Golin recently launched Executive Impact Matrix (EIM), which aims to determine a leader’s overall standing against industry peers by generating an Executive Impact Score (EI Score). This informs areas to focus on when developing a comms strategy to build and executive's reputation. We caught up Andrea Tesorero, who shared more about the matrix.

Can you tell us more about your role at Golin?
As Director of Strategy at Golin Singapore, I lead data analysts within our Creative Intelligence Team. I’m responsible for expanding the digital analytics practice, spotting industry trends, identifying actionable insights, and delivering plans for our clients that drive change. As well as ensuring the implementation of best practices in comparative analysis, and using Golin’s proprietary tools such as the Customer Journey and Brand Pull, I am also the architect of Golin’s freshest innovation in measuring the business impact of executive thought leadership, Executive Impact Matrix.

Why is data-driven PR strategy important for PR professionals?
A true strategy begins and ends with data; professionals shouldn’t simply lead with gut feeling, intuition or individual experiences which can contain a lot of biases, even from subject-matter experts.

Data contextualises the landscape based on evidence and truths. It connects insights to strategy and creative, and most importantly, measures progress and impact - if we did well and how well we did it. Data unfolds the drama - the story - in the situation and offers a way out.

Golin launched Executive Impact Matrix recently. Could you briefly tell us about the tool and how it is filling the gap in the PR landscape?
Executive Impact Matrix (EIM) is the foundation that any profiling programme should be built upon: our solution to the much asked question of how we objectively measure the business impact of executive thought leadership. Brands should be cognisant that building an executive’s reputation should be based on what is relatable to businesses today, and that begins with understanding that we are operating in a values-driven economy.

EIM determines a business leader’s overall standing against industry peers through the Executive Impact Score (EI Score), which directs the focus area of strategy development. Aside from using a set of quantifiable influence indicators in measuring outcome (including audience size, content frequency, favourability, amongst others), central to the matrix are 14 critical business values integral to impactful leaders, with weightings based on direct inputs from regional and global C-Suite executives. These values are categorised into:

• Business Fundamentals that drive revenue and impacts stocks of listed companies,
• Business Foresight, which ensures the company’s future-proofing initiatives are in place, and
• Business Connections that keep the company relevant, progressive, and in touch with the community.

The Executive Impact Matrix has been piloted across the region, how has the reception been so far and what’s next?
Since its launch, we’re already running EIM for existing clients across different sectors and roles.  We have new clients reaching out for a demo (please get in touch!), and the most asked question we’ve had is around implementation of our recommendations - if the client is limited to working just with our team to drive the recommended direction of the programme. We understand that some brands are already engaged with other partners; the beauty of this is that our recommendations can be easily implemented by in-house communications teams and others. We can clearly itemise the scope of work needed for success. What’s more is that we can always come back to measure progress and success after six months or one year.

As for our internal next steps, we’re currently working on EIM’s global adaptation, ensuring that platforms used worldwide will be part of the ecosystem.

How could executives leverage the data from the matrix and what is the most important indicator that a comms strategy was successful?
We’ve found three key areas that leaders and marketers want to learn about themselves, their spokespeople, industry, and peers:

1. Suppose we are to paint a picture of an executive’s reputation in the industry; we are able to determine their strengths, blind spots and opportunities. We can identify the values that an executive upholds, and those needing strengthening to shape a comprehensive sphere of impact. We can cross-analyse this against peers and the industry standard.
2. EIM can inform the most effective earned exposure. We know which values are best told along with which other values. We can create stories around the executive that are specifically targeted in building their reputation, for impact with precision.
3. Executives and their comms team will have an indication of financial and time investment needed to build a reputation through their leadership programme. We efficiently correlate this to KPIs, with a clearly defined scope of work.

In determining success indicators, clients may wish to become a market leader ahead of the breadth of their competition - or to simply push ahead of the closest rival. Our recommendation will always be based on the current standing as our starting point, and we work with comms teams to identify how we centre our goals and analysis.