As one of Sweden's largest construction companies they are definitely not without media coverage. NSS's challenge is rather to control how and in what contexts they are portrayed, both in Sweden but also the other Nordic countries. The goal? A qualitative and unified media image that will strengthen NCC as a brand.
Solution:
Retriever delivers a full Nordic coverage with different services regarding media monitoring and media analysis. Based on this, NCC's communication managers can make decisions regarding which strategies will strengthen their media image. The solution has several layers to it and is applicable on both a Nordic level, but also to each individual country and business area.
NCC is one of the major enterprises in a highly competitive and, at times, scandal prone construction industry. Mentions in the media have become an everyday occurrence, which means the challenge for NCC is not media coverage per se, but rather being able to steer the direction in which the media refer to them. The direction should be in line with the company's vision and to strengthen the brand.
"As a major corporation we are visible in all kinds of contexts, even bad ones, says Anna Trane, Director and Head of Corporate Media Relations at NCC. We have to continually and actively work on the quality of our media exposure."
The service that enables this is a combination of operational media monitoring and in depth media analysis from Retriever. Based on the analysis the communications department can regulate the strategic work. It provides answers to questions such as if NCC is being mentioned in positive or negative terms, in which contexts they occur, and which spokespeople have the greatest impact. In combination to this they use the media monitoring to follow up on traditional and social media.
"Most of the monitoring services have their focus on either traditional or social media, but to be able to see the whole picture you have to examine them both. In regards to this, Retriever is the service with the best coverage", states Anna.
A media analysis worthy of its name is best created when NCC and Retriever work closely together. The quality of the media image is measured on a number of focus areas which contribute to NCC's vision. These include; sustainability, health and safety issues, and innovative solutions.
"A good, creative analysis requires that you as a client are part of the process – including building the search profile" says Anna. "Retriever are highly receptive to our needs and the dialog on how we can develop and evolve is constantly ongoing."
The fact that Retriever offers a media monitoring and media analysis service for all the Nordic countries is beneficial to companies like NCC that operate in several Nordic countries. Also, the service in unique. It provides insight into how the media image differs between the separate countries and which communication actions are needed where to build a unified brand image. The services can also be adjusted to the employees' needs within different areas of interest.
"The services makes it easy for me and others with a broader, Nordic, responsibility. However, the user can always narrow the search down to only include a specific country or area of interest. It is useful for many employees."
So, any concrete examples on how Retriever has helped NCC?
"NCC is more visible in contexts that are connected to our focus areas now that we work with Retriever in the media analysis. We can now steer of our communication better" says Anna.
Another example is NCC's work on highlighting selected spokespeople. By steering and measuring their remarks in the media NCC have gone from an incoherent group of company representatives to creating a clear connection between a few selected spokespeople and the brand.
"When we started this process our CEO hardly ever appeared in the statistics. Now he's our most mentioned spokesperson."
To Anna Trane it was all or nothing. A service in media monitoring and media analysis have to deliver. If not, they are out.
"Gathering these services with Retriever and having a continuous, close dialog was the best solution for us."
NCC's advice to Retriever's analysis clients:
- Be actively involved. The more a media analysis is adjusted to fit your specific needs, the more useful it will be.
- Focus on the quality. All companies benefit from evaluating the quality of their media mentions, not just the quantity.
- See potential risks – and do something about them. Don't just measure the positive aspects.
