Content analysis is rather dry term used to describe quantitative and qualitative value of news stories generated by an organization's PR department. Content analysis goes beyond determining "equivalent advertising value" - what coverage would cost if it were purchased as advertising – to determine impact of specific messages on reporters in a media campaign.

And while learning that equivalent ad value of your campaign is multiples greater than your original budget is indeed gratifying, diving deeper into details will tell you whether your messages are hitting their mark and how a campaign may be refined to increase its effectiveness.

IS YOUR NEWS GENERALLY POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE? In comprehensive content analysis, we tabulate every news story and track how positively or negatively news items about your organization are being covered.

WHICH OF YOUR MESSAGES ARE BEING CONVEYED? Most organizations seeking media coverage understand power of key messages – the, perhaps, three succinct media lines that are woven into interviews, releases and other interactions with media. Content analysis, we can tell you whether those messages are getting out. It will also tell you specific issues media is focusing on.

This is especially true in small businesses, where there may be thousands of similar companies vying for customer's attention. The easiest and most fruitful way to think of a brand is as an IMAGE that audience remembers.

This means that successful branding of a service or product is a matter of creating an image that is Positive, Relevant, and Memorable.

First and foremost, you want to create an image of your product or service (or company, for that matter) that is positive.

You want to create an emotional association (such as happiness or fun) with product. According to researchers, there are two basic ways that you can create these associations.

The first way is through direct experience. In this approach, a customer's experience with product or service impacts on way that they see it -- i.e. a positive experience means a positive association. This can be very important if you are trying to reach repeat customers.

It is usually hard to use direct experience to brand a product or service using just a web site. However, remember that a person will often judge your company based on their experiences with your web site. Therefore, it is very important that you make their experience a favorable one -- one where they can get their information quickly and easily.