Case Study · Express sentiment pulse, comparable to an existing brand tracker
Sizing the impact of negative news coverage in four days
After negative media coverage in early 2025, BrandSpark fielded a four-minute pulse survey for a national leisure travel brand in four days (n=1,108). The exposure funnel showed 18% of the core target had seen negative coverage, and the report sized a best and worst case for the forward booking pipeline.
The Challenge
The decision window was days. Exposure to a news story cannot be set as a quota, because no panel profile records who saw a story last week, so the exposed group had to come from natural fallout and still reach a readable base. Every metric also had to stay comparable to the brand's existing tracker.
Our Approach
The screener, purchase funnel and competitive trust questions were carried over from the tracker unchanged. A new module measured exposure, where it happened, and whether what people saw was positive or negative. The questionnaire was drafted the day after approval.
What the Research Found
- ›76% of target travellers were aware of the brand.
- ›36% of those aware had seen coverage in the past month.
- ›64% of that group saw something negative, which nets to 18% of the core target exposed to negative coverage.
Outcome
Reporting closed on a sized best and worst case for the forward booking pipeline, which turned a reputational question into a number the commercial team could plan against. The pre-read arrived about five business days after field closed.