Case Study: Edelman achieves real-time social listening to manage controversy with Awario

Why brands want to cause controversy

Edelman, the global communications firm cited for its research on growing consumer distrust, faced the challenge of advising brands on risky social-issues marketing in a fast-moving, polarized social landscape. To detect and respond to sudden public reactions and to quantify reputational risk, Edelman leveraged Awario’s social listening tools—including the Awario Dashboard—for real-time mention monitoring and sentiment tracking.

Using Awario’s Dashboard, sentiment analysis and topic tracking, Edelman was able to measure spikes in mentions, quantify negative vs. positive sentiment, and benchmark campaign reach so clients could choose between values, purpose, issue or position strategies with data-driven confidence. Awario’s insights made it possible to act quickly and evaluate impact—illustrated by campaign benchmarks in the article (e.g., Gillette’s jump from ~300 to 11,400 mentions, Nike’s multi‑million mention surge and Keurig’s 14% revenue uptick)—helping Edelman advise clients on when controversy might translate into visibility rather than lasting damage.

Edelman