Crimson Hexagon Inc. said it has been hired by New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. to glean consumer insights from “social media conversation.”

Both companies are based in Boston. New Balance markets athletic footwear and apparel. Crimson Hexagon provides so-called Big Data analysis software that corporate customers use to gather business intelligence.

Crimson Hexagon said its technology will help New Balance to make “the partnering process with large retailers more collaborative.”