It is said that journalists are society's watchdogs or gatekeepers.
A month's immersion into the media monitoring department of Blast communications revealed that Public Relations also truly needs its own.
Seeing a media monitoring department in isolation is already impressive as the workload looks ostentatious: every single newspaper has to be scanned and every radio news show listened to for news. Content is then sifted depending on clients, and media alerts are sent accordingly.
A media monitoring officer is not simply a good writer with synthesis skills: he is also a team player who has to adapt and coordinate information with his colleagues to offer the best possible performance. This forms amazing bonds between team members as they support and help each other with excellent internal communication.
On an even larger scope, media monitoring is one of the pillars of the communications agency for the following reasons:
(1) It is a service in itself: media monitoring is a service proposed even to organisations which have an internal communications cell, but lack the information on the sector.
(2) Information is the basis of Public relations: staying informed is the best way to detect a crisis in its early stage and solve it.
(3) It is still the most efficient way to show the client that PR services are value for money. By monitoring coverage around a campaign, and showing it to the client, the efficiency of a campaign is evidenced. Furthermore, the estimate of the advertising equivalence can also be calculated and compared to the free coverage obtained for more impact.
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