Many organizations are challenged to stay informed and deliver detailed information without overwhelming their audience. Striking the right balance between streamlined updates and personalized content is critical. This article will guide you through how we’ve managed to do this, using a case study and offering insights into the tools and processes we employ.
In this post, we delve into how
Case Study: The California Joint Powers Insurance Authority
The California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (JPIA) is a leading provider of risk management solutions, serving over 120 governmental agencies. As one of the state's largest self-insurance pools, it functions like a communal savings account. The pool covers unforeseen costs arising from accidents, natural disasters, or legal actions, allowing members to save money and support each other during challenging times.
The California JPIA employs regional risk managers who play a crucial role in maintaining community safety. Their responsibilities include staying well-informed about their public agency partners, which include cities, joint powers authorities, and special districts. Their main goals are to enhance community safety, shield the public from potential harm, and minimize the number and severity of insurance claims. Risk managers work closely with member agencies to build relationships based on trust and mutual support to achieve these aims.
The California JPIA partnered with Tripepi Smith to leverage Media Intelligence services to implement a comprehensive listening solution that combines the power of Meltwater with analytical expertise.
The Art and Craft of Custom Categories
Monitoring risks across more than 120 member agencies was no small feat. Our initial approach involved using intricate Boolean strings to capture key information, making it hard to focus on the unique needs of each agency. For example, how could we ensure that a search for the City of San Marcos didn’t accidentally include issues from San Marcos, Texas? What if we needed to customize our coverage for the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District by specifying key publications?
Meltwater’s custom categories have been a game-changer for our team. In case you aren’t already familiar, Custom Categories are saved boolean queries that can be applied as filters to narrow your results for analysis and comparison. Custom Categories can be used wherever filters are available, such as Keyword or Advanced Searches and Combined Searches, and they’re great for use as reusable categories. You can read more here.
Working closely with
To show what the process of converting Boolean strings to custom categories looks like in action, we’ve created this quick how-to video. Here, we start with a full search and piece by piece convert search elements to custom categories, which we then use as filters to arrive at the same result as the initial complex search. Give it a watch, and be sure to let us know what questions you have about the process in the comments!
Setting up these custom categories and applying them to each of your searches demands commitment, time, and meticulous attention to detail, but the payoff is immense. These categories can now be applied to all of our municipal clients, streamlining the onboarding process and allowing us to make updates effortlessly. This investment allows us to anticipate trends, provide regional insights, and guide clients with data-driven decisions.
That Human Touch
You might need somethin' to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just talk to
And a little of that human touch
—”Human Touch,” Bruce Springsteen, 1992
Over our three-year partnership with Meltwater, we've learned a vital lesson: A search tool's effectiveness is greatly amplified by the expertise of the team using it. That's why we don't just rely on automated searches. Our in-house specialists meticulously refine and curate the search results before disseminating our Meltwater Daily Digest newsletters. By doing this, we can be confident that each senior risk manager receives information that is not only relevant but also rich in context. This curated approach reflects our deep understanding of the intricate municipal risk pooling landscape, as well as the specific mission of the California JPIA.
To illustrate the importance of this specialized attention, consider this example: Joey Buttafuoco, infamous for the Long Island Lolita case, is now a business owner in Moorpark, California—a member city of the California JPIA. Our team reviews and curates regional newsletters to eliminate any irrelevant news stemming from his past notoriety. This ensures that our clients receive only the information that directly impacts their work, thus saving them valuable time they might otherwise spend sifting through unrelated news articles.
Our best-practice process includes reviewing each California JPIA regional newsletter at least twice weekly, removing references to same-named cities outside the state, eliminating foreign-language references, and filtering out irrelevant news items. We also identify commonalities across regions and recommend follow-ups via feature coverage in the Authority’s monthly member newsletter. In the case of an incident or accident, we set up a new, crisis-focused search using the relevant custom category in addition to specific, relevant terms.
In Conclusion
Meltwater’s Daily Digest newsletters have transformed how Tripepi Smith approaches media monitoring and research. Custom categories provide uniform and insightful searches, while Meltwater’s newsletter automation saves time. Our human expertise ensures that our news is both timely and relevant. This blend of software with a personal touch enhances our capacity for informed decision-making and keeps us ahead of the curve.
Now that you’ve seen how Tripepi Smith creates our regional newsletters for the California JPIA, we’d love to hear from you in the comments. Do you have any questions about our process, or any best practices, tips, or tricks that have worked for you? Let’s hear it!
