Internal communicators are managing more channels than ever. Rewriting the same message for different channels in different formats is time consuming – but also risky. Your key messages could easy become misconstrued, with employees taking in different meaning depending on which channel they engage with.
Tools that help internal communicators centrally manage their comms have become hugely popular in recent years, giving IC teams the power to write content once and publish it everywhere.
Poppulo has become a firm favourite with internal comms teams. But there’s a new kid on the block; Viva Amplify.
Viva Amplify is Microsoft’s answer to Poppulo, and offers many of the same benefits under the familiar Microsoft 365 roof.
We dive into the two platforms and explore where their similarities and differences lie, including key features, integrations and pricing.
Jump to:
What is Viva Amplify?
Microsoft Viva Amplify is a centralised internal communications platform within Microsoft 365. It helps organisations create, manage, and publish internal comms campaigns. From one platform, comms managers can easily share content across multiple M365 channels, including Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Viva Engage.
Viva Amplify also offers extra functionality like writing guidance and comprehensive analytics.
Read our deep dive into Viva Amplify, or watch the except from our webinar below.
What is Poppulo?
Poppulo is an enterprise communications platform. It offers similar features to help internal communicators manage omnichannel comms, and also offers other tools like email, digital signage, and mobile apps.
Feature Comparison
Viva Amplify Key Features
Campaign Management
Viva Amplify allows you to create and manage campaigns with ease. You can set objectives, key messages, and timelines, ensuring that your communication strategy is well-organised and effective. This feature helps you keep track of all your communication efforts in one place, making it easier to manage and execute your campaigns.
Content Collaboration
Collaboration is at the heart of Viva Amplify. The platform enables teams to work together on content creation, review, and approval processes. You can customise messages for different channels and manage approvals seamlessly, ensuring that your communications are consistent and aligned with your organisation’s goals.
You can assign different collaborators for each individual campaign. If you’re working with HR on one campaign and IT on another, Internal Comms can see the overview of everything and your business collaborators only see what’s relevant for them.
Plus, each new campaign creates a Microsoft Team where collaborators can share content and conversations. It means all the familiar benefits of Microsoft Teams are available to you throughout your campaign process – which is especially useful for global teams working across multiple geographies and time-zones.
Multi-Channel Distribution
One of the standout features of Viva Amplify is its ability to distribute content across multiple channels, including Outlook, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage. This ensures that your messages reach your audience through their preferred channels. The platform also allows you to preview and customise content for each channel, helping you make sure your content hits the mark in different formats.
There are also more channels planned in the Microsoft roadmap, including other familiar business social networking platforms.
Real-Time Analytics
Understanding the impact of your communications is crucial. Viva Amplify provides real-time analytics that help you track the performance of your campaigns. You can monitor engagement metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, as well as more detailed insights like sentiment analysis.
See how different audience groups are engaging with different channels, allowing you to make data-driven decisions and optimise your communications strategy.
You can also use Viva Amplify to set goals for each campaign, and use analytics to see how you’re tracking.
Poppulo Key Features
Email Campaigns
Poppulo’s strength lies in email communication, offering good targeting and personalisation options. You can segment your audience based on various criteria, ensuring that your messages are relevant and engaging. The platform also provides detailed analytics on email performance, helping you understand what works and what doesn’t.
Mobile App
Poppulo offers a mobile app that allows you to connect with your audience on the go. This feature ensures that your messages are accessible anytime, anywhere, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
Intranet Integration
Poppulo integrates with your existing intranet systems, making it easy to incorporate your communications into your organisation’s digital workplace. This integration ensures that your messages are accessible through familiar channels, increasing their visibility and impact.
Digital Signage
Poppulo’s digital signage solutions help to engage employees and visitors with dynamic visual content. The platform supports a wide range of digital signage applications, from simple informational displays to complex, interactive installations. The cloud-based management system allows you to easily deploy and update content across multiple locations.
Integrations
When it comes to integrations, Viva Amplify shines with its deep integration into the Microsoft ecosystem.
If your organisation already uses Microsoft 365, Viva Amplify will feel like a natural extension. It integrates with Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, and Viva Engage, making it easy to leverage existing tools and workflows. This integration ensures that your communication efforts are streamlined and cohesive across all platforms.
Being a native Microsoft product means Viva Amplify will remain aligned with future Microsoft updates – in particular, Microsoft Copilot. IC managers will be able to make use of Microsoft’s AI tool to help with tasks like message personalisation and data analysis.
Keeping your comms platforms within the Microsoft ecosystem also has security benefits, and your IT team will thank you for keeping more tools under one roof. If you’re struggling to get IT buy-in or budget, tools like Viva Amplify could help get them on side.
Poppulo also offers a range of integrations, including third-party platforms like Workday and Oracle. However, integration with third-party tools may require additional setup and management. Poppulo also integrates with some Microsoft 365 tools like SharePoint and Teams, but there is no guarantee that Poppulo will stay aligned with future Microsoft updates.
Pricing
Viva Amplify is part of the Microsoft Viva suite, which offers various modules at different price points.
The Communications & Communities licence bundle is priced at £1.64 / $2.00 per user, per month. The bundle also includes access to Premium Viva Connections, and Premium Viva Engage.
Alternatively, the full Viva Suite is priced at £9.90 / $12.00 per user, per month and includes all the Viva apps like Viva Goals, Viva Learning and Viva Insights.
Poppulo, on the other hand, does not offer transparent pricing. It offers tiered packages based on the size of your organisation and the features you need.
This is where Viva Amplify can often be a stronger choice for organisations already using the Microsoft 365 platform. Organisations just need to make a small uplift to their existing licence package, rather than investing in an entirely new platform.
For organisations already using a third-party platform for multichannel campaigns, consolidating your platforms into Microsoft 365 can save costs and help tight budgets go further.
Your organisation may be eligible for a funded Viva Amplify pilot. Say hello and enquire about a pilot today.
An Internal Communicator’s Guide to Microsoft Viva
For a more in-depth look at Viva Amplify, Viva Engage, Viva Connections and Viva Goals, including key features and real life use-cases, download our guide to Microsoft Viva especially for internal communicators.
