Generating headline coverage: the potential of credible PR surveys

You can download a PDF of this whitepaper here.

A quick glance through the newspapers, or a search online, will throw up numerous research studies on a plethora of subjects which have all been commissioned by companies and their PR agencies.

Statistics have an irresistible appeal to PR consultants and their clients, not least because of their irresistible appeal to journalists. Surveys statistics have an amazing ability to turn ‘not much’ into an enticing story and are often used to manufacture news when the client is short of newsworthy things to say. They can also give clients a platform for thought leadership and opinions.

Done well, primary research is an effective way of standing out in a competitive marketplace. From driving a new product launch, to supporting a broader marketing campaign, a clever survey which offers lots of news angles based on solid facts and figures can help generate front page headlines, page leads and splashy features which capture attention.

However, done badly or targeted in the wrong way surveys can quickly become waste of time, money and potentially even damage a company’s credibility. Journalists know that most PR surveys are commissioned by a company with a product to sell, but they still expect results to be valid and not overly biased.

So what should you know about surveying BEFORE undertaking one? Here are some tips to help you avoid the pitfalls and create a survey that delivers results:

When NOT to do a survey

There are four main reasons NOT to do a survey, which need to be considered before going any further:

Somebody else has beaten you to it

In this scenario secondary research will find it inexpensively so there is no need for a questionnaire. All you would be doing is confirming whether an answer is still true. Is it worth doing a survey to find that out, especially if the main purpose is to generate publicity?

You can’t precisely define what information you’re seeking

With only vague ideas on what you want to learn and no specific data points in mind a survey can very easily turn out junk, useless information.

The information you’re seeking is too personal, sensitive or complex

Surveys depend on respondents. Some information may be too embarrassing to divulge or expose weakness. Respondents may give answers that make them look good and are not what they believe. People also may not know the answer to the questions. Any of these will mean the result of your survey is bogus.

Nobody really cares

Will the survey have any interest to the media or target audience once it is done? One way around this is to approach a target publication in advance with the concept and get them on board as a media partner before going through the time and expense of commissioning something that never gets used.

If you’ve not fallen at that hurdle you’re ready to move on to more of the specifics.

What should I budget?

Depending on the size and scope, the cost of a PR survey can vary from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds. You’ll need to decide whether you’re in the market for a cheaper, but very general off-the-shelf option such as buying one or two questions on an Omnibus survey (where your data is one of a wide variety of subjects being collected during the same interview), or commissioning a bespoke piece of professional research tailored to your exact brief.

There’s also the ‘free’ option! If you’re not looking for a grand survey and just want to canvass some opinion to get a hook for a simple press release targeted at the trade press, you can always do it yourself (e.g. mail shots to customers or questionnaires handed out at trade shows). Better still, ‘borrow’ someone else’s statistics (acknowledged of course), if they exist, to back up your own opinion.

Who can help?

Creating a professional questionnaire is a genuine skill and much more difficult than you think so if you expect a high standard and want to get the best results, always use a specialist. It may cost a little more than DIY but having the survey conducted by a research organisation will help to ensure the data you get will be useable by high calibre media outlets. The Market Research Society is a good place to start your search. Its members all operate by the industry code of practice.

Turning results into coverage

Once data has been gathered your survey specialist will provide a summary. Ask your PR agency to use this summary to look for news angles. Depending on the subject and the results themselves, you can probably come up with a number of different angles for regional or vertical media which make the news very tailored to individual audiences.

Don’t just repeat the findings in your news releases or reports, be sure to add your own company insights into what the data reveals. Also be prepared to talk to the media about the survey and how the findings are relevant to your business or target audience.

You may decide from the outset to work with a media partner to jointly commission the survey and therefore agree exclusive rights with them to publish the results. This has the advantage that you should get bigger in-depth coverage in this particular publication (or family of publications) as a result. The downside is you can’t use it anywhere else.

Alternatively, you may prefer to avoid exclusives and promote the survey results to multiple outlets to widen your potential audience.

So to summarise… surveys are a popular PR tool but they need to be treated with caution. If you’re looking to use them as a vehicle for targeting the national press and really elevating your message, then make sure that they're credible, statistically valid and able to stand up to media scrutiny. Do them properly and professionally, without cutting corners, otherwise the results will not be what you had hoped.

Less sophisticated, do it yourself style surveys based on much smaller sample groups definitely also have a place in the PR armoury but the key is to use them sparingly, and target the right audience (probably trade or vertical media). Most of all, be honest about the sample and methodology… don’t try and pretend the survey is grander than it is.