Web analytics, web metrics, and how to use them to track and improve conversions

I enjoyed watching Heroes tonight on NBC - the last 3 episodes, one after the other.  I'm told Heroes is the best show on TV this season - I think that's true based on what I saw tonight - now I'm hooked - and I'll have to see it Monday night's and maybe look at all the other need viral stuff NBC had produced.  Here's how NBC "gets it".

1. You can watch the latest episode online in case you missed it - they don't seem to be too worried about missing advertising dollars that way.
2. There's an online comic book you can read that parallels the show's development (which also has a comic book in it).
3. The Nissan Versa is introduced in the Comic Book - I bet it's being tracked by the Advertising Agency to see if there's brand lift because of it - I learned all about that from Digitas at the Emetrics Summit, including Case Studies at the WAA Training day last week - they does stuff like that and it works - works well when it's done right.
4. As Branding goes - the whole show is focused around one saying "Save the Cheerleader - Save the World".  As I learned in Brand Simple - an idea, Brand, needs to be immediately understandable if it's going to be adopted.  With a storyline as complicated as Heroes is becoming - it's important to have a simple, clear idea the storyline is built around - then branding is built around.
5. You can download various decals and other stuff you can print out - encouraging loyalty to the show and cementing audience share - but the decals are also viral in nature - and the show is spreading partly due to WOM.
6. Interviews with actors and producers are additional material that is available on the Heroes site - that's not unusual for a TV show, but when coupled with the other things I've mentioned, is more effective.
7. There's a live blog - but it has not been updated since September 25th. If there's anything they should be doing that they aren't - it's updating the blog more often - at least twice a week.
8. There's also a discussion board that's set up.
9. A lot of cross selling and up selling is being done on the Heroes site - The NBC Store, the GREASE show casting call, stuff like that.
10. Hiro's blog - the guy that can transport himself from Japan to NYC, etc.

All of this is trackable by Web Analytics and I'm sure it's being watched very carefully.  What people want, what they have always wanted, is to be entertained and to be able to participate - that's right - have a two way conversation.