Shaping relevance in media coverage

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A plethora of reasons may suffice to the need for media monitoring but often methodologies and systems remains traditionally the same. However, media tracking still continues to be a scholarly age-old effective instrument to measure but also monitor media coverage trends, reputation analysis, brands campaign successes and positioning.

According to Media Coverage SA, a media monitoring agency in South Africa, media tracking technologies and trends are in the modern digital era evolving rapidly, and as such, the hard-pressed need to innovate cannot be overly emphasized – both as a key requirement and a valuable interventionist resource to benefit both a tracking agency and a line of clients, respectively. Innovation is but a key crucial component of a media monitoring system that effectively marries PR campaigns and communication strategies with client briefs.

Media Coverage SA, which has evolved from ClipTrack Media, is comprised with a staff complement of over 19 years, which has seen it all. From manual print newspaper clippings (which were subsequently faxed, before the advent of emails) to paperless digitised print newspapers; old broadcast clippings which were primitively packaged on VHS tapes to the now digital generation of cloud-based portal and historical archiving access to clippings– the list is endless. No portals existed then but the system of media tracking was alive and kicking - and systemically oiled.

“With the advent of rapidly changing media and publicity environments, our agency strives to optimise all forms of useful technological innovations and avenues to stay relevant to our client, speak their language and analyse their brief. This we execute through introducing new measures to monitor media – in line with modern standards,” says Lordwish Langa, MD at Media Coverage SA.

“We constantly evolve, by all means. Radio programmess are not structured the same as before. Podcasting is becoming a norm, social media is synced with radio/TV shows, news are both consumed off and online and, as such, metrics data changes all the time,” he says.

Analysing the media environment in SA

Fitting within the current media monitoring scope in South Africa, Media Coverage SA combined valued years of experience from crop of its team by providing a comprehensive scanning and analysis of the media environment in the country and has recently expanded into other African countries through a network of media and tech partners.

“Our bouquet cuts across of tracking of Broadcast, Print, Online and Social Media. Essentially all our efforts are geared towards eliminating so-called ‘monotonous tracking’ –reports adding little or no value to brands, thereby restraining clearer interpretations of monitored data. We therefore strive to craft what speaks to, is relevant and communicates with client’s turnaround and communication objectives,” Langa states.

The agency has an elaborate footprint in South Africa including covering most obscure but relevant community media, such as a wide array of community radio stations. With a strong emphasis on optimization on technological trends and innovations of the industry, Langa has attested to the fact that automation technology, especially for broadcast media monitoring is a complete and a no-go-zone hazard for the company as it often results in compromised broadcast synopses, which often lacks detail and the content and context of which cannot be easily decipherable, at most, by the end receiver.

Instead MCSA uses human coders/media monitors to analyse and prepare broadcast media coverage reports. The agency assists companies and brands to stay on top of their game, receive latest updates and alerts on all media mentions and breaking news.