Brand South Africa has awarded Acceleration Media a three-year contract to monitor and analyse media mentions of South Africa across global digital and traditional media. The organisation, which is tasked with creating a positive and compelling brand image for South Africa, will use this data to help shape its brand and reputation management strategy for the country.

The deal is Acceleration Media’s largest media monitoring and online reputation management contract to date.

Acceleration Media will monitor local and international perceptions of South Africa across all media in areas such as politics, society, business and the country on behalf of Brand South Africa. It will provide Brand South Africa with a complete managed solution that covers monitoring of media mentions of South Africa, analysing the data and presenting Brand South Africa with reports that contain actionable insights into how South Africa’s brand and reputation are faring.

Monitoring social media mentions is an especially important part of the contract since it gives Brand South Africa insight into what ordinary people who might invest in South Africa or visit as tourists are saying about the country.

Acceleration Media is the exclusive South African reseller of Radian6, one of the world’s leading online reputation management tools. Radian6 provides a self-service platform for monitoring, measuring and engaging in online conversations in real time. It covers all forms of social media including blogs, top video sharing sites, top image sharing sites, forums, opinion sites, mainstream online media, Google Buzz and Twitter.

Says Miller Matola, CEO of Brand South Africa: “Brand South Africa needs to understand how people perceive the country if we are to create a consistent brand message that creates strategic advantages in terms of investment, trade and tourism.

“The data that we will get from Acceleration Media will help us to understand where we should be focusing our efforts to create a positive and compelling brand image for our country. It will enable us to craft strategic campaigns and messages that accentuate the positive aspects of our country while addressing negative perceptions in our target market.”

“Just like any organisation, South Africa’s international reputation and brand are shaped in part by the discussions that people have online and in traditional and social media,” adds Tony Sousa, CEO of Acceleration Media.

“By collecting and analysing data from these discussions, Brand South Africa will be empowered with the information it needs to take control of its online reputation.”