MRI-Simmons, Engagement Labs partner to help brands, agencies harness the power of word-of-mouth

NEW YORK, June 5, 2019 -- MRI-Simmons, the leading provider of insights on the American consumer, today announced a partnership with Engagement Labs to reveal links between in-person consumer conversations and specific media audiences, segments, and product owner groups. The insights generated by this new partnership allow marketers to activate their offline brand advocates and influencers and “seed” new conversations based on key messaging.

The MRI/TotalSocial fusion combines Engagement Labs’ TotalSocial platform – a proprietary database of offline social data – with MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer® -- the definitive, ongoing study of US consumers that captures in-depth information on media choices, attitudes, and consumption of products and services in nearly 600 categories.

By leveraging in-person discussions, the new MRI/TotalSocial fusion allows:

• agencies to plan media that are most likely to spark brand or category conversations
• media owners to sell advertising based on the word-of-mouth influence of their properties
• marketers to examine conversation trends among consumer segments, such as product owners and users

Clients can use the fusion to:

• identify demographic segments that are already talking about a brand
• target media audiences that are more inclined to talk about a certain category
• encourage positive messages among talkers more likely to have word-of-mouth influence

“We are thrilled to be partnering with an innovative company such as Engagement Labs in bringing the power of word of mouth into the media mix,” said Maureen Doherty, Vice President for Partnerships at MRI-Simmons. “As brands and agencies seek greater control over their plans, and growing reach for their messages, this fusion makes word-of-mouth not only relevant, but actionable. Together, these data sets deliver a unique, real-world tool for unlocking a powerful – but often unreachable – element of branding.”

“Our partnership with MRI allows to us collaborate with an industry leader to create and take to market the first and only offering that empowers marketers to direct their paid ad messages to those media and target consumers that are best able to amplify their messages through their real-world social networks,” said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs.