Want to use web analytics to impact TV programming?
When companies post jobs on the Analytics Demystified job board, and they reach out asking if I’ll blog the position, I always ask if they can tell me a story about how web analytics has positively impacted the organization. Sometimes the answers I get are pretty vague, but every once and awhile I get an answer that makes me go “yeah, that’s it!” This was the case when I talked to Richard Calentine at Scripps Network about an opening they have for a Director of Web Analytics in Knoxville, TN.
Scripps produces television and companion sites like HGTV.com, Foodnetwork.com, DIYnetwork.com, HGTVpro.com, among others. They’ve been using Omniture for several years and are on the cusp of rolling out new site technology that will further improve their reporting. Richard is a bright guy, well experienced in measurement, and the company is looking for someone to manage the entire web analytics group.
The company is doing some cutting edge stuff on the Internet and are very strong on tracking Flash, video, and other Web 2.0 technologies (they partnered with Omniture early on for ActionSource tracking and have published a case study on the subject listed on this page.) They’re working with my former co-worker Jodi McDermott at ClearSpring to put (and measure) widgets on the site and all in all it sounds like an excellent place to work.
But I wanted to tell you about how analytics has impacted Scripps. I asked Richard “what makes Scripps a great place to be a web analyst?” and he said, “Well, management is really pretty good about listening to employees.” He expanded on this by telling me that he did some analysis on the site for one of their popular TV shows. He was then asked to present the analysis to the president of HG Networks, who ended up taking the recommendations derived from the analysis of visitor behavior and making changes to the actual television program.
Richard says the opportunity for this kind of thing is increasing as the TV folks increasingly recognize the value of the Internet channel. Users telling companies about their likes and dislikes, voting with their click-stream, and the companies using that information to improve their whole business. Kinda brings a tear to my eye.
Knoxville is a great place, and Richard sounds exactly like the kind of person you want on your team as a Director in this position.
Check out the position at Scripps Network on the Analytics Demystified job site and apply today.
