Our approach

Measure first. Then build.

Every programme we run starts by measuring what already happens without us, and holds back a group that keeps getting nothing. It makes the first quarter look slow. It is the only reason the second one means anything.

Engagement shape

When signal shows up

Typical
First posts3 wks
Readable trend1 qtr
0 40 80 0 4 8 12 16 20 24
Baseline measuredWeek 0–2
Control group lockedWeek 4
First written readWeek 6
Signal index across a typical engagement. Nothing is readable before the control group has run as long as the programme — which is why quarter one is quiet.
Table view
Signal index by week
WeekSignal
00
46
819
1234
1647
2063
2478
Minimum engagement 2 qtr
Written read, every 14 days
Programmes with a control 100%
Median time to first post 3 wks
The loop

Four stages, in this order, every time.

The order is the method. Run it backwards and you get a programme that cannot be evaluated, which is most of them.

01

Baseline

We measure what happens without us — mentions, referrals, advocates you already have. You get this number whether or not we continue.

02

Instrument

Tracking and the control group go in before anything launches. Deciding what counts after seeing results is how everyone ends up with a chart that means nothing.

03

Run

The programme itself. This is the part most agencies start with, and it is the part that is worthless without the two before it.

04

Read

A written read every fortnight, a full report monthly with the raw data attached, and a quarterly decision about whether to continue.

What it looks like

The first two quarters, week by week.

Six weeks before the first written read is not slowness. It is how long it takes to have something worth writing down.

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 Baseline Measure what exists Instrument Tracking + control group Recruit & equip Build the roster Run Advocates publish Report Fortnightly, then monthly
Phases on a shared week axis. The open bars continue for the life of the engagement.
Table view
Engagement phases by week
PhaseWhat happensFromTo
BaselineMeasure what existsWeek 0Week 2
InstrumentTracking + control groupWeek 2Week 4
Recruit & equipBuild the rosterWeek 3Week 8
RunAdvocates publishWeek 6ongoing
ReportFortnightly, then monthlyWeek 4ongoing
How we measure

The gap is the result. Not the line.

Any line goes up in a good quarter. What we report is the distance between the group that got the programme and the group that did not — because that is the only part we can honestly claim.

  • Programme
  • Held-back group
95 119 142 166 190 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 26 179 114
Both groups indexed to 100 at week 0. The held-back group is matched on size and starting position and receives nothing for the duration.
Table view
Programme against held-back group
WeekProgrammeHeld backGap
0100100+0
4103101+2
8111104+7
12124103+21
16133107+26
20151109+42
24168112+56
26179114+65
What you get

A reporting rhythm you can set your calendar by.

You should never have to ask how it is going.

Cadence

Reporting

Fixed
Every week Roster changes and every post, in a shared doc you can read any time
Every fortnight A written read — what moved, what did not, and what we are changing because of it
Every month Full report with the raw data attached, including the parts that look bad
Every quarter A decision: continue, change, or stop. We bring the recommendation, including when it is stop

The raw data is yours throughout, not a deliverable at the end of the contract.

Where we stop

What we will not do.

These cost us work occasionally, which is how we know they are load-bearing.

  • Pay per post. It turns advocacy back into advertising, and these channels punish it.
  • Suppress negative coverage. It fails publicly, and anyone selling it is selling a risk.
  • Report vanity metrics. Impressions and follower counts are not in any report we write.
  • Lock you into twelve months. Two quarters is the minimum because that is what the measurement needs — after that it is quarter by quarter.
  • Start a second programme before the first runs without us.
Start here

Start with the baseline.

A program review is a 45-minute read of your current numbers. You leave with the three charts above, filled in with your data, whether or not we work together.