Ag Innodata
  • Solutions
    • Solutions
    • Media Relations
    • Media Monitoring
    • Media Intelligence Services
    • Social Listening
    • Newswire
    • Use Cases
    • Custom Reporting
    • Crisis Management
    • Reputation & Brand Insights
    • Executive Briefings
  • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Bulldog Reporter
    • Case Studies
    • Webinars
    • Guides
    • Top Media Outlets
    • Top Journalists
    • Top Influencers
    • PR Glossary
    • Press Moves
    • Newsroom
  • Support
  • Log in
  • Speak to an Expert
Speak to an Expert
U


  • Solutions3
    • Solutions
    • Media Relations
    • Media Monitoring
    • Media Intelligence Services
    • Social Listening
    • Newswire
    • Use Cases
    • Custom Reporting
    • Crisis Management
    • Reputation & Brand Insights
    • Executive Briefings
  • Pricing
  • Resources3
    • Bulldog Reporter
    • Case Studies
    • Webinars
    • Guides
    • Top Media Outlets
    • Top Journalists
    • Top Influencers
    • PR Glossary
    • Press Moves
    • Newsroom
  • Support
  • Log in
  • Speak to an Expert

A study in partnership: How Agility helps Carilion Clinic keep a constant pulse on their brand reputation

by Agility PR Solutions | Jan 4, 2016

NewmanPR logo

Carilion Clinic is a not-for-profit healthcare organization based in Virginia. Through its hospitals, primary care facilities, and specialty physician practices, it provides care for nearly one million people.

The Issue

When Chris Turnbull was brought aboard as Carilion’s manager of public relations in 2015, he wanted to:

  • Put a system in place that would better capture Carilion’s media metrics.
  • Be able to confidently measure Carilion’s reputation in the various communities that it served, and regularly report that sentiment to senior executives in the organization.
  • Know definitively how Carilion was being perceived, locally and regionally, whether or not it was on the right path, and he wanted the data to evolve accordingly.

More still, Turnbull wanted to be able to trust that his metrics were a good reflection of reality. The issue in the past had been that media monitoring reports were filled with too much noise. Because they are a healthcare provider, mentions in obituaries and crime reports would be picked up and included. Coverage reports would then come laden with, according to Turnbull, “so much junk,” that he could never be certain about the accuracy or the relevancy of the data. And when it comes to data, no trust means no value. His team was forced to spend hours vetting and editing these reports, hours much better spent crafting and executing winning strategy.

Turnbull needed a solution that would allow him to easily illustrate to the communications team, as well as to leadership and other stakeholders, the real value of the PR work Carilion does.

So he sent out an RFP.

The Solution

Turnbull and Carilion had a very long and extensive wish list, full of specific and unique asks. Turnbull himself characterized it as “pretty unrealistic.” Agility PR Solutions replied to the RFP, and became one of only two providers that could deliver everything Carilion was looking for. With the prices quoted essentially the same, Turnbull had a difficult decision. It came down to the fact that Agility was willing to partner with Carilion, to work alongside Turnbull and his team to deliver what they needed now, as well as grow with them as their needs matured and expanded.

That right sizing was crucial, as Turnbull had in mind a specific type of report. The concept came from his days working in a high-threat environment where company executives needed a daily brief about what the organization was facing. Carilion didn’t need daily briefs, but the idea still had merit. The report he wanted would be handed directly to Carilion’s executives. It would consolidate information and coverage from various media and patient feedback sources to provide a pulse on the company’s reputation at that point in time. It would give leadership a heads-up about trends and reduce the “surprises” they might face when out and about.

It was a unique concept. According to conversations Turnbull was having with industry peers across the United States, he couldn’t find anyone in the health sphere who was thinking of something like it.

Agility worked with the Carilion team to build what would become known as the Reputation Radar Report. Throughout the consultation, both sides became partners, working together to construct a framework that most effectively and most accurately illuminates what’s being said.

“If it wasn’t an off-the-shelf product option, most providers weren’t interested. Agility was willing to adapt and work with us to build what we were looking for.”

The Reputation Radar Report combines sentiment scores from earned media with sentiment scores from social media. In some reports, Turnbull has added patient feedback as well. The result is a reputation score, distilled from hundreds of mentions into a single, easy-to-read number, that can be replicated week over week and month over month so everyone can compare apples to apples.

Finally, thanks to the Carilion team’s forward thinking, Carilion’s executives had a report that, in a single glance, told them what they needed to know and demonstrated the value that PR brought to Carilion.

The Outcome

For so much of the Carilion leadership team—like leadership teams everywhere—time is a luxury they don’t have. For the report to be truly valuable, it had to be easily read, easily understood, and, most importantly, trustworthy, so a VP could glance at it and know, as they walk into a community event, exactly what the public is thinking of Carilion.

The benefits of the Reputation Radar Report have been many, but the most far-reaching is that Carilion’s leadership trusts the reputation score, and what the report is telling them about their place in the community.

Because an Agility media expert carefully reviews each and every mention—adding context and understanding whether coverage is negative, neutral, or positive—the Carilion team can rely on the scores Agility sends their way, calling the reports “far more accurate, far more trustworthy” than those they were receiving before making the switch to Agility.

Turnbull says there’s one example that pops up all the time.

In the past, whenever there was a mention of violence—someone sustained a gunshot wound or was assaulted—the article or tweet would be automatically toned as unfavorable. The reality, however, is that, in each of those instances, Carilion is mentioned as the clinic or hospital treating and helping the victims. Surely that’s not a negative thing, but it is something that an automated-only solution would miss.

“The reports that we received in the past were labor-intensive to bring up to a point where we would be comfortable sending to our executives. Sheena, our dedicated media expert at Agility PR Solutions, and the rest of the Agility team have saved us a couple of hours for every report we get.”

In a testament to the veracity and usefulness of the data, when Turnbull and his team disseminate the report to Carilion’s executives, 70 percent of them open and read it every single time.

In fact, the feedback from the C-suite has been so positive that Turnbull has increased the report’s distribution to all VPs in the organization.

As distribution expands, and Carilion relies more and more on the data in the Reputation Radar Report, Agility is continuing to work with Carilion to improve the report and make it fit with the organization’s evolving needs.

And that’s what a true partnership is.

What drew Carilion to Agility was the ability to deliver what Carilion was looking for in its RFP. The reason Carilion continues to renew, is the personal touch—the in-depth human analysis that’s provided, and, above all else, Agility’s commitment to working with Carilion to evolve the report and to continuously reassess in order to make it the most valuable resource it can be.

In short, what keeps Carilion coming back is Agility’s commitment to being “a partner rather than just providing us with a product.”

THIS MONTH'S WEBINAR

Jan Box (3)

Recent Agility Blog Posts

PR Profiles, Episode 32: A Conversation with Stephanie Wight, VP of Media Relations at CURA Strategies

PR Profiles, Episode 32: A Conversation with Stephanie Wight, VP of Media Relations at CURA Strategies

Aug 3, 2023

Creating essential guidelines for generative AI in PR and healthcare Before joining CURA...

PR Profiles, Episode 31: A Conversation with Brandon Wilson, APR, Chairman, President and CEO of Wilbron Inc.

PR Profiles, Episode 31: A Conversation with Brandon Wilson, APR, Chairman, President and CEO of Wilbron Inc.

Jul 6, 2023

The rise of specialists in PR and how to get paid three times A few years ago, Brandon Wilson...

PR Profiles, Episode 30: A Conversation with Wendy J. Roundtree, APR, founder and lead strategist of Jarel Communications

PR Profiles, Episode 30: A Conversation with Wendy J. Roundtree, APR, founder and lead strategist of Jarel Communications

Jun 15, 2023

The importance of social responsibility and the four bottom lines of business When asked in her PR...

5 tips to use social media to grow your business in 2023

5 tips to use social media to grow your business in 2023

Jun 6, 2023

Are you looking to take your business to the next level in 2023? Well, you've come to the right...

PR Profiles, Episode 29: A Conversation with Melissa Orozco, Founder and Chief Impact Strategist at Yulu PR

PR Profiles, Episode 29: A Conversation with Melissa Orozco, Founder and Chief Impact Strategist at Yulu PR

Jun 1, 2023

Exploring the principles of impact relations and getting at the heart of brand authenticity Eight...

About

Careers

Our Clients

Leadership Team

In the News

Offices

Solutions

Media Relations

Media Monitoring

Social Media Intelligence

Media Intelligence Services

Social Listening

Newswire

Use Cases

Custom Reporting

Crisis Management

Brand & Reputation Insights

Executive Briefings

Resources

Webinars

Guides & Reports

Press Moves

Newsroom

Newsletter

Contact

Speak to an Expert

Pricing

Support

Agility Logo White

©2025 Agility PR Solutions    ·    A subsidiary of Innodata Inc. All Rights Reserved.    ·    Privacy Policy    ·    Data Privacy Framework    ·    Cookie Settings    ·     Journalist Privacy Notice    ·    Terms of Use    ·    Accessibility

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your website experience and provide more personalized services to you, both on this website and through other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy. Disclaimer: In order to comply with your preferences, we'll have to use just one cookie so that you're not asked to make this choice again.
AcceptCustomize or Decline
Manage consent

Your Privacy & Cookies

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
Necessary Cookies
Always Enabled
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Analytics Cookies
Analytics cookies are cookies that track how users navigate and interact with a website. The information collected is used to help the website owner improve the website.
Advertising Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Save & Accept