Turner Taps Canvs to Measure Emotions of TV Audience

Canvs, a startup that uses Twitter and other social networking data to help media and programming partners get a fix on the emotions of their viewing audiences, has added Turner to its growing base of clients.

Under an agreement announced Tuesday, Turner will tap Canvs’s technology platform to support Launchpad, a new social insights tool that will help Turner create and launch content for social media outlets. Turner said it has executed more than a dozen Launchpad campaigns in areas categories such as technology, movie studios and gaming.

Canvs said its platform, which maps audience reactions to 56 “emotion categories” such as “love,” “funny” and “exciting,” will help Turner “identify groups of like-minded users,” sort them out by topics they care about, and then deliver content that resonates with those groups.

Canvs, which recently locked in a $5.6 million “A” round led by KEC Ventures, said the Turner deal comes on the heels of its new “emotional connection analytics” system that gives Turner and other media companies a real-time look at how branded content is performing and resonating with viewers. The agreement also comes into play after Canvs recently introduced analytics products for Facebook and YouTube channels.

"We've cracked the nut on viewer emotionality surrounding content, and we're glad Turner sees the value in leveraging Canvs insights to deliver content and facilitate brand experiences that viewers welcome," Jared Feldman, Canvs’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Leveraging real-time Emotional Reactions will help Turner’s brand partners identify and market to groups of like-minded fans when they’re still emotionally-charged and rallied around a particular topic or piece of content.”

"When people are emotionally involved with content they are more inclined to share it on social media," added Frank Kavilanz, vice president of social, Turner Ignite. “By aligning with Canvs, we gain deeper understanding of the moments that trigger emotional reaction, providing our team the insight to react and promote branded content to the right audiences and unlock the full potential of a client’s social campaign."

Canvs’s other known partners and customers include NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, Fox, HBO, Viacom, Creative Artists Agency and United Talent Agency.