Blogs have become so influential to the practice of media relations that not monitoring their coverage could be detrimental to your company's image and reputation. Now, integrated media intelligence solutions provider VMS has rolled out a service that allows you to monitor and analyze activity on the blogosphere. The company has announced a new agreement with consumer-generated media specialists Nielsen BuzzMetrics, in which the broadcast monitoring company gains access to NBM's extensive blog database covering millions of blogs. This real-time consumer-generated media will be available to VMS clients through the company's integrated suite of products and services.

"We're committed to delivering our clients the most comprehensive media monitoring and competitive intelligence available in the marketplace," noted Peter Wengryn, president and CEO of VMS. "This relationship with Nielsen BuzzMetrics will now allow us to provide best-in-breed blog coverage, complimenting our unmatched broadcast, print and Internet coverage," he says.

"Adding blogs is essentially another step in the direction of being a fully integrated provider of content," Wengryn adds. "BuzzMetrics has a significant volume of blogs they watch, but they also prioritize their results according to prominence. We now give our clients information about the most influential blogs in the marketplace at large, and in their specific industries."

The modern world of 24/7 media is intimidating enough, and blogs only add to the PR challenge. "As media becomes more diverse, it becomes more difficult for clients to keep up with everything that's happening. We simplify it for them," says Wengryn. "Best of all, our services are fully integrated—when we monitor and analyze content, it's across all media." VMS' services are further distinguished by its incorporation of the tracking and measurement of advertising.

"We're excited to be working with VMS, a true market leader," said Karthik Iyer, senior vice president of business development with Nielsen BuzzMetrics. "With this agreement, Nielsen BuzzMetrics will help VMS ensure that its clients have the timeliest access to extensive and ever-growing blog content, on virtually every topic from around the world."

This enhancement and expansion of VMS' media monitoring capabilities will support both existing product offerings and the company's Integrated Media Intelligence platform, scheduled for release in 2007. VMS operates 15 full-service offices and 3 monitoring centers throughout the U.S. Visit www.vmsinfo.com for more information, or to inquire further about the product and pricing packages. "You can request info at our site, and we'll get in touch quickly," adds Wengryn.

Richard Carufel