CARMA's proprietary scoring methodology is the cornerstone of any content analysis undertaken by our team of experts.
Favourability score
Favourability refers to how positively or negatively a tracked organisation is discussed in the article.
The CARMA Favourability Rating System is based on a predetermined set of criteria designed to eliminate subjectivity and will be applied to every relevant piece of coverage. In gauging the favourability of an article, we consider:
- the headline;
- the length and placement of the story;
- accompanying photos,
- number and quality of sources;
- positive and negative messages;
- and the general tone of the article.
The methodology behind this coding scale is the strongest and most accurate in the industry. It measures the tone and impact of coverage. It is a 21-point scale which runs from zero (catastrophically negative), through 50 (neutral) to 100 (Perfect communication).
Because it outputs as a numeric value it is perfect for showing as a trend and benchmarking, which we know is important.
You may wish to track your brand and its rivals so an article may need to be analysed for multiple organisations (or 'competitors') to enable you to benchmark against others.
IQ Score
The CARMA IQ score is a measure of media effectiveness combining three core metrics: volume, favorability, and reach into one powerful index.
The methodology has been developed and refined over more than 30 years with input from leading academics as well as real-world application in many of the world’s leading organisations, brands and governments.
Broadly, there are three core metrics at the bedrock of media analysis - volumes of content, audience reached and the tone of the coverage but in isolation, they don’t always tell the whole story. For example, a high article volume is not desirable if the news is negative and high favourability from a low-reaching outlet will have a limited positive impact on reputation
The CARMA IQ Score quantifies both media impact (in terms of audience reach) and quality of coverage (CARMA favourability rating scale), thereby offering a single unit of measurement for coverage. The higher the score, the stronger the performance. The CARMA IQ score, developed using an algorithm defined by Professor Marc G Weinberger at the University of Massachusetts, is therefore used as our index for benchmarking media performance
Custom scores
For enterprise clients our team can work with you to develop measurement frameworks and custom scoring methods to fit your organisation's objectives. Contact your account manager to find out more.