GfK MRI and Keller Fay Group Announce Fusion to Link Offline Word of Mouth to Media Audiences

NEW YORK, June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GfK MRI and the Keller Fay Group today announced that they have successfully fused together their large syndicated research databases.

The resulting new product will enable media agencies and owners to plan media strategies for the purposes of maximizing consumer word of mouth about brands and companies.  The new fusion product, known as TalkTrack/GfK MRI Data Fusion™, brings together the most comprehensive word of mouth database and the leading currency study for print media.

"Many of our clients tell us they are interested in how social influence and media work together, and this new product with Keller Fay Group helps to answer that need," said GfK MRI President & CEO Kathi Love.

TalkTrack/GfK MRI Data Fusion™ will:

• Link category conversations to specific media audiences and product owner groups
• Link brand conversations to specific media audiences and product owner groups
• Rank media audiences based on engagement in product and brand word of mouth 

The TalkTrack/GfK MRI Data Fusion™ is based on data from two of the most widely respected studies in media and consumer research: Keller Fay's TalkTrack®, the only ongoing research program that monitors the 90% of word of mouth that happens offline, and GfK MRI's Survey of the American Consumer™, the industry standard for magazine audience measurement and insights into consumer behavior and motivations.

"The fact is: all media are social. Every form of media—including TV, print, in-store, and online—has the potential to stimulate conversations. By connecting our word of mouth data to GfK MRI's Survey of the American Consumer™, it is now possible to identify which media audiences are most likely to engage in conversations about their category and brands," said Brad Fay, COO of Keller Fay Group.

The new product will be available by the end of June.

About GfK MRI

GfK MRI has a singular goal: to provide the clearest and most detailed view of American consumers—who they are, what they buy, how they think, and the best ways to reach them. When conducting its national Survey of the American Consumer™, GfK MRI interviews approximately 26,000 U.S. adults in their homes each year.  In face-to-face interviews and written surveys, consumers are asked about their use of media, their consumption of more than 6,000 products in 550 categories, their lifestyles and their attitudes. 

GfK MRI is part of The GfK Group, based in Nuremberg, Germany. GfK is one of the world's largest research companies, with 11,000 GfK experts working to discover new insights about the way people live, think, and shop in over 100 markets, every day.

About Keller Fay

The Keller Fay Group is the first full-service market research company focused exclusively on word of mouth (WOM) and brand advocacy. The firm's founders, Ed Keller and Brad Fay are authors of The Face -to- Face Book, "a celebration of the supremely social nature of all human beings and how that drives the consumer marketplace."  Launched in the US in 2006 and the UK in 2011, Keller Fay's TalkTrack® program is the only continuous study of WOM in all channels (online and offline) designed to closely monitor and measure the marketing-relevant attributes of actual consumer conversations. 

For further information about the Keller Fay Group, visit our website: www.kellerfay.com.  And, follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kellerfay) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/kellerfay).

SOURCE Keller Fay Group