MEDIA SCANS: THE POWER TO ELEVATE STORY ANGLES AND DISCOVER WHITESPACE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BRANDS

By Keith Warden, VP of Insights & Analytics, Atomik Research - US

The media landscape is completely cluttered and only getting more so. That’s not a profound statement nor new information. However, to be seen and heard amongst all those voices, messages, channels and – of course – the never-ending noise, new information is exactly what’s needed. This is where Media Scans conducted by Atomik Research come in. Whether it’s to inform a PR survey approach or used to quickly pinpoint new opportunities for sharing a brand’s message, Media Scans offer a fast and cost-effective way to shape strategies and even boost the ROI of communications efforts.

GROUND LEVEL: MEDIA SCANS DEFINED

In simple terms, a Media Scan is a snapshot analysis of a topic’s presence within news and other sharable media over a 90-day period. Everything in a Media Scan unfolds from topic criteria solely. The analysis focuses on the context of content on the topics first and then the volume, outlets and influential voices surrounding a topic to uncover whitespace opportunities for a brand’s existing message or, in some cases, know when to pivot away from that message into completely new territory. Further dialing in of the focus of the analysis depends on the application of the insights, which fall into two core areas:

• Powering PR Surveys: At Atomik Research US, Media Scans are included as a standard part of all PR surveys. Those surveys help to provide mediagenic headlines that get people’s attention and get brands noticed (remember that cluttered media landscape?). Media Scans provide the actionable insights upfront that can shape – or reshape, in many cases – survey strategies by pinpointing and understanding what surveys on the topic have been in the media within the last 90 days, who the brands were behind those surveys, and how those surveys were covered by the media. The core distinction for PR survey insights purposes is that the topic has a specific focus on surveys on that topic and does not include specific brands and other details outside of the topic search criteria. Including such can filter out relevant data inadvertently.

• Standalone Media Scans: These Media Scans focus on a topic but that’s not specifically zeroing in on its inclusion in surveys. In this instance, scans can also include specific brands and products to understand the context of those within the broader topic more distinctly. Standalone Media Scans serve to inform an overall media outreach strategy that’s not PR survey results driven. The analysis leverages the 90-day retrospective to form a perspective based on the most recent information in news and other sharable media. These scans also offer insights into whitespace opportunities – or if pivoting, current messaging may be necessary to optimize a brand’s impact.

  Standalone Media Scans can be added to any media tactic, such as satellite media tours, to laser focus strategies. This type of Media Scan is also similar to a Media Landscape Analysis, which covers a longer time period – generally six- to 12-month retrospective – that typically includes significantly more data to be analyzed, resulting in longer but necessary turnaround times. A Media Landscape Analysis is also more suitable for gaining insights into a topic's historical evolution in the media over the span of time of the analysis. Standalone Media Scans can show spikes in volume during the 90-day period, but historical perspectives on a topic's evolution are not the inherent goal of Media Scans.

RISING TO THE TOP: BENEFITS OF MEDIA SCANS

At its core, the top-level purpose of a Media Scan centers on securing directional intelligence. The benefits of Media Scans stem from achieving that knowledge, which ultimately helps ensure improved ROI on every communications dollar invested in the effort. Three essential benefits stem from Media Scans, whether the use is for PR surveys or for informing other communications strategies:

• Adjusting the angle: Media Scans provide insights that help marketers shape messages and supporting narratives to find the nuances that connect better with intended audiences. Media Scans represent an efficient and effective way to uncover a new story angle related to the topic of interest, but that same actionable insights approach can be applied to current messages and story angles to further refine them or pivot in order to ensure the best return on the communications effort. The added speed to insights means that, when necessary, Media Scans can inform and reshape story angles the same day media relations were slated to start. That quick data-driven adjustment improves the chances of stories landing. “Best guess” is not a good investment.
• Finding the whitespace: If every brand is talking about the same thing, then none are saying anything new, which is a fast track to, “We can’t hear you,” regarding your audience. Media Scans find that whitespace amongst all the chatter, allowing a brand to claim it and create an adjacent new narrative that becomes attributable to it and own the conversation derived from it. This is especially appealing for thought leadership efforts.
• Enhancing the mediagenic: Angles and whitespace can be found with Media Scans in general, but Media Scans within PR survey projects go one step further. PR surveys help to create newsworthy headlines that help a brand be seen and heard. By providing actionable insights to PR survey approaches, Media Scans aid in refining survey questionnaires that lead to those headlines while also avoiding repeating recently covered data points from similar surveys that other brands pushed to the media. This further strengthens the mediagenic nature of the entire story, making it even more attractive to the media and improving earned pick up.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MEDIA SCANS

Nuances exist based on the purpose, but Atomik’s Media Scans share primarily the same characteristics, whether as a standard part of PR surveys or as a standalone option:

• 90-day retrospective is standard: Each Media Scan leverages news and sharable media data from a 90-day period prior to the date of analysis, except when Media Scans are part of a services package with differing parameters. This standard 90-day retrospective helps home in on recent news and sharable content. Afterall, there are 2,160 hours in news cycles over that period, and news ages fast.
• Topic-centric focus is the norm: Media Scans are driven by the topic, not the brands and/or influential voices chattering. However, those insights arise from the topic-centric analysis. Keeping the focus on the topic allows the analyst to uncover connective and adjacent subtopics that could otherwise be filtered out if the search criteria includes brands, influential voices and other non-topic criteria. Media Scans external of PR surveys can include brands and other criteria in search details so long as the goal of the research is to understand the topic within the specific confines and context of those criteria. Within PR survey projects, Media Scans focus on understanding any topic-related surveys within the scan’s time period.
• Short turnaround time: Media Scans within a PR survey project require a turnaround time of 2-3 business days for best outcomes. However, standalone Media Scans can have turnaround times of one business day or less, but to accomplish such, those scans require an even more refined topic-specific focus.
• Actionable and sharable deliverable: Results from every Media Scan are provided in a single-page summary with observations and recommendations, whitespace discoveries and links to content examples specific to the scan’s intended end-use. Top-level data points on volume are also provided. The one-pager is provided in a presentation slide format as a PDF with active links included. Request a report example here.

ESCALATE COMMUNICATIONS INSIGHTS: WHERE TO START WITH MEDIA SCANS

To request an example of a Media Scan report, contact us. To learn more about PR surveys and the Media Scans within those or to add standalone Media Scans to other communications tactics, contact your current 4media group account representative or contact us to learn about other communications-strategy-focused services from Atomik Research.