Hill Republicans Lead Democrats on Social Media Platforms, New Qorvis/General Sentiment Analysis Finds

Report Quantifies Political Media Value and Positioning, Finds Reid Closing Gap with McConnell Online

WASHINGTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Qorvis and General Sentiment today released a media analysis of the online presence of 11 top ranking Republican and Democratic congressional leaders, demonstrating that politicians on both sides of the aisle are prone to large swings in sentiment that are directly correlated to political events and discussions. Qorvis, one of the fastest-growing integrated communications firms in the U.S., and General Sentiment, a new technology company that specializes in producing comprehensive research products to evaluate performance in the media, collaborated on the research as part of an ongoing study of the use of social media in public affairs.

General Sentiment identified mentions of specific congressional leaders in online media, blogs, and social media platforms during the first four months of 2010 and then evaluated and measured the sentiment of those online conversations. The General Sentiment Media Value Report calculates the dollar value of the buzz, content, and conversation taking place online and was created using General Sentiment's proprietary software, which "listens" to more than 30 million online sources. The report can be downloaded at http://www.generalsentiment.com/mvreports/politics2010.html.

"For the first time, we can quantify online branding for the House and Senate leadership as a more than $150 million business," said Qorvis Senior Director Wyeth Ruthven. "By applying this innovative technology and analysis to Capitol Hill, we can see who's up and who's down, as well as how the political conversation is playing out online. Qorvis and General Sentiment are excited about the applications for this new research technology in Washington and beyond."

Among the findings in the Media Value Report:

• Senator Mitch McConnell's once-formidable lead in online sentiment over Senator Harry Reid has narrowed significantly during the last month, as the focus has shifted to financial reform.
• Republicans have built a strong online presence in social media, especially on Twitter. Rep. Eric Cantor's Twitter account, with more than 20,000 followers, has generated more media value than the combined Twitter presences of Senators Durbin and Menendez, and Congressmen Hoyer and Clyburn.
• Republicans have eight of the 10 most followed congressional Twitter accounts.

Political leaders considered in the report include:

• Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) – Senate Majority Leader
• Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – Senate Minority Leader
• Senator Richard "Dick" Durbin (D-IL) – Senate Majority Whip
• Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) – Senate Minority Whip
• Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) – Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC)
• Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) – Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)
• Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, 8th District) – Speaker of the House
• Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD, 5th District) – House Majority Leader
• Representative John Boehner (R-OH, 8th District) – House Minority Leader
• Representative James Clyburn (D-SC, 6th District) – House Majority Whip
• Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA, 7th District) – House Minority Whip

"We are excited to bring our state-of-the-art media measurement analysis to the world of modern politics," said General Sentiment CEO Gregory Artzt. "In a social media-driven world, capturing and understanding the voice of the public is now possible."

Qorvis is well-versed in public policy and therefore ideally suited to offer analysis on this research. Issue advocacy campaigns are at the heart of Qorvis' work. In fact, The Holmes Report, a highly respected industry publication, named Qorvis the 2009 Public Affairs Agency of the Year. Qorvis' advocacy clients include: Afilias (Internet governance); NetNeutrality (broadband); Sprint (wireless); Digital Freedom Campaign (copyright/fair use); PhRMA (Medicare Part D, drug importation); Pratt & Whitney (Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine); and the Water Advocacy Coalition (water bill).   

About Qorvis Communications, LLC

Qorvis Communications is one of the nation's largest independent, integrated communications firms. Formed in August 2000, Qorvis provides its clients with expertise in the areas of public relations and media relations, advertising, public affairs, investor relations and financial services communications, grassroots campaigns, interactive communications and web design, social media strategies, and research and opinion surveys. For more information, visit www.qorvis.com, contact [email protected] or follow @qorvis on Twitter.

About General Sentiment

General Sentiment is a technology company that produces comprehensive research products to help marketing, sales and communications executives evaluate their brand performance in the media, and assess return on investment. The underlying technology platform is built on 'natural language processing' and sentiment analysis software developed over the course of six years of research at Stony Brook University. On a quarterly basis, General Sentiment offers its industry-wide reports, which break down the brand winners (and losers) for that quarter. The company also produces custom reports and offers an online Media Measurement Dashboard that allows corporate executives to comprehensively understand their brand perception and measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts. For more information about General Sentiment, go to www.generalsentiment.com.

SOURCE Qorvis Communications