How we evaluate news media opportunities for clients

How we evaluate news media opportunities for clients

Americans still prefer to watch the news, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. The study found that in 2018, nearly half (47 percent) of Americans name broadcast at the top news source, which means TV news still matters, despite the rise in cord-cutting.

One in three Americans prefers to read the news, which includes print and online reading. One in five Americans names listening to news as the preferred channel.

The latest trends in media consumption matter to us – and to our clients. B2 uses data about news consumption to recommend smart media strategies to our clients, which today includes identifying visual elements and crafting compelling soundbites. These strategies help our clients’ stories resonate with their target audiences.

For example, we worked with our longtime client St. Petersburg Free Clinic to tell the story of its unconventional partnership with a local brewer, 3 Daughters Brewing, that’s selling a brewing byproduct and donating the proceeds to the nonprofit.

We brought ABC Action News to 3 Daughters’ production facility where the reporter showed the spent grain – the byproduct – and interviewed the Free Clinic’s CEO Beth Houghton and 3 Daughters’ founder Leigh Harting. Then the reporter gathered video of the Free Clinic’s food bank to show how the arrangement benefits our community.

ABC Action News aired the story on its morning newscast, then posted it to their website and added it to their streaming channel. The broadcast story reached people who like to watch the news, and the online story reached people who like to read the news.

We also guide clients on adjustments to communications strategies as news consumption trends change. One trend that we’re watching closely is a slight increase in Americans’ preference for listening to the news. Traditionally we’d think about listening to the news on the radio, but podcasts are on the rise as a news source. It’s a trend worth watching.