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Monthly Luncheon Report
(Wednesday, Oct. 11 PCC Monthly Luncheon)
Using Data to Drive a
Media Relations Program
Mark Rozeen (from left), Joe
Adler and Gary Glenn.
(Photo by Ted Lacey)
MODERATOR
Gary Glenn
Research Consultant,
Rasmussen Reports
PANELISTS
Joe Adler
President, Angell
Research
Mark Rozeen
SVP and Director of
Research, GolinHarris
PROGRAM SUMMARY
The Numbers Game . . .
Experts Discuss Using Data to Drive Media Relations
By Sue Masaracchia-Roberts
The media LOVES research! However, to leverage it
effectively to gain coverage, PR pros must
understand its applications. To help PCC members do
just that, the October luncheon focused on how to
leverage research to gain visibility in the media.
A panel of distinguished research experts
reviewed current research techniques and explained
ways that PR people can tap into the strength of
this tool. Panel members included: senior vice
president and director of research and strategy for
Golin-Harris, Mark Rozeen; and managing partner of
The Angell Research Group, Inc., Joseph Adler. The
panel was moderated by Rasmussen Reports’ research
consultant, Gary Glenn.
Gary Glenn
With more than 25 years of experience in the
communications industry, Gary Glenn was the director
of sales for ABC/Disney before becoming co-founder
of NewsWire One. Having sold that company, he is now
consulting with Rasmussen, which delivers real-time
public opinion to news organizations, policymakers
and analysts, across a variety of industries,
including economics, lifestyle, entertainment and
consumer issues.
Glenn reported that the first step in any survey
project is to design the study. For the Rasmussen
Index survey, they have a standard bank of questions
that are asked each night. Most automated surveys
involve 10 to 20 questions. Then, following a survey
design, questions are digitally recorded and fed to
a calling program that determines question order,
branching options and other factors. Calls are
placed to randomly-selected phone numbers through a
process that insures appropriate geographic
representation. They can ask open-ended questions
and later transcribe the recorded responses if a
project requires it. .
After the calls are completed, the raw data is
processed through a weighting program to insure that
the sample reflects the overall population in terms
of age, race, gender, political party, and other
factors.
Glenn suggested that before you go to the media
with research data, you need a comprehensive plan
and make sure that you thoroughly examine the
research before releasing it in order to uncover any
anomalies that must be explained.
Mark Rozeen
Describing himself as “an old flack who does
research,” Dr. Rozeen began his more than 25-year
career with not-for-profits, government work and a
variety of other industries before getting into the
high-tech world. Rozeen has worked with clients like
IBM, Sony and Charles Schwab while president and
chief strategist for TSI Communications. Currently
senior vice president with Golin-Harris, Rozeen
works with McDonald’s, State Farm, Visa and a
variety of other high profile clients, developing,
implementing and otherwise guiding their strategic
research efforts.
He suggested PR people keep a few pointers in
mind when considering research:
- If you pay a consultant to do
research, consider it an investment, but if you
are not going to use the results, don’t bother
to begin the research. “Manage what you
measure,” he said, adding, “measure what you
manage.”
- Get usable information; “the tail is
not the dog. Know what you want to find out up
front to make it usable. It’s easier to waste a
little money than a lot, so take research as a
serious investment.
- Research involves ongoing engagements, not
one-time opportunities. It must continue past
the initial phase to be important.
However, he cited some research guidelines.
- Evaluation is measuring the effectiveness of
the use of resources, rather than being used to
be evaluated or measured. It is, after all,
largely its goal to measure value and
effectiveness.
- Calibrate. Do research to develop a strategy
that aligns with the business goals and shows
effectiveness and what is essential in the
future.
- Set expectations, so that your clients or
organization understand what the end game will
be when the research is collected
- Investigate.
- Postulate. Design some “what if” scenarios
so you can wrap a PR program around the results.
“Don’t just throw spaghetti at the wall.
- Invigorate by creating news! Give life to
mature concepts and clients and bring a value
proposition to life.
- Tailor or specialize your research to
specific needs. Syncopate. Establish a rhythm.
- The greatest challenge, according to Rozeen,
is to elevate -- to create value in the
marketplace.
Rozeen emphasized that every research method has
its strengths and weaknesses, however, research
definitely lends itself to providing great factoids
in publications like USA Today.
A lot of the research results depend on how they
are “sliced and diced.” When it comes to survey
data, sins of omission are not good, so some things
need to be included even if you don’t care about the
answer. Therefore, added Rozeen, “it is important to
cite the research and give the reader a chance to
draw his own conclusion. Also, know that incentives
don’t necessarily skew the results.”
Joseph Adler
As a past president for Chicago chapter of the
American Marketing Association and having more than
30 years of experience in all aspects of marketing
research, Joe Adler is the managing partner of
Angell Research Group, founded in 1943. He
specializes in consumer as well as
business-to-business research in a variety of
industries.
Research, according to Adler, began to gain
importance in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s with the
Gallup organization, focusing on qualitative and
quantitative research samples.
“The most important part of research,” said
Adler, “is deciding one’s objectives. The next step
is coming up with 12 to 15 key questions that need
to be answered He explained that surveys should
include a friendly, inviting design, including a lot
of white space in order to ensure a better return.
Also, those responding should reasonably reflect a
sampling of those whose answers you need. Focus
groups may or not be helpful, depending on how they
are structured. They are especially useful if they
result in “meaty verbatims” that can be plugged into
press releases or used as testimonials.
There is always a margin of error that must be
considered. “Most surveys don’t meet basic
criteria,” said Adler, “and many are only small
(200-400 individuals) samplings. There are no hard
and fast rules except that you properly represent
those participating. That is most important. Obtain
the information that makes the most sense to you as
a reader. That does not require a large number of
participants.”
On-line quantitative surveys must be
well-designed, again making sure that questionnaires
have a lot of white space so they can be
self-administered. The approach should be less like
an interrogation than like a conversation, and items
need to be weighted or ranked rather than rigid or
flowing without ever being boring.
While outside vendors will have the experience in
fielding and interpreting data, you can execute your
own research collection through several online
tools, including Zoomerang and Surveymonkey. Adler
reminded attendees that no matter how the survey is
conducted, the key still is “to decide first what
you want to discover.”
The panel concurred that 200 to 300 samplings are
usually statistically relevant because this sampling
size will usually reflect the prevailing opinion.
However, for national surveys with a broad
demographic profile, larger numbers between 1000 to
1400 is preferred.
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