Hey folks!

Summer is around the corner, and we're using this stretch to take stock of what The Meltwater Research Lab has built so far in 2026, and to map what's next for the rest of the year. If you've got opinions, feedback, or questions, we want to hear them. Drop us a note at: [email protected].

Enjoy this week’s edition, and while you’re at it go ahead and connect with Marisa and Dino on LinkedIn to keep up with the latest in the world of Data-Driven Communications.

Here’s what we cover today:

I set up an alert a few years ago that pings every time someone mentions "data-driven communications" in a client conversation at Meltwater. It's my way of tracking adoption, seeing how colleagues are using the framework, measuring whether the concept is gaining traction organically in the market.

Since Meltwater Summit, the alerts have been firing constantly. Which is great — exactly what I was hoping for.

But there was one alert that made me stop.

A rep I've worked with before was on a call with a client, and they brought up DDC. I clicked in to listen, curious how it came up. And then I heard it the client say: "Yeah, I saw Dino's stuff on LinkedIn, but I wasn't sure — does he work for Meltwater or himself?"

The question stuck with me. Not because it was insulting. But because it revealed something I needed to clarify.

This wasn't the first time a blunt question like that stopped me in my tracks.

A few years ago, I was hosting a virtual roundtable with a group of communications leaders. One of them — let's call her "Joanna" — was frustrated. She led a comms team, and they'd been working with vendors like Meltwater for years. Her team had tried every tool around and listened to all the advice from sales and customer service reps. They had tried all the different ways of building reports for execs.

And nothing had changed.

The volume of data increased. The sophistication of the tools increased. But the actual job of being a communicator? It didn't get easier. They still couldn't prove impact. They still weren't at the strategy table. Leadership still didn't understand what they did.

Joanna spoke up in the roundtable, clearly frustrated at the conversation, and said: "We've been talking about the same thing for years, and nothing has changed!"

Everyone felt awkward, and looked at me, the host, to see how I was going to react to such a jab.

My thought: She was 100% right.

And that's when it hit me: Technology without enablement is just "stuff."

You can give someone the best tool in the world, but if they don't know how to use it — if they don't have the skills, the workflow, the resources, the framework for thinking about data differently — the tool just sits there. Expensive. Unused. Collecting dust.

And that's the last thing your execs want to see from your team.

Think about it — no comms team goes through all that effort to switch vendors (sitting through demos, reading endless proposals, building consensus, working with procurement, solidifying budgets, filling out piles of administrative paperwork) just to get the same results as before. Everyone wants things to change fundamentally. That's the whole point.

So here's what I always keep coming back to.

When your kid gets a gadget for Christmas, the packaging usually says one of two things: "Batteries included" or "Batteries not included."

Everyone knows the difference. You open the box, there's no batteries, and you know you're screwed. You've got to go buy them. Or dig through that junk drawer. Or your special morning unwrapping presents is a disaster until you find them.

Tools like Meltwater don't come with a label like that.

But they absolutely should.

Because when you buy Meltwater, you're buying the gadget. You're not buying the batteries. The batteries — the skills to use it differently, the workflow changes, the resources to scale what you learn — those aren't included. And nobody talks about that upfront.

So people buy Meltwater and wonder why it feels the same as before. Why the reports look different but the impact isn't any clearer. Why leadership keeps asking the same hard questions.

What we're doing with the Data-Driven Comms Framework is giving you the batteries. For free. Not selling them. Giving them away.

These are the "AA batteries" that power the gadget. This is how you think about data differently — before you execute, while you're executing, after you're done. The DIY path is yours to take, whenever you want it.

Batteries are now included, you just have to insert them 🙂

So back to the question the client asked…

Yes. Yes, I do.

And DDC is a Meltwater thing. Not a Dino side-hustle. Not the next widget you need to buy. Not a solution waiting for you to swipe your card.

I'm acting as the face of it — the town crier walking through the town square saying "Hey, there's something here that might help you." But it took a village to build this.

It's open source. It's free. We built it that way on purpose so nobody could mistake it for a sales motion. (I'll add a little more about this in the post script.)

Why? Because the more communicators who understand this framework — who stop being order-takers and start being strategic advisors — the better the entire industry gets. And that's worth my time at Meltwater. That's what I'm here to do. That's what everyone at Meltwater is trying to build: your capabilities.

I work for communications leaders and their teams who are trying to:

Meltwater is my employer, and my salary comes from our customers’ annual subscriptions. You already bought the thing, I'm just showing you how to use it.

If you're interested in getting your tool to work for you, reach out. You can reply to this email, or if you're not ready to talk but you want to keep learning, check out our DDC Starter Pack. Everything you need is in there, and of course it is free for everyone, even if you're not a Meltwater customer.

Dino

P.S.

Is this a sales motion?

No. 🙂

While it obviously helps in the sales process, that's not what we're trying to build or improve. In fact, Meltwater's challenge isn't getting more people to buy. It's getting more people to experience the transformation they're hoping for after they purchase.

That's why DDC covers the fundamentals of communications, not just the things Meltwater does. Because we need to change the way communicators work with data, not just change the tools they work with.

That's a Customer Success play. We're only successful when our customers are successful — not just when customers buy more stuff or when we grow market share.