5crucialstepstoasmartercommunicationsstrategyThishasbeenayearwherecorporatereputationhastakencentrestage,andcommunicationsteamshave?rmlyheldthespotlight.Theimportanceofdigitalcommunicationschannelshasundoubtedlyacceleratedtoo,withtheever-growingnumberofnewssourcesandplatformso?eringbothopportunitiesandchallenges.Accessingandreachingaudiencesatscalebecomeseverharder,and57%oftheindustryfearthatonlinedistributionalgorithmsarelargelytoblame.Meanwhile,couldthehypearoundsomechannelsactuallybeoverstatingthereality?Areallyinsightfulreportintotherealtruthsincorporatecommunications.Ituncoversthereasoningbehindmanyofthechangingaudienceattitudesandconsumptiontrendswe’refacing.Earlierthisyearwespoketoover700in-housecommunicationspractitionersand6,000membersofthegeneralpublicacrossWesternEurope.Thepagesthatfollowsummariseour?ndingsandrevealsomeuncomfortabletruths.SophiePonetCorporateA?airsCommunicationDirectorforEurope,LeviStrauss&Co.Wechallengeourcollectiveconventionalthinking,identifynewpriorities,andunderlinetheimportanceofevidence-basedinsights.Ourprovocativeanalysisconsiders?veimportantstepsthatempowerourclientstomanagereputationsuccessfullyandunlockthevalueofinsighttobuildsmartercommunicationsstrategies.JohnMcCarthyStrategicContentDirector,MediaApril202121Timetorelyonmorethaninstinct?Industrypractitionersareoverestimatingthespeedofchange.Isthehypearoundsomechannelsoverstatingthecurrentreality?Communicationsteamsneedtounderstandaudienceattitudesandcontinuallystress-testtheirperceptionsinordertoaccuratelytargettheirmediaplans.3What’simportant?Thisgapbetweenperceptionandrealityisaconcern,particularlywhenitcomestofastergrowingmediachannels.Practitionersbelievethataudiencesarenowusingsocialin?uencers(52%)andpodcasts(43%)more;yetjust7%and5%ofaudiencesrespectivelysaytheydoactuallyusethemmore.Forcontext,Kantar’sTGIindicatesthat9%ofconsumerslistenedtopodcastsintheUKinanaverageweekin2020.YoungaudiencesareskewingindustryassumptionsHowwelldoyouknowyouraudience?In-housecommspractitionerstoldushowtheythinkpatternsofnewsconsumptionarechanging.So,weaskedtheaudiencesthemselveshowthey

feeltheirbehaviourischanging.Inanunderstandabledesiretoembracethefuture,areCommunicationspractitioners’assumptionsofaudiences’changingbehaviourareclosertotheactualbehaviourof16–24-year-oldsthanthewiderpopulationofWesternEurope.Thisgenerationdoesindeedseesocialmediaastheirfastestgrowingsourceofnews.However,evenwhenfocusingonthisyoungerdemographic,thegrowingin?uenceofsocialin?uencersandpodcastsisgreatlyoverstated.communicatorsempathisingtoomuchwithyoungeraudiences?Whilstweshouldanticipatethefutureshapeofnewsconsumption,it’simportantwedon’tignorethecurrentreality!Top?venewssourcesgrowinginimportanceWhenaskedwhichnewssourcesarebecominglessimportant,thegeneralpublicplacedsocialin?uencersatthetopofthelist(26%),followedbysocialmedia(18%).However,forindustryprofessionalsthetwosourcesmostlikelytobecitedasdeclininginimportancewerenewspapersandnewsmagazines,clearlyillustratingaperceptiongap.AudiencerealityReactionisnotstrategy:youneedtherightmixtotargetandhonemessagesinanalways-onnewsandinformationlandscape.Datatounderstandandmanagethatchangeisvital,bothtoestablishshort-termprioritiesandtoplanforthelongerterm.1TVnewsTop?venewssourcesgrowinginimportance2Newspaperwebsitesandnewspapers3Socialnetworks4Searchengines5Radionews16–24-year-oldsAcommonview1SocialnetworksThroughourmonitoringandintuitivedashboards,webridgethe‘what’tothe‘why’.Ourservicesenableorganisationstoformulateandevolvetheirreputationstrategy,predictfutureaudiencetrendsandbenchmarkkeymetricsacrosscategoriesandsectors.Whereindustryprofessionals’perceptionsaremorecloselyalignedwithactualconsumerattitudesisontheissueoftrustinmediabrandsandnewsaggregators.However,industryprofessionals’appraisaloftrusttendstobemorepolarisedthanconsumers’,simplybecausetheyhaveahigherdegreeofknowledgeofeachbrand.Asaresult,therecanbeatendencytooverestimatelowerlevelsoftrustfornewspaperbrands,forexample,andtooverstatetrustinbroadcasters.2TVnews3Newspaperwebsitesandnewspapers4SearchenginesCommunicationpractitioners’perception1Socialnetworks5Socialin?uencers2Socialin?uencers3Newspaperwebsitesandnewspapers4TVnewsSomeofthismaybeanticipatingchangethatisyettocome,asearlyadopterswillmoveintoolderdemographics.Butitmayalsore?ectthefactthatmediatrendscomeandgo.>>Findoutmore5PodcastsIndustryprofessionalsaremostcloselyalignedwiththepubliconthelowerlevelsoftrusttheyhavetowardssocialmedia/newsaggregators.Weinterviewed6,295consumersaged16–64years(975aged16–24)and737industryprofessionalsacrosssixEuropeanmarkets.Fieldworksummaryavailableonrequest.Q:Whichsourcesofnewsandinformationhavebecomemoreimportanttoyou/toconsumersinthelastfewyears?4AreputationalrevolutionDuringthepandemiccrisis,Brewdogacquiredanewreputationforresponsibilityafterusingitsdistillationplanttoproduceanddonatehalfamillionbottlesofhandsanitiser.Weworkedwiththemtoexploretherelationshipbetweensocialmediamentions,onlinenewsandbrandsearches.Earnedmediacontributedpositivelytopeople’sunderstandingofandfeelingstowardstheBrewdogbrand.HappinessResponsibilityCustomerservice60%5,000%1,000%Thepositivemediareactioncorrelatedcloselywithbrandsearches,suggestingadirectconsumerbehaviouralresponsetothestrategy.?Kantar,202152NavigatethecomplexinteractionbetweennewsbrandsandaggregatorsSocialmediaandnewsaggregatorshavealowerleveloftrustwhencomparedwithnewsbrands.Whenaudiencesencounteranewsbrandtheytrustinanenvironmentorplatformthattheydon’t,howwellareyourmessagessurvivingthecomplex?lterofnewsbrandsandplatforms?6NewsmattersTrustisstillvitalNewsaggregatorsandsocialnetworksnowplayagreaterroleinnewsconsumption–theyranksecondonlytoTVasthesourceaudiencesusemostfrequentlyfornewsandarethemostpopularnewssourcefor16–34-year-olds.Diminishingtrustinnewsbrandsamongstthepublicisthebiggestchallengefacingtheindustryaccordingtoindustryprofessionals.Whiletrustinnationalnewsbrandsandbroadcastersisholdinguprelativelywell,thoselevelsoftrustdonottransfertothesocialandnewsaggregatorplatforms.Top?vesourcesmostfrequencyusedfornewsin%Trustofnewssources–relativetrustscoreConsumerswereaskedtoselectthethreesourcestheymostfrequentlyusedfornews.Trustscorede?nedas‘morelikelytotrust’minus‘lesslikelytotrust’expressedasa%ofallexpressinganopinion.Thisanalysisisspoton–new,fastergrowingnewssourcesarealwaysgoingtobechallenged.LesslikelytotrustLikelytotrust62TVnews45Broadcast(TV&radio)413635Socialnetworks51AshishBabuChiefMarketingO?cer–Europe&UK,TataConsultancyServicesNewsbrands15(newspapers&newspaperwebsites)Newspaperwebsitesandnewspapers-28Socialnetworks/aggregators2630Incontrast,theBBCintheUKrates+58%,ZDFinGermany+67%,andRTEinIreland+79%.Radionews18Whilstnewspaperbrandscantendtobemorepolarised,onbalancethemoreauthoritativealsoengendertrust:Süddeutsche+57%,TheIrishTimes+84%,ElPais+47%,andLeMonde+68%.2627SearchenginesAlladultsAged16-347Digitaldominatescorporatecommunicators’fearsWhathappenswhenaudiencesconsumeanewsbrandtheytrustinanenvironmentorplatformthattheydon’t?Howwellareyourmessagessurvivingthecomplex?ltersofaggregatorsandplatforms?Whatimpactisithavingonyourreputation?Unsurprisingly,91%ofcommunicationsprofessionalsbelievetheimportanceofdigitalchannelsincorporatecommunicationsplanshasacceleratedbecauseofthepandemic.Itunderliestheothermajorconcernskeepingcorporatecommunicatorsawakeatnight:Thisisamajorchallengeforourclients.Thebene?tofcoverageinatrustednewsbrandmaybedissipatingasaudiencesskimquicklythroughtheirsocialmediafeeds.Theriseofsocialplatformsanticipatedthatsocietywouldinexorablymovefromseekinginformation‘sur?ngtheinternet’tohavinginformationservedtothem–from‘pulltopush’.However,apotentialre-balancing,combinedwithincreaseduseofsearchengines,couldmarkawatershedmomentinwhichtrustedmediabrandscouldregainsomecontrolovertheirownaudiences.AudiencesarewaryofnewsaggregationAvoidingthemorecontroversialorpolarisingnewsoutlets68%36%19%Top?venewssourcesforin-depthunderstandingin%TVnewsSearchengines33ThewayAIandalgorithmsaredrivingnewsdistribution3028NewspaperwebsitesandnewspapersOthernewswebsites1413Kantaruncoversthefundamentaltruthsthatempowerourclientstomanagetheirreputationssuccessfully.WeuseourownconsumerinsightdatafromTGIandWorldpanel,aswellasclients’owndatasources,tounderstandthecomplexinteractionofnewsbrands,platforms,trustandawareness.ThefearthatnewsaggregatorswilldiminishtheawarenessofnewsbrandsSocialnetworksQ:Whichofthesedoyouusetogetanin-depthunderstandingofanissue?Thediminishingawarenessofnewbrandsisn’taconcernheldbytheindustryalone.Only13%ofaudiencesgotosocialmediatogetanin-depthunderstandingofanissue,echoingthelowerleveloftrust.Googleasanewssourceisanoutlierherewitharelativelypositivescore(+40).Thismaybebecauseaudiencesfeelthatsearchengineshavebecomemoreimportanttothemasasourceofnewsinthelastfewyears(21%moreimportant;only5%less),incontrasttosocialnetworkswherechangeismorebalanced(22%usethemmore;18%usethemless).Worryingly,only>>Discoverourplatformofthepublicarecon?dentthatthey32%alwaysnoticethesourceofthenewstheyconsumeonsocialmedia.Theincreasedrelianceonbroadcastandnewsbrands,combinedwithlowertrustofsocialaggregators,mayre?ectthataudiencesaremorewaryofnon-curatednewsdistribution.Weinterviewed6,295consumersaged16–64years(975aged16–24)and737industryprofessionalsacrosssixEuropeanmarkets.Fieldworksummaryavailableonrequest.8Weenacteda360°communicationandinternalmobilisationthathasachievedarenewedprideinbelongingandapositiveimpactonSNCF’simage.WewereabletoevaluatewithKantar,forthe?rsttimecombiningmulti-channelmediaanalysisandtheopinionoftheFrenchpublic.Thisconvincingintegratedapproachallowedustogofurtherintheanalysisofourbrandecosystemandistobecontinuedinthefuture.AnintegratedapproachtocampaignevaluationWeworkedwithSNCF,theFrenchnationalrailcompany,toevaluatehowsuccessfullyamajorcampaignhadperformedacrossthecomplexprismofnewsbrandsandsocialmedia.MichelPronostCommunicationProjectManager,SNCFWeanalysednewsandopinionsaboutSNCFacrosspress,TVandsocialmedia,andthensurveyed,withthesupportofGMVconseil,theviewsofbothcustomersandemployeestounderstandhowthecampaigndiscussionimpactedopinions.>>Learnmore?Kantar,202193Findthestoryinthenoise:balancetacticsandstrategyInanalways-onworld?lledwithreal-timenewsandopinions,organisationscanbeindangerofdrowningindata.Isdataoverloadactivelyinhibitinginsight?10Nearlythreeinfourcommunicationsprofessionals(71%)feelthereistoomuchirrelevantdataandnotenoughinsight.WhatmattersmostChallengesnotwithstanding,theprioritiesforfuturestrategyareclear.Communicationsprofessionalstolduswhattheyfeelisgoingtobecomemoreorlessimportantinthenextfewyears:Findingthetruthinthechatterisallthemoredi?cult.It’sampli?edbythebiggestchallengestoorganisations’communicationsstrategiesashighlightedbyindustryprofessionals:StrategyandtacticsCommunicationsprofessionalstoldusthey’relookingforbothinformationtoguideshort-termtactics(45%feelthiswillbecomemoreimportantinthenextfewyears)andactionableinsightstoguidelong-termstrategy(59%).Organisationsneedevidence-based,authoritativeperformanceanalysistoinformshort-termtacticsandguidelong-termstrategicplanning.Diminishingconsumertrustofmedia52%50%40%36%TechnologyandhumanintelligenceShrinkingjournalistandcontentteamsOuraward-winningsolutionsleverageAItechnologyandhumanexpertisetodemonstratetheimpactofcommunicationsacrossmultiplemediachannels.Throughadetailedunderstandingofoutcomes,wesupportourclientstodeliverbettercampaignsandmoree?ectivestrategicplanning.Some45%feelthatinsightsfromanalystsandexpertswillgrowinimportance.Arti?cialintelligenceclearlyhasaroletoplaytoo:52%believethiswillbecomemoreimportantinseparatingthesignalfromthenoise.Societybecomingmorepolarised>>FindoutmoreAIandalgorithmsdrivingnewsdistributionQ:Whichofthefollowingwouldyousayrepresentasigni?cantchallengetoyourcommunicationsstrategy?Weinterviewed6,295consumersaged16–64years(975aged16–24)and737industryprofessionalsacrosssixEuropeanmarkets.Fieldworksummaryavailableonrequest.11Kantarhastheabilitytogeneratemeaningfulinsightfromthousandsofvoices.Theirsupportinhelpingusrecognisethemesdrivingpositiveandnegativesentimentisimpressiveenough,butthefacttheydosowithhumananalysisratherthanautomatedintelligencesetsthemapartfromthecompetition.Kantarisarespectedpartnerthathelpsusremainresponsiveinarapidlyevolvingworld.MeetingtheneedsofstakeholdersacrosstheorganisationAvivareliesonaspectrumofKantar’sperformanceanalysistools:—TheBrand&Reputationteamuseourmonthlyinsightreportstosupportdecision-makingtoprotectandgrowreputation.AndyMcLennanGlobalReputation&BrandHealthLead,Aviva—TheCommunicationsteamuseourcustomanalysisreportstounderstandandre?ectoncampaignperformance,whilsttheCorporateResponsibilityandPublicPolicyteamsusethemtoguideengagementonemergingtopics.>>Learnmore?Kantar,202112Datasolutionsaiddecision-makingTheoutputsofKantar’ssolutionareclear,conciseandactionable.Thedataprovidedisavaluableaidtodecision-making,asitaccuratelydescribesoursectorandthemedia’ssenseofdirection.TheKPIsareclear,andthestudy’scontinuitygeneratesareliablehistoryandnecessaryperspectivetoidentifythemainelementsandsigni?cantdevelopments.WeworkwithL’Orealtodetectthethemesandsubjectsgainingmomentuminthemediaandvalidatetherelevanceofemergingtrendstoitscommunicationsstrategy.JulienWintenbergerCommunicationDirector,L’OréalConsumerProducts?Kantar,2021134Don’tcompromise!QualityandspeedarecrucialEvidence-baseddecision-makingistransformingcommunicationsstrategies.Butdecisionsareonlyasgoodasthedatathey’rebuilton.Ifthedataisn’taccurateandrobust,thenthespeedandformatbecomeirrelevant.14High-qualitydataisapriorityWhilsttheneedforreal-timedeliveryandfordataintegrationcapabilitiesarebothpredictedtogrowinimportance,nearlyfourin?ve(78%)practitionersfeelhigh-qualitydatatheycantrustisthesinglebiggestfactorforcorporatecommunicators’futurecontentdatastrategy.Onethird(33%)identifypoor-qualitydataasasigni?cantobstacletotheirfuturestrategy.Importanceofdataandinformation(ranked)OurKantarReputationplatformdelivershigh-qualitycontentacrossallmediachannelstooverLikelytobecomemoreimportant-in%200,00078HighqualitydatayoucantrustRealtimedatadeliveryactiveusersin8,5006867organisationsAbilitytointegratedatatoevaluateimpactandROI>>DiscoverourplatformQ:Thinkingaboutdataandinformation,overthenextfewyearsarethefollowinglikelytobecomemoreimportant/lessimportant/staythesame/don'tknow.DataqualityisthesinglebiggestdataissueforourindustryWithautomation,shortcutsand‘datadisasters’ontheincrease,youneedtobesurethatthedataandanalysisyourelyonisde?nitive,comprehensiveandtrustworthy.Wedon’ttakeshortcuts.Kantariscommittedtoprovidingtheindustrywithdatayoucantrust:relevant,conciseandaccuratemonitoring,usingthelatesttechnologywithhumanveri?cationandintegrity.Weinterviewed6,295consumersaged16–64years(975aged16–24)and737industryprofessionalsacrosssixEuropeanmarkets.Fieldworksummaryavailableonrequest.15ThekeytoanticipatinganychallengeMonitoringrequireshighstandards,precisionandstrongresponsiveness.Kantar’sworkqualityre?ectsourownworkquality.Evenifwereceive99%oftheinformation,the?nal1%canmakeallthedi?erencetoanaccuratepictureofthealways-onnewsagenda.Bouyguesisadiversi?edservicesgroupoperatinginover80countriesworldwide.Businessactivitiesincludeconstruction(BouyguesConstruction,BouyguesImmobilier,Colas),media(TF1)andtelecoms(BouyguesTelecom).DeliveringqualityatscaleisvitalforBouyguesGroup’scommunicationsteam.PierreAubergerCommunicationDirector,BouyguesGroup?Kantar,2021165Harnessthepowerofdata–strategicallyandsafelyTransformativeopportunitieslieincombiningdatasetstodemonstrateboththecommercialandbrandimpactofcommunicationsstrategies.Butthestrategicopportunitiesmustbeharnessedsafely,protectingprivacyandhonouringincreasinglyproscriptivelegislation.17Evidence-basedperformanceanalysisBeyondvanitymetricsOrganisationscanharnessmuchmorefromtheirexistingdataassets.Insightenablesdecision-makingineveryorganisation.Forcommunicationsstrategies,insightisn’taboutmediacoveragementions–it’sadiscoveryofunderstanding,uncoveringthefundamentaltruthsthatdemonstratethecommercialandbrandimpactofyourstrategy.Our7PillarsofTransformationreportrevealedanincreasingrealisationamongstcommunicationsteamsthatvanitymetrics,suchasOTSandAVE,arenothelpfulontheirowninunderstandingthecontributionofPRtoawiderstrategy.MoreadvancedmechanismsareavailabletoputthesemetricsincontextandtoevaluatetheimpactandcontributionofPRinthemix.Inthatstudy,79%ofmedialeaderswantedtocommitmorestronglytoanoutcomes-basedapproach.Inevitably,thatmeanscombiningdatasetstounderstandthecommercialandbrandimpact.Buthowtodoit?Kantarempowersclientstomanagetheirreputationssuccessfully.Activatingandcombiningyourowndataalongsidereputationmonitoring,wecanunlockthevalueofyourinsights.Weaskedcommunicationsprofessionalswhat’smostlikelytoguidedatausewhenformingfuturestrategy:OurMediaImpactScoredeliversarobustautomatedmeasurementmetricformediaactivities,providingafullspectrumofkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)appliedacrossearnedmediaarticlesfromthepressandwebinanycountry.integratingdatatoevaluateimpactandROI67%48%40%Beyondautomation,weworkwithclientstointegratetheirownorganisation’sdata(onlineanalytics,customerdataandbrandtrackers)withearnedmediadatainaprivacy-compliantway.ThisenablesclientstodevelopandtrackKPIsthatarerelevanttotheirsituationandmarket.PrivacyconcernsSome21%ofindustryprofessionalsseeconsumerprivacyconcernsasasigni?cantchallengetotheirstrategy.understandinghowandwherePRimpactsthesalesfunnel>>FindoutmoreIt’scritical