Competitor analysis in PR is the process of tracking your competitors' media coverage, messaging, and share of voice to understand where they're gaining traction – and where your brand can win attention.
The most successful PR teams don’t exist in a bubble – they’re constantly looking outward at their peers. Knowing what your competitors are doing and where they’re succeeding is essential for strategic positioning.
If you want to be more intelligent about competitor analysis, you’ll need to dive deep into your competitor data, and that’s where Roxhill can help.
By analysing competitor coverage and identifying who is shaping the conversation, PR teams can uncover gaps, refine messaging, and build stronger media relationships.
Here are five practical ways Roxhill gives you smarter competitor monitoring, and helps you turn insight into action.
1. Get a clear view of competitor coverage
To effectively track competitors, you need a single view of their media coverage and performance.
With Roxhill Media Monitoring, you can see all articles and analytics about your competitors in one clear dashboard, eliminating the need for multiple spreadsheets.
For an automotive brand like BMW, this could mean tracking coverage of up to twenty competitors, such as:
- Kia
- Volvo
- Toyota
- Škoda Auto
- Volkswagen
Everything you need will be aggregated in your competitors ‘Smart Folder’, where you can analyse the coverage volume, sentiment and share of voice across different media types and outlets.
Better still, you can identify the journalists covering your competitors’ brands most frequently and add them directly to your media lists.
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2. Understand which topics your competitors own
Understanding the context of your competitors mentions is crucial. It lets you know about the topics that journalists actually care about.
In Roxhill Media Monitoring, you can see ‘Topic Trends’ for a top-line overview of the narratives shaping your industry and the brands mentioned most in each conversation.
If we take the automotive sector, you might search by topics such as:
- Electric vehicles
- Hybrid vehicles
- Sustainable mobility
- Electric vehicle charging
This helps you identify gaps in the conversations – and opportunities to position your brand more effectively.
You can also quickly find and add journalists writing about these topics to your media lists for your next campaign.
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3. Measure your share of voice against competitors
You don’t want to over-invest in a campaign that isn’t landing. To find out where your brand is winning or losing share of voice, Roxhill also offers a more nuanced topic search.
With “Intelli-labels”, you can see your brand’s share of voice on specific keywords of your choosing.
For example, the supermarket Morrison’s might want to look at how they perform for the phrase “Buy British” against Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s.
This allows you to:
- Identify new “blue sky” messaging opportunities
- Refine your positioning
- Focus on areas where you can realistically win coverage
Ultimately, this helps you focus on the messages that will have the greatest impact.
Premium metric
Intelli-Labels
Premium metric
Intelli-Labels
4. Track the spokespeople shaping the narrative
In PR, individuals often influence the conversation as much as brands,. Ignoring spokespeople can mean missing who is truly influential in your industry.
Roxhill’s Spokespeople Analytics allows you to go beyond brand-level monitoring and analyse the impact of key individuals.
You can:
- Identify which competitor leaders are dominating the column inches
- Analyse sentiment attached to individual spokespeople
- Discover which journalists regularly quote them
- Benchmark your own leadership
For example, you may find that leaders from Kia are frequently quoted on electrification strategy, while Škoda spokespeople dominate conversations around affordable electric vehicles.
This insight helps you proactively position your own experts in the right conversation – rather than reacting after competitors are mentioned.
Mentions
CEO mentions in articles
| Spokesperson | Entity | # |
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Articles
Total mentions
Mentions
CEO mentions in articles
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5. Build better media lists using competitor insights
Building more effective media lists starts with knowing which journalists are already covering your competitors.
Roxhill’s Media Database allows you to search for journalists based on the companies or topics they’ve covered within your chosen timeframe.
For example, you can:
- Search for journalists who have covered a competitor like Volkswagen.
- Filter results by time frame, outlet type, and location
- Analyse a journalist’s profile to see which topics and brands they mention most
This ensures you’re pitching to journalists who are immersed in your competitive space, dramatically improving the relevance and success of your outreach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is competitor analysis in PR?
Competitor analysis in PR involves tracking competitors’ media coverage, messaging, and share of voice to identify opportunities and improve campaign performance.
Why is it important to track competitors in PR?
It helps PR teams spot trends early, avoid missed opportunities, and ensure campaigns are relevant, timely, and competitive.
What tools can help with competitor analysis?
Media monitoring and journalist database platforms like Roxhill allow PR teams to track coverage, analyse sentiment, and identify key media contacts.
How often should you monitor competitors in PR?
Competitor monitoring should be ongoing, with regular reporting to inform campaign strategy, messaging, and media outreach.
MEDIA INTELLIGENCE YOU CAN TRUST
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Roxhill’s all-in-one media intelligence platform will save you time, highlight your impact, and drive your business forward.
MEDIA INTELLIGENCE YOU CAN TRUST
We’re with you, every step of the way
One login. Multiple solutions.
Roxhill’s all-in-one media intelligence platform will save you time, highlight your impact, and drive your business forward.
Click a product to explore its features.