool developed in collaboration with 10 of the top CPG companies.

2. Develop new service offerings compatible with market research firms and beyond.

In June Localspeak began our summer task by adopting the use of two new and robust social media discovery tools from Netbase : Insight Scorecard and Insight Workbench .

While our linguists are well-trained in the art of “listening” (as applied to translating or localizing a new product concept survey, or coding cultural nuance for a media test or theatrical release), we now are using our listening skills in a new way— to track brand sentiment, emotion and behavior reflected in social media conversations with new tools. With the perceived cord-cutting threat looming over the cable companies, we set up our first Insight Scorecard analytics case study—Netflix v. Cable Companies—to track shifts in subscriber sentiment toward online streaming service choices.

In July, halfway into our summer case study, brand social sentiment took a nosedive when Netflix announced a 60% price hike effective September 1. As the Scorecard chart below shows, the conversation drivers took a reversal from subs showing a high propensity from cord-cutting cable service to outrage over the price increase. Netflix subs felt their customer loyalty had been betrayed.

Conversation Drivers Shift – Social Share of Cost Buzz Soars

Brand passion also took a nosedive, as revealed in the following Scorecard chart:

Netflix Brand Passion Nosedives on Price Hike News

Scorecard allows interval flexibility in viewing brand comparisons, brand passion, net sentiment, share of buzz and conversation drivers, as timelines can be adjusted for past week, month, quarter or year. The Brand Comparison chart below was set to display prior quarter brand equity shifts for Netflix v. other category brands: Netflix net sentiment fell to -19 compared to the previous quarter, while passion intensity dropped to -7; passion intensity for Hulu, another online streaming player, plunged to -19 over the same period. A look ‘under the hood’ at the social conversations analyzed—accessed in the companion tool Insight Workbench—would reveal the root cause of Netflix subscriber malcontent: an emotional outcry of consumer loyalty betrayal.

Last Quarter Brand Comparison v Prior Period

Further, Scorecard alerted us and quantified any shifts in Netflix brand equity, including tracking net sentiment for the brand against the industry average.

12-month Sentiment Trend v Brand Category

In using Scorecard, we found the tool provides huge advantages for brand managers to follow trends and measure trending against other category brands. When used in combination with the robust Insight Workbench—an analyst tool for digging deeper into the “why” behind brand metric fluctuations—brand managers or market researchers can move quickly into reparative or pre-emptive action as they uncover the root causes. Absent any negative trending, they also can relish a campaign’s success and map the reasons for their brand’s steady performance.

In the months ahead, Localspeak will be blending linguistic talent and tool chest to provide attractive entry-level Scorecard analytics offerings that enable market research clients and brands to leverage social listening as a complement to their brand oversight. We anticipate these services will lead the way to providing global cultural listening in other languages.