COLIN Introduces a COVID-19 Feature

The COLIN team has been encouraged by positive customer feedback during the past few weeks. Our users regularly mention that they “love” this tool and use it on a day to day basis. Some of COLIN’s features have proven to be extremely helpful for many Press Offices and departments dealing with a high influx of press enquiries during these times. We hope that our newest feature will improve their experience even further.

COLIN – Crisis Management functionality

Due to the global pandemic we have seen cases of a 200% increase in the use of our media handling tool. Unlike pre-pandemic, we have found that press teams require to separate day-to-day press enquiries from the ones related to COVID-19, to ensure appropriate ‘lines to take’ are used. The technical team’s primary concern is to keep the user experience optimal, even during times of high demand since COLIN is considered a crisis management tool.

The software which sits behind COLIN is already very intuitive and by adding an additional COVID-19 functionality, it enhances the COLIN interface whilst retaining the “look and feel” users are familiar with. Clear analytics from specific data relating to the pandemic are available to the management team enhancing the reporting process for the main stakeholders. This additional functionality is available via a free trial, should organisations wish to pilot, before a full roll-out.

Features that have proved to enhance user experience in the past weeks

Call logs: Due to the increasing need to keep journalists up to date, it’s often challenging using traditional methods to maintain an aligned company message and to ensure everybody within the business is aware of the “lines to take”. With COLIN, call logs can be created after every interaction with a journalist. Call logs can assist businesses in many different ways. Firstly, they provide a clear overview of all the outgoing communications. Secondly, you can filter the logs based on journalist, outlet, owner or status to find the right information very quickly.

Statistics and reporting: Every Press Office has been swamped with press enquiries in the past few months. Press teams are suffering from an increased level of pressure and it has been tricky to stay efficient and effective. Additionally, it has been challenging for managers to support their team and keep an eye on every individual’s workload since working remotely became the new norm. The statistics feature has been a tremendous help to gain valuable insights into the efficiency of specific teams and identify pressure points. Managers can oversee the time to close a call and the effectiveness of a team by measuring the impact that certain interactions had on a story.

News Desk: The News Desk provides a transparent view of a users’ workload. The dashboard is designed to give the user a complete overview and set up correct planning. All the call logs, bids, submissions and forecast items appear together, providing an overview of current and future activities. Even the busiest day will become crystal clear with this feature.

Get in touch with our team today if you would like more information or would like a free trial of COLIN.