Archive for the ‘Public Relations’ Category
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Clients tell us that one of the biggest challenges they face is writing great research reports. There is the overwhelming difficulty of turning data into stories — making sense of volumes of data without losing the big picture or the details. And there is the difficulty of truly communicating research so that it is heard, understood, believed, and ultimately used.
We were reminded of the importance of communication and writing research for multiple audiences from Eric Zorn’s recent column in the Chicago Tribune, from which we quote: (more…)
Tags: communication, journalism, media, Public Relations, qualitative research., research reports, stories
Posted in Presenting Research, Public Relations, Turning Data into Stories | No Comments »
Friday, May 14th, 2010
Choosing an omnibus survey can be a simple approach to getting survey data, because it is usually inexpensive and fast, and involves asking just a few questions. But there is sometimes a downside to simplicity: You have just a few questions to get that nugget of data you’re hoping to use as a news hook or to provide insight to your client. If your key questions are off target, you can’t turn to other content in your survey to find something usable.
Here are four tips for writing omnibus survey questions to ensure that your effort is successful: (more…)
Tags: omnibus, Public Relations, Survey Design
Posted in Omnibus Surveys, Public Polls, Public Relations, Survey Design, Survey Tips | No Comments »
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Getting your research findings heard, understood, and used should always be your goal. That means more than putting findings into a report deck, presenting results to the marketing team, writing up press releases, or getting media placement for a PR story. It means having your audience engage with it by thinking, sharing, and taking action.
What do we know about the kinds of stories and research reports that can achieve this? A recent study reported in The New York Times provides some clues. (more…)
Tags: communication, Market Research, media, news, research, stories
Posted in Market Research, Presenting Research, Public Relations, Turning Data into Stories | No Comments »
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
As an industry driven by data and information, market research and public opinion polling has seen dramatic changes in the last ten years and will no doubt change quickly and in big ways during the next ten.
Looking back, here are what we consider to be the five biggest changes that shaped current challenges faced by market research and opinion polling: (more…)
Tags: communication, data, Data Collection, data quality, Market Research, mathematics, media, online, Online Surveys, public opinion, Public Polls, Public Relations, research, Sampling, statistics, stories, survey, survey respondents, survey technology
Posted in Data Collection, Future Trends, Market Research, Methods & Tools, Online Surveys, Presenting Research, Public Polls, Public Relations, Sampling, Turning Data into Stories, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Bad pollsters give the market research industry a bad name, so it is encouraging when smart people figure out clever ways of ratting them out. What is a bad pollster? One who makes up data to support an agenda, or who asks biased questions to get preferred answers. The only good reason for doing research or public opinion polling is to learn or share something new. All else is suspect.
Two researchers recently came up with methods of testing whether polling data is legitimate in a case where a research firm is accused of falsifying publicly released data. (more…)
Tags: bias, data quality, ethics, mathematics, Public Polls, statistics, trust
Posted in Future Trends, Public Polls, Public Relations | No Comments »
Friday, November 20th, 2009
Five of Chicago’s PR leaders gathered at a PRSA forum this week to discuss current trends and the future of public relations. The discussion was striking in how fully it echoed the trends and challenges facing the polling and research industry, and what we need to do to keep our eye on the ball. Here are a few take-away ideas from that forum that apply to both PR professionals and their research partners: (more…)
Tags: communication, data, insight, journalism, media, Public Polls, Public Relations, research, stories, survey, value
Posted in Future Trends, Presenting Research, Public Relations, Turning Data into Stories, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
In a recent blog post entitled Data-Driven Journalism, Walker Sands, a Chicago PR agency, outlined two ways to get media placement for your company or your client with research. The premise is that journalists and readers are hungry for interesting stories, and in today’s data-driven world some of the most interesting stories come from – of all places – statistics. Ken Gaebler, founder of the agency, notes that there are two effective approaches. In his words, “You can mine data or you can make data.” (more…)
Tags: data, journalism, media, news, public opinion, Public Polls, Public Relations, research, statistics, stories, survey
Posted in Public Polls, Public Relations, Turning Data into Stories | No Comments »
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Versta Research fields omnibus surveys, and we often recommend such surveys for our clients. But omnibus surveys do no not always save money or offer the insights that are needed, and so we often recommend inexpensive alternatives as well. (more…)
Tags: Data Collection, Internet, Market Research, omnibus, Online Surveys, Public Polls, value
Posted in Data Collection, Online Surveys, Public Polls, Public Relations | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
A public relations client early in my career gave this assessment of my work: “Joe is strong at highlighting problems, but what I really care about is solutions.” That was many years ago, after I left university teaching and started doing client work full time. Her words have stayed with me and deeply shaped the work that Versta does.
I was reminded of it when I came across this survey about fear of needles. It reports statistics on how many are fearful of needles and avoiding medical care as a result. But it’s a story begging for a conclusion, which the press release authors and survey designers forgot to include. It is a good example of highlighting problems, but not offering solutions. If you’re a motivated reader of that story, you can fill in the conclusion by reading the paragraph at the bottom about the sponsoring healthcare company’s business, but how many people read that, and how often does such information make it into a story picked up by the press? (more…)
Tags: Public Relations, statistics, stories, survey, Survey Design
Posted in Public Relations, Survey Design, Survey Tips, Turning Data into Stories, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Mistakes to Avoid when Conducting a Public Relations Survey
Surveys and polls can be powerful tools to understand what people are thinking and doing, and they can provide good data for public relations efforts and community outreach. Unfortunately they can also be gimmicks, which erodes trust in polling and in the organizations sponsoring them.
(more…)
Tags: bias, census, population, public opinion, Public Polls, Public Relations, Sampling, trust
Posted in Public Polls, Public Relations, Sampling | 1 Comment »