4 tips on refining your media measurement frameworks

This post is sponsored by Truescope.

Media measurement has always been a fundamental aspect of a communications programme. However, inadequate measurement has traditionally plagued the industry for many years. Over the past decade, we have seen drastic moves in the market, massive digitalisation, as well as unforeseen consumer behaviour exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19.

In the new normal, it is time to reassess how communications professionals should refine their measurement programmes to ensure that they effectively contribute to the organisation’s bottom line and ensure accountability and impact for the C-suite.

1. Outcomes over outputs

Look to the Barcelona Principles 2.0 as an overarching framework for effective communication measurement. Adopted by more than 200 delegates from 30 countries, it identifies the importance of goal setting and places emphasis on outcomes over outputs.

Measuring outcomes should include the impact on objectives of the communication programme, and taking into account both qualitative and quantitative methods. If you have an existing media measurement framework, improve on it by presenting data with better clarity so it can be understood immediately by the C-suite. Media intelligence, when used strategically, can be used more effectively to support and evaluate desired outcomes.

 2. Streamline the clutter

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges, with the global “infodemic” as one of the most significant issue that brands and organisations are grappling with. It can be overwhelming for communications professionals to navigate the increased cluttered media and content landscape.

An AI-powered platform such as Truescope can streamline, aggregate and analyse your data across multiple media channels and languages across various countries in real-time. Truescope’s technology is also able to identify news that sits outside of trusted “influencers” and sources to discover if the news has been covered anywhere else to help determine its validity. If it’s only been covered once by a source not recognised by the technology, it is flagged as possible fake news in real-time to clients.

3. Focus on insights, not observations

The standard measurement framework has a slew of dates from all kinds of sources. With virtually everything heading online in the wake of the pandemic, the flood of new data might seem to be teeming with new “insights”. True insights are usually unique to the brand with the type of cultural and category context that helps forge more authentic connections. Analyse your metrics with a critical eye to distil true insights that helps your brand forge authentic connections.

4. Drive actionable next steps

Generating a great insights and analytics report is not the end of the journey. It is what comes after – the tangible actions that validate the value of the insights.

After all, what good are any of those if you can’t put them to work?

But all too often, the promise falls short of reality. Analyses get filed and forgotten without having any real impact. We continually run into the same activation-killing problems. To realise the game-changing potential of data intelligence, consider a framework such as the EVO below to realise the clarity of how insights can power and impact activations right from the beginning.

Evo Research and Insights Framework 

The key is to organise data and insights around the key drivers of your brand and customer experience. This takes you well beyond the typical category data that simply gets practitioners to parity. Tap on brand levers as defined above to uncover the brand, audience and cultural insights that uniquely drive business and communications agendas, while finding the right balance between data and brand storytelling.

This is what the next generation of media intelligence framework will look like for brands, organisations and government agencies – one that will help us to distil valuable and transformative insights for impact.