BlueFin Labs Hires Former Nielsen IAG Leader

Social media TV analytics firm BlueFin Labs has appointed former Nielsen exec Scott Grunther to lead its Media Products business.

The firm was founded in 2008 by Deb Roy, now Chairman, and Michael Fleischman, now CTO, building on their research at the MIT Media Lab. Its flagship Bluefin Signals technology platform analyzes comments posted on social media sites about US TV programs and commercials, and clients tap into this data to inform the buying and selling of TV space.

Grunther (pictured) joins as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Media Products, with nearly two decades of experience in the media industry. Most recently, he served as SVP at Nielsen IAG, the division that measures TV and online ad effectiveness. He began his career in ad sales at CNN, following up with business development and account management positions at a number of media technology companies.

In his new role, Grunther will work closely with TV networks to help them use social media TV insights to drive ad sales and programming decisions. He will also direct the business and product development efforts for the company's media clients.

BlueFin Labs CEO JP Maheu comments: 'With his strong management experience and expertise in the world of media and advertising, Scott is exactly who we were looking for to lead our media products team. He will provide our TV network clients with a strong, collaborative partner to drive forward the field of social TV analytics.'

Web site: www.bluefinlabs.com .