PARTICIPANTS
- Alex Abraham, VP, global corporate comms and reputation management, Kraft Heinz
- Geoff Curtis, EVP, corporate affairs and CCO, Horizon Therapeutics
- Lanie Friedman, senior director, content and communications, Conagra
- David Macdonald, VP of comms, Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Ben Nicholson, director of content, NewsWhip
- Paul Quigley, CEO, NewsWhip
- Brenda Rios, director of external comms, Ally Financial
- Lauren Russ, VP, external comms, Baxter International
Communications pros are always seeking to better optimize both their messages and the channels upon which they share them. Toward that end, the leaders who recently convened for a special conversation, brought together by predictive media-monitoring specialists NewsWhip, are in full agreement as to at least one tool that can pay great dividends.
“Real-time data is a huge game-changer,” asserts Brenda Rios, director of external comms at Ally Financial. “It uniquely lets you know how your message is landing.”
Her team relies heavily on real-time data to quickly identify what’s making a difference, then to tweak campaigns midstream for improved response rates.
Data can also help comms pros assess how effective specific channels are in amplifying their messaging.
When data suggested Twitter wasn’t giving the brand enough traction, Geoff Curtis, EVP of corporate affairs and CCO at Horizon Therapeutics, pivoted.
“We were leaning on Twitter quite a bit,” he recalls. “Now, we’re moving away from a content standpoint.”
Curtis adds that his team focuses on driving specific consumer actions rather than merely generating coverage.
“If we get five people to a physician after a very localized campaign it's a win,” he shares. “We’re more and more attentive to not just doing PR for PR’s sake.”
Rich, real-time data can also help inform changes to an active campaign, week by week.
Lanie Friedman, senior director of content and communications at Conagra, meets with a cross-functional group two to three times a week to analyze data, then make decisions on how to activate and optimize messaging — or change course.
She also has a weekly meeting with the C-suite to evaluate strategy. “Having those regular forums is super important because a lot changes so quickly,” says Friedman, who notes that a data-driven approach helps shape business decisions that are based on what people really want.
“Everything starts with demand or evidence in market,” she underscores. “We are now able to better understand how we should communicate and activate based on that demand.”
Friedman and her team use data to track how comms programs drive consumer action, from how many people are ordering on a product detail page to how many people are interacting with the unit.
In-house comms teams are also using real-time data to determine how public issues could impact their brand.
Lauren Russ, VP of external comms at Baxter International, sings the praises of social intelligence tools, noting how they have proved particularly useful in monitoring conversations among physicians – “Surgeons are on Twitter a lot,” she notes – who were frustrated by a lack of resources during the pandemic.
Roundtable participants included (clockwise from top left): Quigley, Abraham, Friedman and Russ. (Photo courtesy of Tori Soper)
Internal assessments
While real-time data provides valuable external insights, it can also offer crucial information about staff. With employee well-being so top of mind for management in today’s tight labor market, the comms function’s ability to serve as an internal listener and counselor is more important than ever.
Curtis talks about the importance of “human data” and how it can help the C-suite understand what motivates employees, whether its career development or DE&I activity.
“It's part of what we measure to determine how are we doing as a culture and a workplace,” adds Rios.
Internal comms tools can also help employees buy into culture, notes David Macdonald, VP of comms at Walgreens Boots Alliance.
“Communications has turned into a Swiss Army Knife over the pandemic,” he shares. “Especially now, with employee retention at the top of the list, we're being asked more and more how to create an exciting, compelling reputation – both internally and externally – to make people want to be part of the culture.” And the need to collect relevant information in real time cannot be underestimated.
Conagra even has a team devoted to employer brand marketing —evidence of the growing importance of this function. Comms pros are tapping into social media platforms to attract employees and Glassdoor reviews to solve retention issues.
“The data that's available can help us to do a better job of recruiting and retaining employees,” suggests Friedman.
Using a pulse question survey that pops up on employees’ screens, the team at Conagra generates real-time feedback that helps them understand “where people's heads are, especially as they are returning to work,” she adds.
When it comes to employee engagement, Alex Abraham, VP of global corporate comms and reputation management at Kraft Heinz, reminds comms pros to include all workers, especially those working in locations with limited tech access.
Data collection can also be useful in alerting the comms team about when employees expect the brand to chime in on certain issues or when employees are posting damaging comments about the brand. Panelists discussed the intricacies of putting social media policies in place and being up-front with employees about what they can and can’t say on social media.
“A well-crafted employee social media policy is a tremendous tool,” advises Abraham. “You have to go back and refresh it often with your legal teams to make sure it’s in good shape. We’re always one disgruntled employee, one tweet, one TikTok video away from a substantial crisis.”
Roundtable participants included (clockwise from top left): Macdonald, Rios, Curtis and Nicholson. (Photo courtesy of Tori Soper)
The fight against misinformation
Combatting misinformation continues to be an ongoing comms battle. Panelists note that while social media is the biggest offender, even trusted sources can spread misinformation.
“Our media partners are stretched very thin,” says Abraham. “There is not as much due diligence and the drive to get clicks tends to skew some stories away from the truth.”
Curtis adds that rather than attempt to correct misinformation, he often focuses on making sure his internal stakeholders know what’s going on and how the company will handle it.
“With misinformation, the ties between external and internal are very important so that you don't lose investors and advocates,” he points out.
And while old-school media relations remain valuable for combatting misinformation – “It’s as relevant as ever,” asserts Abraham – they need to be combined with modern tools so that comms pros can execute more effective damage control.
“We've always tried to keep an open and consistent line of communication with key national journalists,” shares Friedman, “so we're not just talking to them while we have actual news. They're learning about our business all the time. That's helped with accuracy.”
Even accurate information, though, can be hijacked by an audience seeking to advance a narrative.
“We saw this during the pandemic when someone died after taking a vaccine,” says Ben Nicholson, director of content at NewsWhip. Yes, that person passed away, but it was not due to the vaccine. Unfortunately, “no one read beyond the headline and you can't change the fact that within the first 24 hours, 3 billion people shared that story.”
While comms pros can only do so much about misinformation given the volume and speed at play, NewsWhip CEO Paul Quigley knows that real-time data can help comms pros identify where they really need to focus their attention.
He estimates that 90% of issues that NewsWhip users track will die down on their own – but real-time engagement data is essential to ensure those users do not overreact.
“There's always a fire burning somewhere,” Quigley points out. “If it looks like it's going to spread, you need to dig big trenches around something. But otherwise, just let it burn itself out.”
“It's easy to overreact to Twitter,” concludes Nicholson. The great thing about aggregating data, he says, is the ability to quickly determine what requires a response and what can be ignored.