Environmental Scan

The Environmental Scan is Padilla’s process for helping clients gain insights that inform effective campaigns. It uses a mix of primary and secondary research to assess how well a company is communicating with target audiences, and it helps set benchmarks and realistic metrics for evaluation. We scale it to match the size and focus of each company’s communications program. Elements to consider include:

• Share of Voice: Measures media coverage against competition.
• Online Presence: Reviews link popularity, search page rank and key words to determine how well your company leverages online tools and sharing sites.
• Social Media Engagement: Analyzes frequency and type of dialogue in target social media communities to determine your level of engagement.
• Website Effectiveness: Reviews your website’s content, design and navigation to identify key areas of strength and weakness.
• Thought Leadership: Determines your company’s connection to important industry issues.
• Media Alignment: Compares your important audience segments with your existing media efforts to determine whether you are targeting all the right media and influencer groups.
• Marketing Resource Allocation: Reviews current communications methods to assess marketing resource allocation and priorities to ensure they meet present and future strategic marketing needs.
• Market Insights: Secondary research on a specific market or industry issue.

The Environmental Scan is often a precursor to Padilla’s Communicating for Action^SM proprietary strategic planning methodology.

Communicating for Action lays the foundation for your communications and marketing program by closely aligning it with business objectives and audience calls to action.