The PR League: Why Google hits the top spot in the online news rankings, but Coke hits the sweet spot

Of the top global brands, Google succeeded in generating most online news in the last six weeks. PRmoment commissioned research looking at coverage of major global brands, and will repeat this research each month to monitor how brands are succeeding, or failing, to generate a positive buzz.

Research supplied by Echo Sonar 

We compare the five brands being discussed most online to find out their share of voice – in this research period these are Google (28 per cent), Microsoft (23 per cent), Coca-Cola (20 per cent), Apple (17 per cent) and Toyota (12 per cent). We also look at the tonality of coverage, and here Coca-Cola scored most highly on positive coverage, with 21 per cent of its stories being good news stories.

Toyota is still hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons (see PRreview last week) resulting in 31 per cent of its coverage being negative, while Coca-Cola scored just 10 per cent negative coverage.

 Research supplied by Echo Sonar 

Google’s command of the media may not match its domination of the UK search engine market, but it is still impressive. But not all its coverage is positive – for example on 24 February, stories concerned how the European Commission was investigating complaints over Google’s rankings. In fact, after Toyota, Google generated the most number of negative stories, and its percentage of positive stories was lower than for the other four brands.

For any brand, gaining a poor reputation is never a good idea. Peter Walshe, global account director at research company Millward Brown, believes that it is vital brands generate positive news for their long-term gain. He says: “There's no news like good news, particularly when it appears as an unbiased opinion. That is where PR has a big role to play in encouraging good brands to be trusted.”

Walshe argues that, in particular, brands should strive to gain user recommendation. He cites the findings of Millward Brown’s research for BrandZ, that suggests today’s consumers really care about what brands deliver. Walshe says: “Consumers need more justification for their purchases, particularly coming out of one of the most bitter recessions in many peoples' memories. Current recommendation underlines historic trust and provides much of that justification. The focus for news and PR is clear. It must be good and preferably substantiated in a simple, compelling way.”

So it is not enough for companies to get talked about, it is important to get customers discussing them, and highlighting their virtues. As digital media provides so many options for this type of recommendation, it is vital PROs appreciate how to initiate and prolong online conversations about their brands.