Viacom Looks to Set Social Media Guarantees

Viacom is taking steps toward offering advertisers guarantees for the social media impact it can give them.

The company, which owns networks such as MTV and Comedy Central, plans to underpin the guarantees with data from Mass Relevance on social activity across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Google + and YouTube in real time, according to Jeff Lucas, head of sales, music and entertainment, at Viacom.

The resulting measurement platform -- dubbed Echograph -- will bring a level of accountability to social media that has yet to be seen from TV networks, Lucas said. It will let Viacom give clients data on reach, influencers, engagement, age and gender breakdowns and hashtag popularity, among others.