Blog post
December 9, 2020

The regional comprehensive economic partnership through the eyes of AI

The media coverage of the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP), a monumental deal among 15 Asia Pacific countries, has been interesting.

As media analysts, we looked into more than 800 articles and videos from the prominent news outlets across the 15 countries that signed the deal within the time period of 8 November to 20 November 2020.

Natural language processing uncovering the power dynamics in the region

We employed state of the art AI models specialising in natural language processing (NLP), and contextualised them with our strategic viewpoint.

Sharing more about the AI analysis, Joseff Ymanuel Tan, Jr, data scientist at Isentia, noted: “NLP models work well for key information retrieval, specifically identifying proper nouns (entities). The entities are classified into several categories by the AI/NLP model.”

The first category we were interested in was the most frequently mentioned location names (country names, city names, etc). The image below provides a glimpse of the NLP model identifying the entities from an excerpt of an article.
The word cloud here shows the countries identified by the AI/NLP model. The bigger the country name is, the more number of articles covered it. The US (appeared in 843 articles) & China (749 articles) were the top countries mentioned.

Sharing insights from the NLP analysis, Arisa Otsuka, Analyst at Isentia, said, “This deal was seen as a significant victory for China as it reduces the impact of the ensuing trade war between the US and China by reducing China’s reliance on US trade [1]. The articles also mentioned the waning influence of the US as many allies rethinking their economic ties with the US [2].”

One of those US allies being Japan (584) which was also the third most mentioned country. Some of the reasons why Japan was mentioned where their plan to sign military ties with Australia [3]; also Japan was covered as the one ensuring the protection of their local farmers by retaining tariffs on essential products like rice, wheat, dairy etc.[4]

Arun Elangovan, Regional Analytics Manager of Isentia Asia said, “At first glance of the country names, the AI is merely confirming the hypothesis that everyone would have regarding this deal, the 15 countries who signed the agreement are covered equally. But when we look at the results of the AI through a different lens, the message changes.”

While the previous word cloud shows how many articles the countries appeared in, the following word cloud demonstrates how many times the countries were mentioned across articles. This word cloud not only captures the essence of how prominently a country is covered but also uncovers subliminal messages or in other words, the unsaid.

The articles more prominently mentioned China (4324 times) than any other country. US (2171 times), Japan (1483) and Australia (1246) were some of the other countries also prominently mentioned. This could seed the idea that some countries are more influential than others, portraying the power dynamics in the region.

The media also extensively covered some countries that were not part of the deal. The first one being India (296 articles), as India was initially part of the RCEP and withdrew towards the end of last year. The coverage on India was mostly about how the countries (esp. Australia, Singapore & Vietnam) [5][6] are hopeful & keeping the door open for India to join the partnership in the future. Japan considers India’s presence necessary to counter China’s economic weight [7]. The other country was Taiwan (66 articles). Taiwan was reportedly underplaying the significance of RCEP by pointing out that 70% of it’s exports to RCEP is already tariff-free; instead, they were hopeful of joining the Trans-pacific Partnership (CPTPP).[8]

Video AI hints towards a hopeful & prosperous future

The subliminal messaging in video coverage are less subtle as compared to articles. This is due to a video having 2 components, the visuals and the audio/speech.

“Most of the news reporting on mainstream media state the facts through the audio/speech and show accompanying visuals. When we analysed the audio/speech, the narratives were very similar to the one we uncovered through the articles,” said Ma. Angelica Tatad, Data Scientist at Isentia.

But while analysing the visuals we found different narratives. Francis De Leon, Jr. Data Scientist at Isentia said the analysis of the video was “done through a state of the art neural network (AI) which can identify the objects shown in a video. Our analysts then group these object labels into relevant categories.”

Apart from the usual suspects with groups of objects detected like people (incl. audience, speaker, journalist etc.) & event-related labels (incl. conference, auditorium etc.).

The above image shows the AI (Google Video AI) identifying various objects shown in a video.

There were some interesting group of objects detected such as Buildings & Cityscape.

The above graph shows the various labels and the number of times they appeared in the videos.
The other group was Transport & Vehicles (as shown in above graph)

These groups of labels seem to indicate that the media is visually portraying this partnership as future-looking and opportunity for progress.

The other group of labels that were informative was the Food group (as shown in above graph)

The media also showed various parts of the food supply chain, touching on one of the top priorities for countries especially in the Southeast Asia region, food security. This deal brings could potentially ease the tariffs on food import and export amongst the countries that are part of the deal.

Analysing the coverage around RCEP through the eyes of the AI revealed that the media while largely emphasising the impact on the on-going power dynamics be it the dynamics between the US & its allies and China, also portrayed this deal as bringing a bright and prosperous future to the countries in the region. It also revealed that there are some subtle/subliminal messages that lie underneath the obvious.

Written by: Arun Elangovan, Regional Manager, Advance Analytics – Insights, Asia

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As communications professionals look toward 2026 planning sessions, one question dominates the conversation - How can we use AI in a safe, scalable, and sustainable way?

Behind this question often lies the hope for an "AI easy button"—a one-click solution for complex measurement challenges. However, as discussed in our recent APAC webinar, the real opportunity lies not in automating old metrics, but in architecting a smarter era of measurement.

Hosted by Russ Horell, Isentia’s Chief Revenue Officer for APAC, the session featured deep dives from two industry leaders who've contributed immensely to research and planning: Ngaire Crawford (Director of Insights, ANZ) and Prashant Saxena (VP of Research and Insights, SEA). Together, they unpacked the transition from using insights and converting them into strategic, measurable storytelling.

Here are the key takeaways from the discussion.

1. From experimentation to transparency

If 2024 and 2025 were the years of "playing in the sandbox," 2026 is set to be the year of transparency.

Ngaire Crawford emphasized that while AI is incredible at summarising data and recognising patterns, it does not automatically generate insight. As we integrate these tools, the focus must shift to methodological integrity—understanding the source data, the structure, and the limitations of the models we use.

"Models are really good pattern finders. But they don't necessarily set what good looks like, or understand the consequences of being wrong. And the antidote to that is always going to be good design." – Ngaire Crawford

2. "More data, better insight" is the misconception

A major misconception remains that feeding AI endless amounts of data will naturally result in better answers. In reality, without the right framework, more data often just creates more noise.

Prashant Saxena warns against the "sameness" that AI can generate. If everyone uses the same models on the same big data sets without specific objectives, they will get similar, generic answers. The role of the insights professional is evolving from descriptive reporting to strategic storytelling—using judgment to break through the "echo chamber" of AI validation.

3. Kill, keep, create: redefining our metrics

The panelists played a game of "keep, kill, create" to determine the future of measurement metrics.

  • Kill: The panel was unanimous in moving away from vanity metrics. Ngaire called for the end of Cumulative Reach, noting it is a biased metric that offers no context. Prashant agreed, suggesting that AVEs (Advertising Value Equivalents) need to be finally left behind.
  • Keep: Share of Voice remains useful as a foundational benchmark (a "census" of market presence), provided it is redefined to measure the share of a specific idea or perception rather than just volume
  • Create: The future lies in Authenticity Metrics. Prashant argued that while reputation is a downstream outcome, authenticity is the upstream outcome that drives it.

"Authenticity is more upstream, as reputation and trust are more downstream... That's an authentic ritual on a day-to-day basis, which leads to reputation." – Prashant Saxena

4. The "home field advantage" for communicators

Despite the technical buzz surrounding AI, the panel argued that communications professionals hold a distinct advantage. "Prompt engineering" is, at its core, a language and communication skill.

The future doesn't necessarily belong to the most technical users, but to the most articulate—those who can clearly define an outcome, ask the right questions, and deconstruct language to get the best result from a model.

Trust your judgment

As we move into 2026, the advice from our experts is to not let AI replace your strategic point of view.

  • Have an opinion: Don't wait for metrics to be imposed on you. Go into conversations knowing what you want to measure and why.
  • Pause before you prompt: As Prashant advised, "Paper before a chatbot.". Define your strategy and objectives on paper, using your human experience and judgment, before turning to AI to execute the work.

By combining the speed of AI with the nuance of human strategy, communicators can finally build the sophisticated measurement systems they have always wanted.


Interested in viewing the whole recording? Watch our webinar here.

Alternatively, contact our team to learn more insights into meaningful measurement, KPIs and communicating using the right dataset.

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Key takeaways from the Future of Measurement webinar

Our recent webinar explores what the future of measurement in 2026 looks like and what brands must do to scale in this AI era.

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The media landscape is accelerating. In an era where influence is ephemeral and every angle demands instant comprehension, PR and communications professionals require more than generic technology—they need intelligence engineered for their specific challenges.

Isentia is proud to introduce Lumina, a groundbreaking suite of intelligent AI tools. Lumina has been trained from the ground up on the complex workflows and realities of modern communications and public affairs. It is explicitly designed to shift professionals from passive media monitoring back into the role of strategic leaders and pacesetters. 

“The PR, Comms and Public Affairs sectors have been experimenting with AI, but most tools have not been built with their real challenges in mind.” said Joanna Arnold, CEO of Pulsar Group

“Lumina is different; it is the first intelligence suite designed around how narratives actually form today, combining human credibility signals with machine-level analysis. It helps teams understand how stories evolve, filter out noise and respond with context and confidence to crises and opportunities.”

Setting a new standard for PR intelligence

Lumina is centered on empowering, not replacing, the human element of communications strategy. This suite is purpose-built to help PR, Comms, and Public Affairs professionals significantly improve productivity, enhance message clarity, and facilitate early risk detection.

Lumina enables communicators to:

  • Understand & Interpret: Move beyond basic alerts to strategically map the trajectory and spread of narrative evolution.
  • Focus & Personalise: Achieve the clarity necessary to execute strategic action before critical moments pass.
  • Execute & Monitor: Rapidly deploy strategy firmly rooted in real-time, actionable insight.

Get a demo today: Stories & Perspectives module

We are launching the Lumina suite by making our first module immediately available: Stories & Perspectives.

In the current fragmented, multi-channel media environment, communications professionals need to be able to instantly perceive not just how a story is growing, but also how it is being perceived across different stakeholder groups.

Stories & Perspectives organizes raw media mentions into clustered, cohesive Stories, and the Perspectives that exist within each, reflecting distinct media, audience, and public affairs angles. This unique functionality allows users to:

  • Rise above the noise: Instantly identify which high-level topics are gaining momentum or fading from attention.
  • Get to the detail, fast: Uncover the influential voices, niche communities, and specific channels actively shaping the narrative.
  • Catch the pivot point: Precisely identify the moment a story shifts—from a strategic opportunity to a reputation risk—or when a new key opinion former begins guiding the conversation.

"Media isn’t a stream of mentions," said Kyle Lindsay, Head of Product at Pulsar Group. "But rather a living system of stories shaped by competing perspectives. When you can see those structures clearly, you gain the ability to understand issues as they form, anticipate how they’ll evolve, and act with precision. That’s what we mean when we talk about AI built for communicators, and that's what an off-the-shelf LLM can't give you."

The Lumina Roadmap: AI tools for the future of comms

The launch of Stories & Perspectives is the first release of many. Over the upcoming months, we will systematically roll out the full Lumina roadmap, introducing a comprehensive set of AI tools engineered to handle every phase of the communications lifecycle.

The full Lumina suite will soon incorporate:

  • Curated media summaries: AI-driven daily summaries customized specifically to the priorities of senior leadership, highlighting only the most relevant stories.
  • Reputation analysis: Advanced measurement tracking how critical themes like ethics, innovation, and leadership are statistically shaping corporate perception.
  • Press release & media relations assistant: Tools designed to accelerate content creation and craft hyper-focused, personalized pitches that reach the precise contacts faster.
  • Predictive intelligence layer: Technology engineered to track and anticipate story momentum and strategic change before the window of opportunity closes.
  • Intelligent agents: Background agents continuously scanning all media channels for emerging key spokespeople and previously undetected reputation risks.
  • Enhanced audio, broadcast & crisis detection: Complete, real-time oversight of all channels—including audio and broadcast—enabling rapid context building and optimal crisis response delivery.


Want to harness the power of Lumina AI for your PR, Comms, or Public Affairs team? .

Complete the form below to register your interest.

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Announcing Lumina: The purpose-built AI suite for PR, Comms, and Public Affairs

An intelligent suite of AI tools trained on the language, workflows, and realities of modern public relations and communications.

Ready to get started?

Get in touch or request a demo.