NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Nielsen Company (Nielsen) and McKinsey & Company (McKinsey) today announced a global joint venture, NM Incite, created to help leading companies harness the power of social media intelligence to drive superior business performance. NM Incite gives companies the capabilities to better understand, value and take advantage of the rich insights made possible by social media.

NM Incite builds upon the industry-leading social media and online brand metrics, consumer insights and real-time market intelligence of Nielsen BuzzMetrics to transform business operations including product development, marketing, communications and customer service. With the creation of this new venture, BuzzMetrics becomes wholly part of NM Incite.

“Our venture with McKinsey will extend our ability to help clients answer one of the central questions facing CEO’s, how to unleash the promise of social media,” said David Calhoun, CEO of Nielsen. “Our clients want to take full advantage of what is possible. NM Incite will fuse social media with the enterprise, creating new opportunities, efficiencies and competitive advantage.”

McKinsey is contributing client capability building and expertise in the areas of marketing & sales, organization and service operations. McKinsey serves multiple clients and has developed proprietary knowledge and distinctive insights in areas such as digital marketing, marketing ROI, word-of-mouth marketing and consumer purchase behavior.

NM Incite advises senior executives and delivers measurement, tools and new processes to drive organizational transformation. Working together with select pilot clients, NM Incite is developing its first three solution areas, expected to be available this fall. The initial areas of focus are measuring and improving marketing effectiveness, product launch optimization and customer service experience.

"As our clients' needs evolve, so our firm continuously innovates in the way we work," said Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director of McKinsey. "Social media is an increasingly critical issue for business leaders and an area of untapped opportunity for many of our clients. This joint venture will equip institutions with real-time insights to help their leaders drive better results."

NM Incite will work with the expansive ecosystem of interactive, marketing and strategic communications firms and other technology and social media companies to implement client solutions, help shape future offerings and develop new metrics.

NM Incite is headquartered in New York and is led by Dave Hudson, previously Executive Vice President, Global Client Services of Nielsen’s Telecom Practice, as CEO. Mr. Hudson brings more than 20 years of experience in operating and consulting roles, working with clients to leverage Nielsen data to improve business performance and drive growth.

“Senior executives of global companies instinctively recognize the possibilities of incorporating social media insight and capability into their organizations. They simply need help to make it a reality,” said Hudson. “NM Incite, in conjunction with our clients’ other digital partners, will help companies transform how they do business. I’m thrilled by the opportunity to be a part of this new endeavor.”

For more information, please visit www.nmincite.com.

About McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm dedicated to helping the world’s leading organizations address their strategic challenges. With consultants deployed in more than 50 countries around the globe, McKinsey advises on strategic, operational, organizational and technological issues. For more than eight decades, the firm’s primary objective has been to serve as an organization’s most trusted external advisor on critical issues facing senior management. For more information, please visit www.mckinsey.com.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related assets. The privately held company has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com.

PRESS RELEASE APPENDIX

According to Nielsen: Internet & Social Media Consumer Insights

As leading companies increase focus on the full potential of social media, online consumer behavior – from what sites they frequent (and for how long) to what they do online – is the foundation for insight and informed decision-making.

Following is select data from Nielsen’s Q1 2010 Consumer Confidence Survey, Q1 2010 @Plan reports and Audience Measurement tools. Please source all data to “Nielsen.”

• More than two-thirds of global consumers seek online product reviews, recommendations from discussion forums or social media sites when making a purchase decision.
• 40% of global consumers would not buy Consumer Electronics, 22% would not buy Telecommunications Services and 19% would not buy Gaming Devices without consulting online reviews.
• 21% of U.S. adults online publish or own a blog.
• 55% of U.S. adults online have 1 or more social networking profiles.
• 75% of the active U.S. Internet households visit a social networking site (May 2010). Globally, it’s 74% (April 2010).
• Social media websites had a unique audience in the U.S. of 148.2 million visitors (May 2010).
• U.S. consumers spent an average of 6 hours, 13 minutes a month using social networking websites (May 2010). Globally consumers spend an average of almost 6 hours (April 2010).
• Facebook is the #1 social networking site in the U.S., with a unique audience of 125.2 million visitors (May 2010).
• The average U.S. worker spends nearly 5.5 hours a month visiting social networking sites at the office (May 2010) and much of that time is spent visiting Facebook.
• Twitter has a unique U.S. audience of 19.1 million visitors (May 2010), growing more than 1,520% in the last two years (May 2010 v. May 2008).

Consumers are contributing and sharing online:

• 20% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Movies
• 18% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Television Programs
• 16% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Music
• 14% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Books
• 13% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Websites / Internet Content & Services
• 12% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Household Products (food and beverage)
• 12% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Restaurants or Bars
• 11% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Computer Hardware/Software
• 11% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Electronics
• 9% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Online Shopping
• 8% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Video Games
• 8% of U.S. adults online provide frequent advice on Household Products (non-food)