1. Home
  2. Public Relations (PR) Software Tools
  3. Cision Communications Cloud Reviews
  4. User Review of Cision Communications Cloud
Powerful tool, patchy service
Updated September 27, 2019

Powerful tool, patchy service

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

TrendKite

Overall Satisfaction with Cision Communications Cloud

Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* is being used as a tool to monitor online and print media coverage for the organization. It is used by me and the publicity team to gauge the success of campaigns and for analytics.


*This review was written near the time Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.
  • Gauge engagement of coverage
  • Add real insight into the success of certain aspects of a PR campaign.
  • Assess which publications are hitting the mark with their content.
  • The functionality has taken a dip recently: social integration hasn't been feeding through, requiring regular going-back to the account manager to resolve incorrect numbers. This meant that the tool was dropped from being used totally due to the time and effort required to get accurate results.
  • The American support team was great with their onboarding, they suggest ways in which the platform can be used. I don't feel the London team has the same handle on the platform and they offer help on the platform if there are issues, but don't go the extra mile to understand how the tool could be used better or in the way it isn't being used currently.
  • Still very USA-centric with the results, the regional information that comes through is all USA focused—particularly Texas. I don't get the impression the platform has been thought through end-to-end for an international market. I've used it both in Australia and in the UK and it was the same in both places.
  • The general feel of TrendKite was that it was a start-up with a passionate staff that was keen to show what it did. Since its sale to Cision, it feels as though it's one part of a much larger organisation and the account managers have less sway - I found myself having to inform them about a third party service they offer as they couldn't get the information
  • It is very expensive for what it is.
Overall I genuinely think that Cision Communications Cloud is a powerful tool, it's doing things that no other platform are doing. It provides valuable online data and information on what's hitting and what's not. I think integration with broadcast isn't great and I haven't tried out the print functionality as they haven't quite got it properly intergrated in the territories I've used it in. The price is a major blocker for lots of organisations, understandably.
Post-event analysis is where I've found Cision Communications Cloud most useful. General monitoring of coverage I've found much more problematic, I've had some difficulty in refining the search boolean to come to a solution that provides the best results.

Transition from TrendKite to Cision Communications Cloud

I give a 5 because in Australia I found that support was one of the major draw cards and selling factors. The support was coming from the American team then and the whole process felt very slick. In the UK the account managers are based out of London who seem more interested in driving up the pricing without providing the same level of service. There were some functionality glitches in the service this year. When picking up the account I had to chase to get an initial phone and broadcast monitoring wasn't set up even though we were paying for it.