Posts Tagged ‘media’

Writing for Journalists and High-Level Executives

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…)

Research That Goes Viral

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…)

Top Trends of the Decade: Looking Back

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…)

Execs Highlight Need for Research and Stories

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…)

Two Ways to Find Data for a PR Story

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…)