The CARMA® media content analysis methodology is internationally recognised as one of the most sophisticated and rigorous commercial systems available and CARMA Asia Pacific executives are foremost specialists in media research and analysis worldwide.

CARMA Asia Pacific analyses media coverage of companies, organisations, products, events, campaigns, trends and issues quantitatively and, most importantly, qualitatively.
 

Quantitative Analysis

Quantitative analysis goes beyond simply counting the number of articles and column centimetres or minutes of air time to identify audience reach (total media circulation or audience, or demographic breakdowns in some cases).  Where competitors’ media coverage is analysed, CARMA® also reports media ‘share of voice’.
 

Qualitative Analysis

Importantly, CARMA Asia Pacific analyses media content qualitatively taking into account the multiple variables that determine the impact of media coverage.

After scoring each article on each of these multiple variables, an aggregate rating is calculated and expressed on a 0-100 scale where 50 is neutral to provide a sophisticated overall rating of the favourability or otherwise of each article. This aggregate score is called the CARMA® Favourability Rating. An aggregate Favourability Rating is calculated for each media, each source and each journalist in terms of how they portrayed the client’s interests.

The CARMA® Favourability Rating is much more than a positive or negative description which is the basis of some simplistic (univariate) media analysis systems. It provides a precise overall qualitative rating that reflects the likely impact of media coverage.
 

Positive/Negative vs ‘Favourability’

To illustrate the important difference between simple positive/negative ratings and CARMA’s qualitative analysis, an article may be positive, but it may be in a publication which does not reach the client’s key target audiences or market, it may discuss peripheral issues, and it may not contain the client’s key messages. This article, while positive, is not favourable to the client’s objectives and would be rated near neutral in the CARMA® system. Conversely, an article containing a client’s key messages on important issues, prominently positioned in a publication which reached the client’s target audience would be rated highly favourable. Thus the CARMA® Favourability Rating is far more sophisticated and precise than simple positive/negative/neutral classification of articles.
 

Quality Control

As a leading research company, CARMA Asia Pacific carries out strict quality control which is unmatched by other suppliers of media analysis. Minimisation of subjectivity and reliability of research is maximised through five key quality steps:

1. Multiple analysts are used on all projects to minimise individual subjectivity in interpretation
2. Analysis is based on systematic coding and scoring of variables from a set scale of values – not on personal ratings by analysts
3. Analysis is based to a large extent on objective criteria such as media name, circulation or audience, page number, positioning, article length, sources’ names quoted, etc
4. Qualitative analysis of Issues and Messages – somewhat more subjective – is undertaken by strict word and phrase matching or presence of acceptable synonyms, with a list of acceptable synonyms provided in written Coding Guidelines to maintain consistency and rigour
5. A percentage of articles is coded by more than one analyst and intercoder reliability assessment is conducted for ANOVA and ANCOVA (Analysis of Variance and Analysis of Co-variance). Where variance is higher than our strict standards, data is rejected, analysts are re-briefed and articles are recoded.