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Johannesburg - PigSpotter, the cyber Robin Hood who infuriated the police by warning motorists of the location of speed traps, featured in 132 news items in the media in only a week, according to brand, reputation analysis and intelligence house Ornico.
This was valued at standard advertising rates at more than R600 000.
Ornico routinely tracks agenda-setting titles, newspapers, magazines, online sites, broadcast brands and other media that influence the national discourse.
The frenzy of publicity surrounding PigSpotter reached a peak in the week of September 15 to 21, when the results were obtained.
"Media coverage on this Twitter phenomenon pretty much began mid-September after 702 Talk Radio 'trafficologist' Aki Anastasiou wrote a column about @pigspotter in The Star," says Ornico CEO Oresti Patricios.
"The issue was covered incredibly well on radio and in the press and broadcast media, with coverage on the likes of 702, Kaya FM, Eyewitness News as well as influential news brands like Business Day, City Press, Mail & Guardian, The Daily Maverick and TimesLIVE."
The news item even garnered international coverage on the BBC.
"The surge of interest after the news broke was significant, and the consumer reaction even more so. PigSpotter has even spawned a fan account on the microblog called @pigspotterweb, a PigSpotter fan page at www.pigspotter.co.za as well as Twitter accounts for spotting traffic police in the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The interest and conversation on Twitter and social media was massive."
Of the 132 articles or broadcast items, 81 were objective or unbiased, 23 were positive and 28 were negative.
"The most mentions were by TimesLIVE which had 12 articles on the subject, then Eyewitness News which ran nine separate stories, followed by IOL which covered the subject eight times.
"The high volume of coverage is because of the relevance of the news, because it's a first and it's controversial, touching on very sensitive social, economic and legal issues."
Crucially, he also interacts with the media.
Patricios says that the fact that @pigspotter is being hunted by police makes him an underdog, outlaw or cyber Robin Hood. "Many people love what he did."
- Fin24.com
This was valued at standard advertising rates at more than R600 000.
Ornico routinely tracks agenda-setting titles, newspapers, magazines, online sites, broadcast brands and other media that influence the national discourse.
The frenzy of publicity surrounding PigSpotter reached a peak in the week of September 15 to 21, when the results were obtained.
"Media coverage on this Twitter phenomenon pretty much began mid-September after 702 Talk Radio 'trafficologist' Aki Anastasiou wrote a column about @pigspotter in The Star," says Ornico CEO Oresti Patricios.
"The issue was covered incredibly well on radio and in the press and broadcast media, with coverage on the likes of 702, Kaya FM, Eyewitness News as well as influential news brands like Business Day, City Press, Mail & Guardian, The Daily Maverick and TimesLIVE."
The news item even garnered international coverage on the BBC.
"The surge of interest after the news broke was significant, and the consumer reaction even more so. PigSpotter has even spawned a fan account on the microblog called @pigspotterweb, a PigSpotter fan page at www.pigspotter.co.za as well as Twitter accounts for spotting traffic police in the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The interest and conversation on Twitter and social media was massive."
Of the 132 articles or broadcast items, 81 were objective or unbiased, 23 were positive and 28 were negative.
"The most mentions were by TimesLIVE which had 12 articles on the subject, then Eyewitness News which ran nine separate stories, followed by IOL which covered the subject eight times.
"The high volume of coverage is because of the relevance of the news, because it's a first and it's controversial, touching on very sensitive social, economic and legal issues."
Crucially, he also interacts with the media.
Patricios says that the fact that @pigspotter is being hunted by police makes him an underdog, outlaw or cyber Robin Hood. "Many people love what he did."
- Fin24.com
