Part of Common Ground Software

Estuary.

How do you know what you know? From many sources at once. Every one that matters to you, watched, read and pulled into one briefing.

It's our lineup of campaign and monitoring platforms. We fit it to your race, your union, your file or your company, anywhere in Canada, and our team reads it for you: you get the briefing, and the platform whenever you want to see the data yourself.

All the waters, coming together.

An estuary is where rivers meet and flow into something bigger. Everything they carried on the way down mixes there, and that water is some of the richest habitat on the coast. Estuary rests on the same idea: you know your ground better when you read many kinds of information at once, not one. The news, radio and TV, social media, the legislature, maps and live data all flow in, our team reads them together, and you get a daily briefing and a platform to watch the data in real time.

What it does

  • It listensIt records radio and TV, including stations in other languages, turns what's said into text and translates it into English. A Punjabi talk show reads beside the evening news panel.
  • It readsEvery story, clip and public post is sorted by language and topic, with a reading of its tone toward you.
  • It remembersPast election results laid onto today's boundaries, with the census profile of every riding and neighbourhood.
  • It reads the raceEvery public poll is gathered, checked and adjusted for each pollster's lean, then turned into a forecast, seat by seat.
  • It tracks the paid campaignPolitical ads on radio and TV are caught on air, and social ads come from the public ad libraries with their spend.
  • It runs the ground and the airCanvassing, get-out-the-vote and election-day boards run on the same maps as the war room, and live broadcasts are followed as they air, every clip searchable for rapid response.

Stream 01 · News, radio and TV

News sites as they publish, plus newscasts and press conferences recorded and turned into text.

01News, radio and TVWhat's reported · Headwaters

News, radio and TV: What's the news saying about us?

We read the news as it's published and record radio and TV, turning broadcasts into text. Say the 9pm radio news in Prince George runs a story that touches your business or your union: by morning it's in your briefing, clipped and transcribed.

From broadcast to text
How it works: News, radio and TV
  • Records live TV and radio and turns it into text. Broadcasts in other languages get an English translation.
  • Cuts each broadcast into story clips, each with its own transcript and summary, so a radio segment reads like an article.
  • Spots press conferences on air and keeps the whole clip, questions included. When one airs in pieces on different networks, we stitch them together so you get the whole thing.
  • Reads news sites as they publish, and follows the reporters who cover your race or issue.
  • Every past story stays searchable.

Stream 02 · Social media

Posts, comments and political ads, read one by one and as a whole.

02Social mediaWhat people think · Upper river

Social media: What do people think of us?

Social media is what people think about your campaign, your brand or your union. We give you both the words and the numbers: the posts that matter for what they say, and the overall sentiment. We also spot astroturfed and coordinated campaigns and flag them for the people who decide.

The words and the numbers
How it works: Social media
  • Reads social media around your race, your brand or your union, and follows the politicians and reporters who cover it.
  • Picks out the posts that matter for what they say, and tracks the overall sentiment, so you see both.
  • Spots astroturfed and coordinated campaigns, many accounts pushing the same line at once, and flags them for decision-makers.
  • Logs political ads on radio, TV and social media: who is running them and how often they air, so you can follow the money and the influence.

Stream 03 · The legislature

What's said in debate and committee, and where a bill stands.

03The legislatureWhat's being decided · The gorge

The legislature: What are politicians saying about it?

We follow your issue in the legislature: what's said in debate and committee, by whom, and where a bill on your file stands.

In the legislature
How it works: The legislature
  • Reads the legislature's record, so you know what was said about your issue, and by whom.
  • Follows a bill on your file through each reading and committee, so you know where it stands and what comes next.

Stream 04 · Maps and live data

The ground, who lives on it and live data like wildfires, on one map.

04Maps and live dataWhere it's happening · Main channel

Maps and live data: Where does it hit us?

A map puts it all in one picture: the lay of the land, who lives where, which buildings stand where, and live data like wildfires on top. The same map shows a campaign which neighbourhoods are in play, a union where its members are, and a company which of its sites sit near a fire.

Results, places and a live fire
How it works: Maps and live data
  • Maps past results and boundaries down to the neighbourhood, with past results redrawn onto today's boundaries.
  • Adds demographics, so you can see who lives where.
  • Shows the ground itself, the geography and the buildings, so you can see what's actually there.
  • Lays live public data on the same map, like where wildfires are burning, so you can see what's near your ridings, your members or your sites.
  • Prints a map for the office wall, and zone sheets for canvassers.

Stream 05 · Our analysts

People with real political experience, reading it all together.

05Our analystsIntelligence · Lowlands

Our analysts: What does it mean for us?

Our team, people with real political experience, reads what matters, puts the pieces together and tells you what to do about it. AI helps with the sorting: it flags the stories and ranks them by how serious they are.

What you get

A briefing instead of hours of clips, so you and your staff spend your time doing the work, not searching for it.

No more digging through clips. You get the briefing.

Many sources, one story
How it works: Our analysts
  • Groups coverage of the same story from different outlets and posts into one thread.
  • Ranks each story Critical, High, Moderate or Low, so the serious ones come first.
  • Our team reads what matters and calls you when something can't wait.
  • The old craft still counts: a strategist still makes the call, and the paper map still goes up on the office wall.

06Your briefingWhere it all meets · The estuary

Your briefing: So what do we do next?

Every stream ends up here, in one short briefing on your race, your union, your file or your company: what changed, where you stand and what to do next. When something can't wait, our team calls you.

What you get

A short briefing every morning, and a call when something breaks.

One briefing
How it fits together: Your briefing
  • Each setup is built for one client: the sources, the places and the people that matter to them.
  • Each platform runs on its own database. Sign-in is by invitation only.
How you use it

A briefing every morning. The platform whenever you want it.

Our team watches the coverage and checks the maps, then puts what matters in a short briefing. When you want to dig in yourself, the platform is yours too: every clip, post and map, live.

  1. 01Tell us the race, the union, the file or the company.
  2. 02We choose the sources and the places to watch, set up the maps and the monitoring, and read it all for you.
  3. 03You get a short briefing every morning, the platform to watch the data live, and a call when something can't wait.
Who it's for

Same river.
Different question.

Campaigns, unions, government relations and companies draw on the same waters. Only the question changes, and we build each setup around yours.

CampaignsFor example

Day 18 · Lethbridge · Advance voting opens Saturday

Are we winning, and where?

Past results, polls and the map, riding by riding and down to the neighbourhood, with the coverage of your race beside them. You see where the race is close and where to send volunteers.

What you get

A map of your riding, a weekly read on where you stand, and a list of where to knock.

UnionsFor example

21:04 · Prince George · A radio story on your sector

What's being said about our members' fight?

We follow your bargaining table, your sector and the politicians on your issue, in the legislature and across news, radio, TV and social media, and tell you which stories are building.

What you get

A short briefing for your table, and a call when something moves.

Government relationsFor example

10:30 · The legislature · A bill on your file goes to committee

Is anything moving on our file?

We follow your issue in the legislature and across news, radio, TV and social media, and group the coverage into stories so you can see what is building. If political ads start running on your issue, we log who is running them and how often they air.

What you get

A short briefing on your file, and a call when it moves.

CorporateFor example

16:20 · Live map · A wildfire 18 km from one of your sites

Is a problem coming for our company?

We watch for your company and your issues in the news, on radio and TV, across social media and in the legislature, and we can put your sites on a live map with wildfires and other events nearby. You hear which stories matter and which can wait.

What you get

An early warning, and a plain read on how serious it is.

The platforms

We reject templates.

Estuary runs on platforms we build and run ourselves, and each one is fitted to the client: your race, your union, your file or your company. SALMON and TROUT cover provincial races in British Columbia and Alberta. Another province, or a federal or city race? We build it.

  • ORCAMedia monitoring

    ORCA reads news, radio and TV transcripts, social media and the legislature. AI helps flag the stories and sort them by how serious they are, and our team reads what matters and tells you what to do about it.

  • SALMONCampaigns in British Columbia

    Shows where your votes are, where the race is close and where to send volunteers, across all 93 BC ridings.

  • TROUTCampaigns in Alberta

    SALMON, fitted to all 87 Alberta ridings in two days.

See it at work
Next Steps

What are you trying to win?

Tell us what you're up against, when it's decided and what you need to accomplish.

Book a briefingGet a sample briefing