Every day the media (including social media) will make and destroy the reputation of brands and with it their ability to attract customers and employees. That’s because we’re all cynics, we don’t believe the advertising, we want to know what ‘non-biased’ people have to say. We check Trip Advisor for holidays, Amazon for books and Glassdoor for a potential employer, but these are just a tiny fraction of the outlets for brands to be showcased or destroyed. Whilst there is less talk about the impact of traditional media, for example, it is still true that a positive or negative article in a broadsheet newspaper has a huge impact. All companies need to take full charge of their reputation in this climate. When was the last time you undertook an independent PR audit?
A PR audit will review your presence in the media, the way your brand is presented and how your reputation is defined. The outputs from the audit are designed to help brands shape and refine their approach and content, with practical recommendations and ideas which will help PR and comms work better. It will also warn you of the issues that might one day cause you reputational problems, so you can identify ways to avoid them or, if they remain a risk, pre-agree how to handle them.
Many of the companies we speak to already have PR agencies or press office functions managing PR and comms for them, but the independent PR audit is a means of reviewing the impact of that work, from an external perspective and making recommendations to improve it. We often identify issues that those closer to the brand had missed.
For those who don’t have a PR agency or press office function (and a relatively low media presence) the audit will help identify ‘gaps’ based on what your business wants to achieve and be famous for and where the risks are. For example, if you’re struggling to recruit the right people we will look at your employer brand and how to improve it.
The Onyx PR Audit will provide you with:
- A summary of all press coverage in last 6 months, sentiment of that coverage and areas where this could be improved
- Summary of independent research among Onyx journalist/content writing experts to ascertain how they view your brand, based on the media coverage and general reputation
- Identification of risks, opportunities and gaps to help your company establish a strong and credible voice (even if you haven’t done any proactive PR in the last 6 months) and avoid issues
- Suggestions on potential topics and areas you could ‘own’ to set you apart from your competitors
So confident are we that this will deliver value to you that we undertake the initial review (i.e. What the media is saying about you) at no cost to you. Get in touch: anne@onyxcomms.com or by phone 020 7048 2700.