Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP
Posted by Joseph Thornley on December 15th, 2009
The Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms has taken a step that we think is an industry first. The CCPRF has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on behalf of our members inviting suppliers to provide Canada`s PR firms with a new approach to monitoring traditional and online media.
Why have we done this?
The world of media is evolving rapidly. Where we get our information has changed. People have switched much of their attention from traditional to online and social media. This also has had significant impact on the industries that monitor where information is published and that measure its reach and impact.
For many years, we’d ask media monitoring companies to monitor media for keyworks or brand names and they would deliver sheaths of hard copy clippings and video cassette tapes (remember those?). Over time, delivery methods changed to fax transmisions, CDs ,email and password protected data archives. But the media that was being monitored remained essentially the same – print, television and radio.
Then the social media revolution hit. And it wasn’t any longer just about whether people were reading content. Social media had enabled people to comment on that content. To share it. To link to it. Suddenly, we had new actions to consider and new things to measure – influence, engagement, social graphs and velocity.
A whole new generation of services emerged. Services which don’t simply enable us to monitor, but also gave us analytic tools to understand and measure the interactions that were occurring and the communities of interest that were forming.
We find ourselves dealing with a monitoring industry that has adjusted to the new environment in different ways and at different speeds. Following what’s going on has become a complex process that can involve setting up dashboards with several different suppliers. And each provides us with a unique view of different things.
Multiple offerings. Multiple methodologies. Increased complexity. Increased cost.
Just as it has been noticed that television advertising prices have not decreased in line with the diminished audiences television delivers, the prices of some of the services we use seem to be increasing while more and more of the conversations that matter occur on media they do not track. Worse, price structures for some suppliers are confusing and vary widely between customers. In fact, it sometimes feels a bit like buying a used car. A game of chicken to see who blinks first.
So, we end up having to pay more for more services, with several of them delivering less than they used to. That’s not good for our business. That’s not good for our clients.
There has to be a better way to obtain these services. This is what we’re trying to achieve.
So, we’re asking the suppliers of both online and traditional monitoring services to propose to us how they could better meet our needs at a fair price. We’re asking them to propose the most comprehensive set of offerings they are capable of. This could include individual large companies who go it alone to monitor both online and traditional media. It also could encourage firms which offer a best in class solution in specific areas to band with others to offer a comprehensive service.
Once we have identified the best offerings, we hope that we’ll be able to compare costs in a more intelligent fashion. Ultimately, we hope to find the provider who offers us the best value.
And because we use these services on behalf of our clients, they too should benefit from the best available services offered at a fair price.
Today December 17 is the day that the bids are due. I’m not sure how many or what type of responses we will receive. But I’m hopeful that the monitoring and measurement industry will provide us with creative proposals to improve upon what we now receive.
I plan to post further about this process, how it turns out and what we learn from it.
December 15th, 2009 » 9:19 am
RT @thornley: Canadian Council of PR Firms seeks proposals for media monitoring. http://bit.ly/62nwni Looking to modernize our approach.
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December 15th, 2009 » 9:26 am
RT @davefleet: RT @thornley: CCPRF seeks proposals for media monitoring. http://bit.ly/62nwni Looking to modernize our approach.
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December 15th, 2009 » 11:11 am
The Power of #PR Firms: CCPRF’s Revolutionary Media Monitoring RFP http://bit.ly/6SPHAa Stay Tuned!
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December 15th, 2009 » 11:17 am
RT @thornley: Canadian Council of PR Firms seeks proposals for media monitoring. http://bit.ly/62nwni Looking to modernize our approach.
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
December 15th, 2009 » 11:28 am
RT @thornley: Canadian Council of PR Firms seeks proposals for media monitoring. http://bit.ly/62nwni Looking to modernize our approach.
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
December 15th, 2009 » 11:44 am
Oops. I posted the wrong date for monitoring proposals to the Canadian Council of PR Firms. It’s Dec.17, not today http://bit.ly/62nwni
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December 15th, 2009 » 11:57 am
Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP: http://bit.ly/80IIw5 via @addthis
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December 15th, 2009 » 12:02 pm
RT @MarcSnyder: Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP: http://bit.ly/80IIw5 via @addthis
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December 15th, 2009 » 1:49 pm
why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 1:50 pm
RT @kdpaine: why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 1:57 pm
1/2: Because it’s colder here, so we have to think faster? RT @kdpaine: why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 1:58 pm
RT @kdpaine: why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 1:59 pm
2/2: Hmm -it’s a start! Hopefully includes rethinking measuremnt too. RT@kdpaine: why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 2:06 pm
@don_maclachlan Interesting re: monitoring RT @Jenniferwah: RT@kdpaine: why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 2:07 pm
@krusk Seen this? RT @kdpaine: why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 2:37 pm
Interesting. Is the Council actually going to award business as a result of this RFP?
December 15th, 2009 » 2:42 pm
RT @kdpaine: why does canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 3:03 pm
RT @MarcSnyder: Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP: http://bit.ly/80IIw5 via @addthis
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December 15th, 2009 » 3:09 pm
Katie,
We have a much smaller industry in Canada. So, it’s possible to get the heads of the major agencies together in a boardroom. And when we do get together, we see limitless opportunity for PR, provided that we innovate and respond to the opportunities presented to us by social media and the changes its forcing on traditional media and advertising.
This RFP is our attempt to call on our monitoring suppliers to provide us with better data on a cost effective basis that we can use to measure the impact of our programs.
I’m hopeful that we’ll get some innovative proposals from the Canadian monitoring industry. But, we’ll know for sure in less than 48 hours.
This comment was originally posted on http://kdpaine.blogs.com/kdpaines_pr_m/)“>KDPaine’s PR Measurement Blog
December 15th, 2009 » 3:15 pm
[...] According to Joseph Thornley’s blog, they’re calling for a Media Monitoring RFP to ask media monitoring companies, especially those who provide social media services, to fill out an RFP so they can “propose the most comprehensive set of offerings they are capable of.” [...]
December 15th, 2009 » 4:10 pm
RT @kdpaine why does Canada always beat us to it? http://bit.ly/4HSiSX
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December 15th, 2009 » 4:51 pm
Hi Erik,
I too agree that RFPs should not be used as education tools. Companies and organizations should know what they want before they issue the RFP and they should be committed to awarding business at the end of the process.
Both of these conditions are met in the case of the CCPRF’s RFP.
The CEOs of the CCPRF member firms have discussed this at length. We do know what we are looking for – we want existing suppliers to offer us better service at a more reasonable price. And we want them to modernize their service to reflect the changing media landscape. If a supplier gives us all of this, that supplier will get our business.
Joseph Thornley´s last blog ..Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP
This comment was originally posted on http://problogservice.com/)“>Professional Blog Service
December 15th, 2009 » 4:53 pm
Hi Erik,
I agree that RFPs should not be used as education tools. Companies and organizations should know what they want before they issue the RFP and they should be committed to awarding business at the end of the process.
Both of these conditions are met in the case of the CCPRF’s RFP.
The CEOs of the CCPRF member firms have discussed this at length. We do know what we are looking for – we want existing suppliers to offer us better service at a more reasonable price. And we want them to modernize their service to reflect the changing media landscape. If a supplier gives us all of this, that supplier will get our business.
December 15th, 2009 » 5:49 pm
Hi Nevans (N Evans?)
Yes, the CCPRF member firms are committed to awarding business to the preferred supplier that offers us the best value.
December 15th, 2009 » 7:28 pm
Joseph,
I’m really glad you responded. Thank you.
I guess my question is, if you DO know what you want, why are you gathering the information via RFP? Why not a database, a survey, or even a sample hypothetical project? Why not a 3 page white paper based on a few different scenarios?
“Client A is a nonprofit charged with providing information to the public about etc. etc.”
And then the agencies would talk about how they would do the monitoring, and the tools they would use?
Of course, if that’s what your RFP looks like, then forget everything I just said.
Erik
This comment was originally posted on http://problogservice.com/)“>Professional Blog Service
December 15th, 2009 » 11:19 pm
Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP http://bit.ly/8buEZU #pr
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December 15th, 2009 » 11:21 pm
RT @PRIANational: Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP http://bit.ly/8buEZU #pr
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December 16th, 2009 » 12:39 am
RT @PRIANational: Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP http://bit.ly/8buEZU #pr
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December 16th, 2009 » 2:44 pm
Hi Erik,
My post may have left you with the wrong impression. I’m talking about why we’re asking for proposals. But we are asking for proposals and we are planning to issue contracts at the end of the process. You can download the actual RFP from the link in the first paragraph of my post.
Joseph Thornley´s last blog ..Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Monitoring RFP
This comment was originally posted on http://problogservice.com/)“>Professional Blog Service
December 16th, 2009 » 5:45 pm
Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms issues Media Mo… http://bit.ly/5njfJd #postrank #marketing
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December 17th, 2009 » 10:34 am
Media changes mean new ways needed to measure media. Joe Thornley @thornley explains why and what’s happening http://bit.ly/5nCsYj
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December 17th, 2009 » 12:47 pm
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for clearing that up about the contracts. I didn’t understand that this was what you were doing. I’ll actually do a blog post about it to update that, so it’s not just buried in the comments.
Erik
This comment was originally posted on http://problogservice.com/)“>Professional Blog Service