Insights

Knowledge is only useful when it generates insights. Our methodologies focus on generating actionable insights which are directly applicable to your strategic development. We apply quantitative and qualitative methods to ensure relevant results.

Landscape

Understanding the competitive and organisational landscape is crucial to developing robust influencing strategies. At the same time, the landscape understanding must go beyond “best practices” and focus on what is done by the others. Conversely, it needs to uncover the real opportunities. There are several methodologies supporting development of the global issues and stakeholder map:

  • Deep listening of social and digital channels
  • Media discourse analysis
  • Opinion research with end consumers
  • Stakeholder interviews
  • Structured organisational content audit
  • Case study development

Perception and benchmarking

Understanding what key stakeholders know and feel about their organisation is essential for a successful influence strategy. Usually, we suggest using a structured questionnaire to collect insights and perceptions from selected external stakeholders regarding the organisation’s communications and advocacy activities. This list should also include partners, members and other actors in the discourse, as well as journalists and external influencers.

Key areas to be covered in the interviews will encompass:

  • Type and frequency of interactions and engagement with similar organisations.
  • Quality and relevance of information and content provided by the organisation, particularly in comparison to similar organisations.
  • Overall experience regarding the relationship with the organisation and its staff.
  • Responsiveness of requests for information or insight.
  • Perceived role in the broader discourse and action.
  • Effectiveness and efficiency of organisation’s advocacy and communications efforts.
  • Interviewees’ expectations of organisation’s role and position in the discourse in the future.
  • Recommendations for additional or enhanced activities, at both a personal and organisational level.
  • Focus areas for taking the lead within the global landscape, especially thought leadership.

All our perception audit work is developed in accordance to EU GDPR rules. We consider the term “personal data” as defined by EU GDPR rules:

Personal data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

Audit

Anyone who currently works in an organisation’s communications or advocacy unit is experiencing the same developments: structures are changing, tasks are getting more diverse and complex, collaboration with other operational units is intensifying and organisations’ leaders are expected to get more involved in implementing communications strategies and staying on message.

Convergence - trigger to align communications channels
Trend - seamless experiences
Convergence - trigger to align communications channels

In addition, most communications projects have to take a campaigning approach to successfully reach their target audiences and get the messages across in a noisy, crowded environment.

Convergence of traditional and social media, real time and 24/7 news cycles, plus declining attention spans of target audiences, have triggered the convergence of engagement channels, demanding compelling content as a key driver and storytelling as an important tool.

The seamless experience, combined with engagement with organisations through all channels, is paramount in sustaining the dialogue with stakeholders and ultimately influence decision making processes. The audit helps to define:

  • Structural changes with definition of roles and responsibilities
  • Specification of interfaces between operational units across the organisation
  • Revised process descriptions with indications for workflows and collaboration
  • Job descriptions with performance indicators
  • Opportunities for in- or out-sourcing models
  • Budget and structural considerations
  • Resource utilisation and efficiencies (prioritisation and channel effectiveness)
  • Capacity allocation and structural optimisation

Mapping issues and stakeholders

By using human and digital intelligence (applications and tools) we identify the inter-relationships of organisations and individuals. Specifically, we will investigate the following:

  • Who/which organisation follows whom on personal and organisational digital channels
  • Who/which organisation shares content from the others on personal and organisational owned media
  • Who quotes whom on which channels and platforms
  • Joint memberships (individual/organisational) in multi-stakeholder platforms, public private partnerships, associations, initiatives, etc.
  • Mutual appearances of executives on panels, events, forums
  • Joint publications, events or campaigns

The connection mapping will give us the opportunity to visualise existing macro and micro networks indicating existing, relevant relationships helping us to identify and assess engagement opportunities.