Meltwater has opened up its AI models with the launch of fairhair.ai, Mynewsdesk has picked up Mention, Forrester gives its verdict on the state of social media listening and New Knowledge picks up funding – here are the measurement stories you might have missed in August.
Mynewsdesk acquires Mention
Norwegian communications workflow provider Mynewsdesk has acquired Mention for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition should boost Mynewsdesk’s monitoring capabilities as it aims to be an all-in-one tool for PR agencies. Mention currently has 750,000 users, generating $6 million in annual recurring revenue. Mention co-founder and CEO Matthieu Vaxelaire is becoming COO at Mynewsdesk.
Meltwater launches Fairhair.ai
Meltwater has announced the launch of Fairhair.ai, a “comprehensive insights platform that gives access to millions of online data sources and trillions of data points –connected by a knowledge graph – and provides the means to extract outside insights with advanced, pre-trained and customizable AI models”. Originally developed to power Meltwater’s media intelligence and social analytics products, Fairhair.ai is designed to make it easier for businesses to gain a real-time pulse on everything from market research to risk management by integrating internal and external data. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Oxford have both announced plans to use the technology across various research initiatives.
Forrester: Sprinklr, Netbase and Synthesio lead the pack
Forrester has released its Forrester Wave: Social Listening Platforms report. The report highlights Sprinklr, Netbase and Syntesio as leaders; Talkwalker, Sysomos, Digimind, Brandwatch and Crimson Hexagon are Strong Performers; with Linkfluence and Zignal Labs being Contenders. The report expresses some frustration with the sector, stating that social listening is yet to break free from the marketing silo despite the technology’s value to the enterprise, and that current offerings “all look alike”. Providers are differentiating via their professional services offerings, BI integration and publishing capabilities.
Isentia reports profit, announces enhanced platform
Asia-Pacific leader Isentia has posted a net profit after tax of $AUD1.3 million in the 12 months to 30 June 2018, compared to a $AUD13.5 million loss in the previous year. However, the company has suffered a 12 per cent drop in revenue, and a 31 per cent decline in EBITDA. Isentia’s share price fell by to 49 cents following the announcement. Meanwhile, Isentia has announced an enhanced platform, the Mediaportal Recharge, which has been rolled out across Asia.
New Knowledge raises $UD11 million
New Knowledge, a start-up based in Austin, Texas, has raised $US11million in new funding. New Knowledge combines artificial intelligence and human analysis to identify social media disinformation attacks. This year has seen a number of disinformation identification services come on stream – we reported on Zignal Labs’s launch of its bot intelligence solution in April. We can probably expect to see continued applications of social media intelligence to help brands protect themselves from these reputation threats.
Tune into measurement
If you’re in the northern hemisphere, there’s a good chance you’ve taken a little time off recently. So, ease your way back into PR measurement with a couple of podcasts. Stella Bayle, from CoverageBook, hosts the new PR Resolution podcast series and talks measurement with Ketchum’s Nicole Moreo. Steph Bridgman, from Experienced Media Analysts, was the guest of the IABC EMENA podcast to help communicators understand more about measurement.
Book your flight to Copenhagen
With so much industry activity happening in the Nordics, it seems a smart time to head north. Two upcoming events in Copenhagen provide the perfect opportunity. First up, there’s Measurement Days on 25 & 26 September. The conference provides an opportunity to hear about measurement from the likes of Ketchum’s Stephen Waddington and Retriever’s Alan Malligsen. The following week Copenhagen hosts the 50th FIBEP World Media Intelligence Conference, which brings together media intelligence players from across the globe from 1 to 3 October.
Don’t forget to let us know about your measurement moments. Email us – hello@prmeasured.com.