Australians have a voracious appetite for news about COVID-19, evident by the highest uptick in news readership since Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (emma) was established in 2013. The challenge for businesses over the past six months has been getting in front of the 17.2 million eyeballs, a 10% audience increase compared to December 2019, when the news agenda has been so heavily focused on COVID-19 related content.

But when the “right story is pitched at the right time on the right channels” the result is a veritable “home-run” for businesses. That’s according to Tim Lele, Head of Public Relations at Melbourne headquartered marketing communications agency Keep Left.

“We have only seen a drop of five per cent in total volume of coverage during COVID-19, but we actually saw that the quality score for coverage increased one basis point to 81.8 out of 100 during the last six months. 

“Readership and audiences are up. So, when you get those quality pieces, you know you've got the audience there to engage with it,” Tim said.

Managing Director of Brisbane-based agency P4 Group Naomi Spies has also seen media coverage decline but similarly sees opportunities for businesses.

“With many regional outlets and some print publications ceasing to exist, sadly moving to online only or operating at a lower capacity, we have noticed a slight decrease in the volume of media coverage secured for some of our clients in the last six months.

“However, in turn, the pandemic has created many news jacking opportunities for our clients to provide newsworthy insights into the impact on their industry,” Naomi said.

The aforementioned “home-run” is in relation to media coverage achieved for Keep Left client Guide Dogs Australia. The coverage achieved a score of 100 on Keep Left’s online measurement tool the Impact Score, which factors in metrics like audience reach, key message penetrations, spokesperson prominence, inclusion of a case study, length or positioning and if the brand name was mentioned multiple times. The piece of coverage is then given a quality score out of 100. 

“We had the idea during lock down to bring a bit of happiness to people by introducing them to the new guide dog litter through a puppy Zoom.

“This piece of coverage made the front page of The Canberra Times. There's an image, spokesperson included, case study included, they met all of their client mandatories, the brand name was mentioned multiple times, all of our key messages were in there, the whole story was about us. So, a massive home run there,” Tim said. 

The challenging conditions for journalists expected to produce countless pieces of COVID-19 related content per day, has, according to Tim, raised the standards when it comes to the quality of stories getting published.

“In many ways, I think it's been a bit of a kick up the butt that the PR industry needed, in that it's really raised the editorial bar and I definitely haven't seen as many fluff pieces getting through to the gatekeepers.

“Ultimately I think that's a good thing, and I think it's accelerated this conversation around, should we be focusing on volume or should we just be focusing on having the right story, at the right time, on the right channels?” Tim said.

Naomi says the team at P4 has adapted how they pitch stories to media during the pandemic.

“A few keys ways our team has adapted when pitching stories into media include always knowing their client’s COVID story even if the angle isn’t to share the way COVID has affected them, coordinate and include quality imagery with the pitch as many publications don’t have the resources to send out a photographer, and above all, being extra empathic to the journalist’s current position and how COVID is impacting them.

“It is a tough time for all, so we also noticed that picking up the phone and providing some human connection has been well-received,” Naomi said.