Using novel methodologies to gain international coverage

In the fast-paced world of digital PR, standing out from the crowd is essential, especially when targeting international markets, where the PR-journalism relationship is not as anchored in the media landscape as it is in the UK.

Looking into unique ways of engaging with data sources can be a game-changer in gaining top tier international coverage for your clients, whether in France, Spain or across Latin America.

We’ve put together some of the reasons why exploring different methodologies can make a mark on journalists, and some of the challenges this comes with. 

The power of novelty in standing out 

As all businesses and PR professionals know, journalists are bombarded with hundreds of pitches daily. Using innovative approaches to gathering campaign data can be your shot at cutting through the noise. 

1. Uniqueness sells 

Journalists are always on the hunt for fresh angles and stories that haven’t been reported on before, but stay close to their assigned desk, whether that is sports, relationships or regional news. By striking the balance between relevance and originality, you stand a good chance of getting initial interest. 

2. Creating shareable content

Using novel methodologies and underused datasets can often lead to more engaging content for readers, giving them something fresh to look into after reading your story. Showing journalists that their story could spread organically, thanks to the novelty of its content, will bring them closer to saying ‘yes’! 

Overcoming the challenges of novel data sources

While unique methodologies and manipulating existing datasets can yield impressive results, they also come with their own set of obstacles. 

1. Ensuring the integrity of your data 

When scraping data from sources like YouTube transcripts or Reddit forums, it’s crucial that have a robust plan for collecting and analysing your data. Removing the initial trustworthiness of a government-sourced dataset, for example, means it’s down to you to ensure credibility in the way you present your findings. 

2. Transparency = trust 

As mentioned in our guide to digital PR in France, many journalists will expect data to be backed up with details of when, where and how it was acquired. Having this level of transparency from the get-go is a key step to building the relationship you want with a journalist. A simple way of doing ensuring this trust is having your raw dataset on hand for journalists to access. 

Although it doesn’t necessarily mean you share it with every journalist contacted, offering them access to it can provide an initial comfort when it comes to the data’s provenance and your analysis of it. 

3. Overcoming potential language barriers 

When working with sources in different languages, certain analysis tools might not be able to accurately analyse data sets. Considering the need for accurate translation and cultural context will be crucial to maintaining the credibility we mentioned before. 

How does this all look in practice? 

We recently worked with a client in the online sports betting space. Their aim is to share daily information and predictions to help its users make informed decisions on their sports betting journey. 

Distinctly began providing the company with digital PR support in their Spanish, Mexican, Colombian and Peruvian markets, to improve online brand awareness and gain authoritative links from top-tier news and sports publications. 

• We produced a data-led campaign on the most passionate, happiest and saddest football commentators in major league football across 15 Spanish-speaking countries. 
• To do this, we collated YouTube transcripts of Spanish football commentary, with an average of 16,000 words per country. 
• We then used the language sentiment analysis tool, text2emotion, to analyse the data, assigning each word used one of the following emotions: enthusiasm, happiness, anger, surprise, or sadness. 
• The final ranking was based on an average ranking of all the emotions present in the relevant commentary. 

The campaign achieved coverage in top-tier news publications, such as La República, one of Peru’s major national newspapers, as well as sports titles. Journalists were particularly interested in the unique methodology we had used to gather this data, whilst appreciating the relevancy to a universally loved topic.
Find out more about our International digital PR offering at Distinctly.