Post on 22-Jul-2018
Interview with Thomas Vejlemand, CEO of Infomedia Huset A/S
What’s the buzz?We live in the information age. The Internet has given anyone and everyone a platform to sound off about absolutely anything. Word of mouth is no longer confined to someone’s neighbours and close friends; it is a global phenomenon, and everyone is an expert. Knowing what is being said about a company’s brand, organizational management, products or services is vital to its success. Favourable reviews can be promoted to create a positive buzz, and criticism can be countered and remedied. Media intelligence is the name given to monitoring communications media for pertinent chatter, and one of its leading proponents is Infomedia Huset A/S in Denmark.
When Infomedia Huset was found-
ed around 15 years ago, the media
landscape was very different to
today. “There were fewer news
outlets, no social media, virtually
no web and fewer TV channels,”
says CEO Thomas Vejlemand. “Our
business involved clipping relevant
print articles. Then, there were
fewer articles, but it took greater
resources to find them. Today, with
so many print media having an
online presence, we hardly have
physical press clippings anymore.
Thanks to Internet searches, the
whole process has been digital-
ized. I would say that 50% of the
information we use comes from
print media while the other 50%
comes from social media, the In-
ternet and other digital sources.”
As a result of the Internet revolu-
tion, a large part of Infomedia’s
content comes from web and
social media monitoring. “We sift
through traditional print media,
web media, radio and television
as well as social media to find
exactly the right content that is
important to our clients,” explains
Mr. Vejlemand. “This is information
that is invaluable to their organi-
zation, helping them to evaluate
the success of activities such as
brand communications, product
launches and publicity campaigns
and helping them improve their
performance in the future.” Know-
ing what is being said about them
or being the first to hear market-
relevant information or the latest
news affecting their business also
has an important impact on day-to-
day decision-making. The media
flows being monitored in this way
are becoming increasingly global
while the demands from clients are
for an ever-more tailored yet cut-
price service. “We face increasing
pressure to deliver not just raw
data but also analysis and insight,”
says Mr. Vejlemand. “For example,
we were asked by one of the main
Danish political parties to monitor
how the party was covered in the
run-up to the elections held last
spring. They had identified five key
issues on which they wanted to
base their campaign and asked us
to analyze how the leading politi-
cians were perceived in relation to
these issues in order to see how
their candidate stood in compari-
son.”
One of Infomedia’s greatest
strengths is that it covers media
across all channels to provide
a truly full picture of the media
flow. It has a wealth of experience
in dealing with the media and
enjoys unrivalled access through
its media agreements. Through a
global network of media partners,
businessEURO
PEAN
Infomedia employs an enthusiastic team of around 200 people engaged in searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack
Infomedia Huset A/SPilestræde 58,3 1112 Copenhagen Denmark
+45 33 476112 +45 33 115628
support@infomedia.dk www.infomedia.dk
Infomedia has access to more than
500,000 media sources, enabling
their global monitoring. More chal-
lenging is monitoring social media
channels. “The flow of information
is different across social media
than across news channels,” ex-
plains Mr. Vejlemand. “In social
media, people don’t communicate
their opinions via lengthy articles
they tweet in communication
strings of no more than 140 char-
acters. A company name might
be mentioned 300 times and still
not be significant for the company
management. On the other hand, a
significant message can quickly go
viral, and a response can become
necessary. That is why monitoring
social media is such an important
part of our work.”
Understanding how people com-
municate across the various plat-
forms helps inform a company’s
communication strategy. The way
that information is communicated
can initiate a certain type of con-
versation that is beneficial to the
company. This is another area in
which Infomedia excels. “Insight
into industries is becoming more
and more important,” says Mr.
Vejlemand. “The future holds even
more challenges and opportunities
as we move to 24/7 feedback and
new software solutions as part of
our own growth strategy.” ❙
businessEURO
PEAN
An example of how media monitoring can be used to analyze election outcomes
Social media platforms have proven to be instrumental in building positive buzz