Case Study: U.S. Army, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (OCPA)

Challenge

U.S. Army, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (OCPA) fulfills the Army’s obligation to keep the American people and the Army informed, and helps to build public confidence in America’s Army and its readiness to conduct operations in peacetime, conflict, and war. ROGERCO served as the “eyes and ears” for OCPA by monitoring and assessing media coverage. ROGERCO provided multiple, real-time news alerts each day that ensured Army communication leaders and teams stayed abreast of what was said, and by whom, in the news media.

Solution

ROGERCO produced daily digests that analyzed media coverage in near real time. The AM Daily Digest, also known as the “Morning Report,” evolved into a must-read product for Army leadership and personnel. In fact, it was so successful, the U.S. Navy Chief of Information Office (CHINFO) recently reached out to OCPA to commend the report and inform Army leadership that the Navy was going to take steps to replicate it. In addition, ROGERCO’s assessment team worked across OCPA’s primary functional Divisions – Media Relations, Strategic Plans, Digital Media, and Outreach – to synchronize Army communications, aid in the planning and execution phases of communications plans and support the underlying media impact of communication efforts.

Results

Gathering huge quantities of data and identifying trends is an important function for any public affairs operation. However, understanding and evaluating this content to glean measure of success and critical insight requires us to evaluate this data relative to established communication objectives. OCPA came to rely on ROGERCO’s assessment team to evaluate and assess the alignment of media coverage with its defined goals. In total, we produced 520 daily reports, 40 weekly assessments and 24 monthly analyses each year to help OCPA understand the Army Story as portrayed in external media sources.