What users are saying about
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Top Rated
456 Ratings
Cision Communications Cloud
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Top Rated
456 Ratings
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Based on 456 reviews and ratings
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
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144 Ratings
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Based on 144 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cision Communications Cloud is rated higher in 4 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Usability, Support Rating, Implementation Rating
- Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Renew, Availability
- Cision Communications Cloud and Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform are tied in 1 area: Online Training
Likelihood to Recommend

8.4
Cision Communications Cloud
84%
276 Ratings

7.0
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
70%
67 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

7.6
Cision Communications Cloud
76%
16 Ratings

8.0
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
80%
9 Ratings
Usability

7.0
Cision Communications Cloud
70%
52 Ratings

2.2
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
22%
3 Ratings
Availability

9.1
Cision Communications Cloud
91%
3 Ratings

10.0
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
100%
2 Ratings
Performance

9.1
Cision Communications Cloud
91%
3 Ratings

Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

8.9
Cision Communications Cloud
89%
321 Ratings

7.5
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
75%
32 Ratings
In-Person Training

Cision Communications Cloud
N/A
0 Ratings

8.0
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
80%
1 Rating
Online Training

8.0
Cision Communications Cloud
80%
3 Ratings

8.0
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
80%
1 Rating
Implementation Rating

10.0
Cision Communications Cloud
100%
7 Ratings

6.1
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
61%
4 Ratings
Product Scalability

7.3
Cision Communications Cloud
73%
1 Rating

Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cision Communications Cloud
For a small start-up, the cost-benefit to add lift to press releases [and] particular milestone accomplishments is definitely there with the Cision [Communications] Cloud. Much of what we do, by necessity, is done internally without the benefit of outsourced press folks, so the Cision [Communications] Cloud ease of use and reporting is very important.
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
DriveItAway IncAutomotive, 11-50 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
If you practice media relations in your role, Meltwater is helpful. You can do research to find relevant publications and journalists, build media lists, export them to share with a team or client and you can also keep notes on your campaigns. I like using it for research, although I do research outside the platform, as well, to be sure to be thorough (and some of the info in the database is outdated). I would say if you don't practice media relations, it's probably not as useful. There are other tools that do a better job if you want to search for media or social media mentions, for example. If you are looking for an all-in-one media relations tool that's relatively easy to use, Meltwater is probably a good fit.

Verified User
Consultant in Marketing
Public Relations and Communications Company, 1-10 employeesPros
Cision Communications Cloud
- Their upgraded press release templates and ability [to] pull in an entire, completed release makes the [process] faster and easier, and allows for more graphics, such as company mastheads, [are done well].
- The media tracking offers the ability to find relevant placements across the entire country.
- The journalist database streamlines the process of finding relevant reporters to directly connect [to] on news releases that are relevant to their beats.
- The process of setting up, creating, and distributing a release is seamless, easy to use, and not labor-intensive.
Managing Director, Public Relations
Point Park UniversityHigher Education, 501-1000 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
- Up to date contact information. It is actually relevant and active info, not always the case with others.
- The user interface is better than most tools. While not perfect, it's pretty easy to figure out how to get what you want.
- Their support is excellent. Anytime I've needed help I can call, but better than this, they proactively call and assist.
Marketing Communications Director
MaloufConsumer Goods, 51-200 employees
Cons
Cision Communications Cloud
- In the media influencer database, the classic Cision allowed us to do a zip code radius search to really drill down to the neighborhood level. That's because we do localized media advisories and press releases for events at neighborhood schools. One part of a big city like Chicago really doesn't care what's happening in another part of Chicago that's too far away. The zip code radius search was a feature in the classic Cision but not with the current Cision Communications Cloud. We've asked for this to be restored several times, but nothing's happened. In fact, we were told to use DMA — which actually goes wider in a search (bigger than a city), not more narrow as needed. This reflects a basic misunderstanding of what we need.
- Another missing feature involves a merge field when sending out an email press release through Cision. This is the "select insert field" button in the upper right that's used to personalize a release with the media contact's name and other information. This is key for localization of the release. Many media outlets won't run a release unless it's local. While "county" is a feature in the influencer database when putting together a media list in Cision, "county" is not available to insert into a press release as a merge field. Counties are important because this is how many newspapers and health departments are organized and identify themselves. I've asked for this to be implemented, to no avail. As a workaround, we've had to use "contact city" or "outlet city."
- After refining a media list in Cision using filters, I've had to download the list and take it offline to see the big picture, screen for duplicates, etc. While there is a button on the bottom left intended to help with this, it doesn't do the trick. That's because there may be multiple contacts with the same email address. In addition, one media contact may represent numerous media outlets, so this same contact could show up several times. It would be nice to have a better way to see the whole list online and eliminate both duplicates as well as those who previously opted out.
Public Relations Manager
MeyocksPublic Relations & Communications, 51-200 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
- The dashboards are not user-friendly, customizable (color, font size, etc.), or worthy of presenting to a client. All of the insights from a dashboard get pulled from the platform and placed into a more client-friendly presentation.
- Paywalls for certain publications connected to who-knows-what. DowJones racket limits media monitoring capabilities and results in manual searches for a growing number of publications.
- TVeyes, the broadcast monitoring arm of the media monitoring capabilities, just needs TLC and to become more client-facing. Currently, the links produced to share clips look sketchy, and they have a relatively short shelf life.
Senior Account Executive
DenterleinPublic Relations & Communications, 11-50 employees
Pricing Details
Cision Communications Cloud
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 7.6
Based on 16 answers
While I am happy with the product performance overall, TrendKite's recent merger with Cision is cause for concern. When we first signed on with TrendKite, I spoke with several users and the best response I received was that the company was a startup and we could expect there to be hiccups along the way as the company grew and the platform got more robust. That has certainly been the case. However, now that they have merged with Cision — a company that has grown too fast, has not focused on improving its product and has poor customer service — I have concerns that TrendKite will lose some of the qualities that have made it a great company and great product to work with.
Vice President
NewmanPRPublic Relations and Communications, 1-10 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform 8.0
Based on 9 answers
Meltwater works well for our organization and has allowed us to meet our internal goals. We are always open to new products and services that may be able to provide similar or better features; however, our experience has been that many of Meltwater's competitors are not up to the task.

Verified User
Manager in Corporate
Airlines/Aviation Company, 10,001+ employeesUsability
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 7.0
Based on 52 answers
The flexibility and customization of Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* is among its most important features. Changing the dashboards, using keywords in the saved searches to pull out the best stories and the integration with marketing automation tools gives me confidence that I will able to continue using this tool well into the future. The future implementation and integration of the media contact database will complete the suite, making list management and email marketing programs much smoother. *This review was written before Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.
Manager, Public Relations
Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.Consumer Goods, 201-500 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform 2.2
Based on 3 answers
Once you get some basic training it's pretty easy to use. I would like to see training manuals, or instructional videos to help me explore features I'm not currently using.
Communications & Media Relations Manager
Allegion, PLCSecurity and Investigations, 5001-10,000 employees
Reliability and Availability
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 9.1
Based on 3 answers
Easily accessible 24/7.

Verified User
Professional in Other
Public Relations & Communications Company, 1-10 employeesMeltwater Media Intelligence Platform
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform 10.0
Based on 2 answers
No answer on this topic is available.
Performance
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 9.1
Based on 3 answers
Generally, Cision performs well day to day, but it's got some annoying bugs that slow down usage/require user workarounds which is inefficient. More seriously, a few months ago, as a result of a major system upgrade, certain critical functionality was not working and I was unable to use the service for more than a day when I had time-sensitive work to execute
Founder and Principal
Susan Tull CommunicationsPublic Relations and Communications, 1-10 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 8.9
Based on 321 answers
For Cision TrendKite in particilar, support always responded, but it was sometimes slow. For some of our booleans and search queries, we would need help refining and excluding terms/phrases that weren't relevant to our client or campaign. This sometimes took 1-2 days just to get a response back, which sometimes was too late when a last-minute report was due. This was only with the support staff, not necessarily our customer success manager or sales rep.

Verified User
Strategist in Marketing
Marketing and Advertising Company, 51-200 employeesMeltwater Media Intelligence Platform
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform 7.5
Based on 32 answers
Our account rep at Meltwater went dark for a long time. Then, a couple of weeks ago, our new account manager reached out to set up a meeting. Apparently, they had a big shakeup in the company, and there were some personnel changes. Our new account rep was great in discussing the platform's capabilities that were available to us and even offered to schedule a follow-up meeting with his technical team to introduce our new social media team members to the platform and how it could help them with their jobs.

Verified User
Manager in Marketing
Marketing & Advertising Company, 51-200 employeesIn-Person Training
Cision Communications Cloud
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform 8.0
Based on 1 answer
Again, really in-depth and helpful for a program that is really easy to use.
Assistant Account Executive
FleishmanHillard1001-5000 employees
Online Training
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 8.0
Based on 3 answers
The online training sessions available for the Cision Communications Cloud are helpful and informative. There's more than one option - initially, I signed up for the live webinar classes on basic functions and that is what I recommend other new users do as well. If I have specific questions or something I want to learn more about, I can search the online database and find article or online training videos to get the information I need.
Public Relations Manager, Florida Region
ComcastTelecommunications, 10,001+ employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform 8.0
Based on 1 answer
Walked step by step through program. Very informative on a program that doesn't require much training.
Assistant Account Executive
FleishmanHillard1001-5000 employees
Implementation Rating
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 10.0
Based on 7 answers
There is no implementation at the customer's end so this doesn't really apply to my instance of Cision (possibly to all instances of it).
Founder and Principal
Susan Tull CommunicationsPublic Relations and Communications, 1-10 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform 6.1
Based on 4 answers
You are only allowed 15 users, so make sure you've identified who will have access to use the tool.
Communications & Media Relations Manager
Allegion, PLCSecurity and Investigations, 5001-10,000 employees
Alternatives Considered
Cision Communications Cloud
It's a similar product. I think Meltwater sells itself as being a bit more niche, but I have not found many significant differences between Meltwater and Cision. Meltwater's sales process is a very high pressure and their prices are inflated.
Content Strategist
Willow MarketingMarketing & Advertising, 11-50 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
I was looking for a full-service option. I did some research. What really sold me was the presentation. They offered products that were helpful, and I wasn’t even aware of them. It is more expensive than the other products that are out there, but you get more. The other companies are good, but Meltwater Media Intelligence is more full service.
Senior Managing Director
Maymo & CompanyMarketing & Advertising, 1-10 employees
Scalability
Cision Communications Cloud
Cision Communications Cloud 7.3
Based on 1 answer
Easy to use, but still room for improvement.

Verified User
Professional in Other
Public Relations & Communications Company, 1-10 employeesMeltwater Media Intelligence Platform
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cision Communications Cloud
- Cision has a net positive impact on time savings for staff so we can be quicker to market
- Cision has a positive impact on internal savings as it is used internally across multiple accounts and with the internal PR team
- Cision is extremely useful when it comes to resourcing and conducting outreach in those DMA's where our agency doesn't have a physical presence
Vice President, Marketing Communications
rEvolutionMarketing and Advertising, 51-200 employees
Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform
- As a PR firm, we rely on the media databases that [Meltwater Media Intelligence Platform] supplies to deliver the media exposure that they expect from us.
- We utilize their tracking of media hits for our overall reporting to our clients.
- Both of these are advantageous in helping us to not only keep our existing clients happy but also to gain new clients (and, in turn - revenue), as well.

Verified User
Director in Marketing
Public Relations & Communications Company, 1-10 employees