Just the Most Compelling Facts: What Communicators & PR Practitioners Want from Research. Article for Vue - the magazine for the market research and intelligence organization.

1. the rnagazine of the
Marketing Research
and Intelligence
Association
APRIL 2OO8
HO ARE
DOING?

2. FE,ATI.JRE,
"Most
Just the Compelling" Facts:
%at Communicators
and PR Practitioners
wantfromResearch
Researchers critical communicators.is ihe responsibility researchers devrse
are to lt of to cost-effective
m e a n st o m e e tt h e c l i e n t ' s objectives, giveexpertcounsel, provide
to to clear,
compelling quantified
and
i n s i g h t s , n d t o o f f e rf r a n k ,
a straightforward
answers. Leslie Hetherington
esearch is integral to PR and business com- 2005, the New York-based journal PR Week found that less
munications' best practices, as advocated by than rwo per cent of the average public relations budger went
the professions' educators and thought towards research and evaluation. Many communicators allude
leaders. In fact, the key associations - the to the actual or perceived high cost of market research as a
International Association of Business Com- roadblock to using it.
municators(I.ABC) aswell as the Public RelationsSocieryof
America (PRSA) and its Canadian equivalent(CPRS) - cite Conversely, there is a growing imperative for communicarors
research an essential
as requirementfor professional
accredi- to justify and measure the rerurn on investment (ROI) of their
tation, and for industry awards. initiatives to the C-Suite decision-makers - and research is a
critical means to this end. This need, combined with public re-
Ironically, the value of research rarely reflected in public
is lations' ongoing growth, presenrs a greenfield opportuniry to
relationsbudgetallocations. its annualcorporare
In surveyfor savtry market researcherswho choose to leverage it.
28 vue April 2OO8

3. FEATURE
Harvesting this opportuniry starts with give the communicator clear, com- and the research house that proves a
"Third-
a thorough understanding of PR clients' pelling and (ideally) quantified insight strategic partner in the process.
objectives and honing a cost-effective to justi$t or refine a strategy, or to party polling firms that work closely
path to meet them through research, demonstrate the successor failure of a with us to uncover'headline-worthy'
while steering away from sand traps campaign. Researchers must assessthe stats are particularly effective in help-
"The ing to build and sustain key messages
along the way. best market re- PR challenge, provide expert counsel
searchers tease out the outcomes we de- (on the best tool, sample size, questions for our clients in the public
sire, provide us with menu options and parameters) and convince commu- domain," explains Julie Rusciolelli,
regarding how they might tackle our re- nicators that, beyond data tables, they president of Maverick Public Relations.
search issue,and ensure the solution does need analysis and an executive sum-
not become overly complicated," says m^ry, despite the cost. The onus is then However, the rigour that the media ap-
Kellie Garrett, senior vice-president for on researchers to provide a report that ply to PR stories from omnibus polls is
Strategy, Knowledge and Reputation at cuts to the chase and spells out the nec- rising, and there are increasing demands
Farm Credit Canada and past research essary answers in plain business lan- for larger sample sizes as well as the op-
guage, versus academia, with no more portunity to scrutinize the full survey
chair of [ABC.
results. Researchers can safeguard com-
granular detail than necessaryto meet
municators against cynical media by en-
Researchers need to begin by asking communicators' needs.
suring appropriate sample sizes, by
why? Although there is some debate,
including the most newsworthy find-
the growing consensus is that research I n s o m e c a s e s ,a p u b l i c o p i n i o n p o l l
ings in the highlights, and by avoiding
should be used at several stages in a PR becomes the actual PR tactic. In these
data that dilute an organization's mes-
campaign: scenarios,an organization, or its PR
sage. For example, results of an infor-
agency, sponsors questions in an om-
mation technology firm's wireless
. at the onset and end, to establish base- nibus to mine primary data. It piggy-
solutions survey should not extrapolate
line criteria (or current perception lev- backs its corporate messages on the
on mobile applications unless they are
els) and then compare against outcomes resulting data, which it communicates
within its product offering.
through a news releaseand feature arti-
. in analysis, to identifr opportunities cle. Personally, I think it would be ben-
In all cases, itt essential for the re-
to leverage and threats to counter eficial to have a wide range of business
searcher to thoroughly scope the project
polling options that could be used as ef- and disclose all costs up front, as PR
. in implementation, to test and revise fectively for business-to-business cam- budgets have minimal fexibiliry. Given
messagesand tactics early on or even paigns as the omnibus is for consumer that the average communicator is not a
midway into a campaign. applications. statistician, the researcher needs to ex-
plain all options and define subtleties,
tVhether it's a customer a loyalry index, This tactic may offend some purists, such as Boolean and partialopen-ended
a brand equiry assessment,or a corpo- but it's a proven approach for getting questions, to minimize the risk oFover-
rate reputation study, research needs to ink and repeat business for the client sights and inaccurate quotes.
vue 29

4. FEATURE
afraid to push back and present impacr-
ful alternatives with cost estimates, if a
, e { clientt preconceived idea wont deliver
the desired results."
g v ,{"(roe
Nethercott believes there is a growing
t'J ,lo(1
potential for market researchers ro ger
more wallet share from communicators.
5 "But
to embrace this opportuniry" he
"they
cautions, need to transition from
order takers or commodity data pro-
1$($0
(1 e1
'
) s
ducers to strategic advisors who take the
time to understand the communicator's
business goals and equip them with
-lo'* tt meaningful metrics."
Ultimately, communicators need this
And when communicators requesr an searchers, but there are few options strategic service level from researchers
omnibus, chances are they wanr to ref- when rates are not published online or to help them pass the most stringent
erence results in a news releaseand ac- easily accessible. In one ^gency, we de- test of all - the CFO'S review of the
cess to a spokesperson. The ideal is a veloped a grid listing omnibus firms, communications budget - and poren-
firm that bundles its omnibus services along with their features and the prices tially to ensure the longeviry of their
by including question consultations,
for each question rype and service, as a profession.
summaries, and news releasesupport in
quick means to bypass this step and
the mix - even if it charges more per
elude salespressure.
question than its competitors.
LeslieHetherington, MBA, APR, is an
It's worth noting that agency practition- Finally, being a trusted partner means award-utinning communicator. Sheis
"I've
ers are often tasked to quickly collect re- being frank. found that great re- seniordirector of communicationsand
search quotes for a proposal or a requesr search partners take the time to under- graphics PetonDistributors fnc., a Pet
for
for proposal. A sure way to alienare stand the endgame and not default to a Valu company, and execwtiaeuice-presi-
them is to push for answers on the like- one-size-fits-all approach," explains d.entof IABC/Toronto. Lesliecan be
lihood of a project moving forward or Michael Nethercott, president of Infinia reached les hetherington@rogers.
at lie. com.
to make them commit to followup dis- Canada, a brand, marketing and com-
"They're
cussions. This scenario may frustrate re- munications consultancy. not
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