There is no doubt that conducting a survey is an excellent way to
generate publicity for a client. Although some PR practitioners may
dismiss the technique as a soft option, a quick scan through any
publication shows that journalists like statistics. Whether to create an
eye-catching headline or add weight to a debate, reliable facts and
figures are a media winner.
However, abuse of this tool is a real concern, not least within the
market research industry itself. The European market research
professional body ESOMAR, has recently up-dated its Guide to Opinion
Polls in an attempt to crack down on the sleazier end of the market. It
identifies unscientific techniques, such as push polling, televoting and
certain internet polls as examples of the misuse of the term ’opinion
poll’.
To be fair, generating publicity from these types of activity is unusual
within PR circles, but it does underline the importance of producing
robust, credible research. Naturally, this is of increased significance
when using the internet. The difficulties of identifying underage
respondents, using acceptable sampling methods and spamming - sending
unsolicited ’junk’ e-mail - when using the medium, is well
documented.
But, the Market Research Society’s professional standards committee, and
new special interest group org.org, which focuses on on-line activities,
are currently discussing possible rules or guidelines for validating
internet research. These look set to be published early next year and
may include some sort of ’seal of approval’ for projects that meet
ESOMAR standards.
Another consideration for market research professionals, particularly in
smaller agencies, is the need to protect the integrity of their survey
findings. NOP consumer omnibus director Tony Lees says: ’Our terms and
conditions very clearly state that we must see a press report before it
is released.’
But with PR people looking for an attention-seeking story and market
research practitioners sticking rigidly to the facts, finding a middle
ground can be hard. As NOP has over 200 PR agencies as regular
customers, Lees is used to balancing these demands. ’We are realistic’
he says, ’But, the danger with creating exciting headlines, is that the
truth is always the first casualty.’
NOP is not adverse to turning down research it feels is
inappropriate.
Lees recalls that a few months ago, he turned down a customer who
insisted on using what he saw as potentially offensive wording for parts
of the female anatomy. Three hours later, unable to find another agency
to accept the job, the customer returned and accepted Lees’ advice on
alternative phrasing to get the coverage she wanted.
’The golden rule is the mother test,’ he says. ’No subject is taboo as
long as you are creative, but you have to be aware of people’s
sensitivities. When you ask a question, especially about sex, you have
to think ’Would my mother be offended?’’
While most PR practitioners would balk at the idea of actually
manipulating data, there is always the temptation to give an edited
picture by omitting certain facts. Negative findings may get swept under
the carpet in an attempt to produce a snappy press release.
’It’s wrong to give figures that are negated in other parts of the
survey, but I think it’s OK to concentrate on one aspect,’ clarifies
Harvard PR director Gareth Zundel. ’After all it’s our job to be
creative and many other areas may be outside the public interest.’
Simon Quarendon, chairman of The Words Group, whose subsidiaries include
research agency IQ Information, agrees. ’You have to be accurate,’ he
says, ’but it’s a question of brevity versus clarity’. He feels that
market research for publicity purposes has led to a general lowering of
standards.
’Over the past 15 years, the media love affair with statistics has
continually loosened the conditions and quality of the research
produced,’ he says.
Some would disagree, but there is certainly a need to get away from the
quick fix approach to surveys and publicity. Adrian Brady, managing
partner of Eulogy PR, says: ’It’s too easy to think of a survey as
something that purely affects coverage. You also need to think about how
it adds value to the bottom line.’
Now that good quality market research has proven its worth to PR people,
more is being released into the media. Linking research with a topical
industry issue is one way of stealing a march on the competition. It
also secures serious coverage and positioning for the client as an
authoritative voice.
Last month, network equipment specialists Cisco Systems, published the
results of a MORI telephone survey on internet use. Conducted among 900
company directors across six European countries, this revealed that over
half of those interviewed with internet access, were moving from simple
provision of public information to running business applications in
areas such as recruitment and selling goods.
MORI marketing manager, Jane Robinson says: ’This research was unique
and important to all business sectors, so Cisco’s report is still
achieving good publicity from the likes of the Financial Times.’
But while there is no doubt that the technical details of market
research are important in validating a study, exclusivity is emerging as
an increasingly important factor. Paul Stelmaszczyk senior consultant at
Camargue explains: ’The increasing number of lifestyle supplements means
there is real pressure on publications to create a unique selling
point.’
As an agency which uses surveys to create publicity for a number of
market research organisations, Stelmaszczyk reveals that Camargue may
even sound out the journalist before initiating the research. ’You are
doing some of the leg work for the writer,’ he says ’But those on the
weekend nationals in particular, want information they know will not be
run by other titles first.’
The carefully targeted approach to promoting survey findings, seems to
be an ongoing trend within the PR industry. John Martin, former chairman
and chief executive of Shandwick Welbeck, has been working as a
consultant on the Nestle Family Monitor. Launched in February last year,
this study looks at attitudes to the family in the run up to Millennium.
Published once a year with additional interim reports on specific
issues, the research is primarily used by Nestle to understand its
market place.
This summer, to back up the company’s community activities, such as its
sponsorship of the out-of-school childcare organisation, Kids’ Club
Network, Nestle released details to the press on issues, including
caring for children in the school holidays. Among the main findings, the
study showed that nine per cent of working parents take ’sick leave’ in
order to care for their children over the summer school break.
Rather than issue a blanket launch of this information, Martin
negotiated coverage on specific aspects with different media. This has
resulted in extensive broadcast interest and double page spreads in the
Express, Mail on Sunday and the Daily Telegraph, among others. Martin
says he has taken this approach to prevent the coverage from
stalling.
’As the interest has snowballed, so I have attempted to offer people
different interesting angles.’ he says.
Not surprisingly, creativity is a prerequisite when looking to achieve
the best publicity from properly planned and substantiated research. In
many cases, the amount of coverage gained, is a direct result of how
well the whole process has been handled. The next challenge is to ensure
that the coverage achieved has been accurately tracked.
TestResearch is one of the growing number of companies offering media
tracking services. In September, TestResearch, part of the MORI group,
launched PRTrack to help companies measure the media impact of their
surveys.
Tim Burns, TestResearch managing director says that by talking to
respondents on a weekly basis, this tracking service will identify the
public’s recall and interpretation of PR activity as separate from any
advertising or other communications activities.
’We believe the service we offer is invaluable - it is extending the
market to offer a sophisticated and valuable resource beyond simple
media evaluation,’ claims Burns.
INDUSTRY AID: PROVIDING ADVICE FOR RESEARCH BUYERS
In April this year, the two trade bodies for the market research
industry, AMSO and ABMRC merged to form the British Market Research
Association (BMRA). As a single voice, this new organisation plans to
make industry relations with Government departments and other bodies,
such as the Advertising Association, more direct.
However its main thrust, is ’to represent and promote the best in
British Market Research’. The goal of raising industry standards and
providing customers with quality assurance is at the forefront of its
aims. All BMRA members are now obliged to sign the association’s Quality
Charter and those with a turnover above pounds 50,000 must agree to meet
the requirements of the Market Research Quality Standards
Association.
Over the last five years, the industry has grown on average, by 11 per
cent and BMRA members now represent nearly pounds 700 million, 85 per
cent of the industry’s turnover. This expansion has placed importance on
creating a wider understanding of the tool and the contribution it can
make towards business success.
As part of its initiative to provide market research buyers with
objective advice, BMRA has relaunched its freephone advice service
SelectLine. This assists enquirers in finding the right research company
to meet their project requirements. Originally set up by ABMRC in 1994,
a recent investment in technology means the database service can now
cater to a wide range of criteria, producing more accurately targeted
searches.
’When a company wants to identify specialists by industry sector,
research techniques, size or even geographical location they can call
SelectLine,’ says Jill Lonsdale, the BMRA Council member responsible for
the service.
Sarah Heath, BMRA marketing assistant and SelectLine operator says:
’After discussing their needs key words on which to base the search are
agreed. I then provide a list of up to six suitable research
companies.’
After establishing what the results are to be used for, Heath can offer
advice to the inexperienced. She says: ’For instance, depending on what
materials might be used during the interview, I can decide if
face-to-face, telephone or postal research is most suitable. I then find
the most qualified or experienced practitioners for the job.’ Research
indicates that users are more than satisfied with the service.
A recent survey of the 474 callers to SelectLine in 1997, shows that
over 90 per cent of enquirers would use the service again, with 93 per
cent recommending it to others. In addition, the system is regarded as a
prime source of project income by SelectLine members. Last year the
initiative provided over pounds 1.5 million of business to the 200 plus
BMRA companies who currently subscribe to the service.
CASE STUDY: ADDRESSING ROUND-THE-CLOCK DEMANDS
Last year, Band and Brown commissioned a research project, The 24 Hour
Society, for two of its clients, BT and First Direct bank. Over a three
month period, think-tank and research agency, the Future Foundation,
conducted over 700 interviews with business people and consumers on
issues such as around-the-clock living. This was then backed up by
qualitative research, with groups ranging from shift workers to
housewives.
The thinking behind the study for BT, was to highlight how new
technology in its key product areas such as the internet, telemarketing,
networks and ISDN, could facilitate both individual change and companies
embracing change.
For First Direct, as the UK’s first 24-hour banking service the emphasis
was not on the benefits of it being open all hours, but rather the
breaking down of business barriers.
In September, an interim report of findings was published, showing that
globalisation and other competitive factors such as emerging
technologies, were influencing the way people work. With a trend away
from the traditional nine-to-five work day, consumers increasingly
expected to be able to buy goods and services at times determined by
themselves and their lifestyle.
However, perhaps the most significant finding for UK business, was that
nearly three-quarters of consumers believed companies should provide
customer care over the telephone out-of-hours. On the back of these
findings, Band and Brown released different elements of the report to
different media.
This resulted in radio interviews and widespread press interest,
including the Guardian.
In February this year, to generate futher discussion of the issues, Band
and Brown organised a 24 Hour Society conference in association with the
CBI, The Future Foundation, BT and First Direct. Held at the Millennium
Conference Centre in London, key speakers included Colin Browne, BBC
corporate affairs director and Josephine Arendt, professor of
endochrinology at the University of Surrey. This one-day event included
a live video-conference with the US and was attended by 190 delegates
from the UK’s top 1,000 companies. A futher 150 delegates unable to
attend in person, listened in via a live audioconference link. The event
generated further media interest from the likes of Channel 5.
Such is the interest in the topic that currently BT is using the 24 Hour
Society as the cornerstone of its communications with business
customers, and Leon Kreitzman one of the authors of the report, has been
commissioned to write a book on the subject.
As Peter Simpson, First Direct commercial director, says: ’The point
about 24 Hour Society is not that we will be shopping round-the-clock,
but that we will no longer have to think about the constraints that have
been set for us.’
IN-HOUSE: TECHNOLOGY TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS
In an age where the robustness of a survey is increasingly under
scrutiny, how can in-house research projects ensure they meet the
required standard? With the emphasis on sample size and validity of the
analysis, if you choose to do the job yourself, how do you position
yourself as an authoritative voice?
Innovation is key among service providers. This August, Bristol-based
Mercator Computer Systems, launched a new software product Snap, to help
companies conduct their research in-house. This Windows-based package is
designed to simplify and speed-up the market research process, while
ensuring the results are ’extensive and effective’. Mercator claims to
achieve this through the use of its SurveyPaks on different topics,
which contain hundreds of questions phrased by experts in the research
field.
Using a keyword search, users are able to browse various libraries to
select the most appropriate questions for their survey. Questions can be
modified and extra specialist questions incorporated into the
questionnaire.
Snap formats the layout and automatically adds relevant response boxes
where required. Snap also allows amendments to fonts and layout to match
users’ house-style.
Other useful modules include ’scanning’, which automates the data entry
process for responses and Snap ’internet’ for collecting and analysing
data using e-mail or the world wide web.
Mercator marketing manager David Horton, says the package is equally
applicable to the expert and the novice. ’Snap gives you a framework of
tools such as tables and filters, so it’s very user friendly,’ he
says.
’But ultimately the results are down to the user.’
In order to ensure an adequate sample base, many companies outsource at
least part of the research process to the experts.
Ten years ago, when marketing communications company Banner wanted to
identify media consumption trends for its IT clients, it realised there
was no central source of information. So, in 1988, to measure the
readership of specialist computer publications among IT decision-makers
in business and the Public Sector, it decided to conduct its own
research.
Over the years, the Banner Survey has developed to encompass brand and
marketing information, to provide a targeting tool for IT marketers.
Published annually, this year’s findings are based on a sample of 3,900
phone interviews and postal questionnaires, undertaken by the Opinion
Research Corporation.
Joanna Bryant, research director at Banner says now that the field
research is year round, the company is looking to produce more frequent
reports and is in discussions with its premier subscribers about
extending the survey to Europe.
