Importance of Research to Your Comms Strategy
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Research and Insight - the Foundation of an Effective Comms Strategy By Amanda Prosser, Director of communications agency, Public Zone Becky McLauchlan, Head of Communications and Campaigns, Play England Find out more about CharityComms: www.charitycomms.org.uk Sign up for the CharityComms eNews for all the latest charity communications news, views and resources: Creating Powerful Communications Strategies: CharityComms Seminar 19 January 2011
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Transcript of Importance of Research to Your Comms Strategy
Research and Insight - the Foundation of an Effective Comms Strategy
By Amanda Prosser, Director of communications agency, Public Zone Becky McLauchlan, Head of Communications and Campaigns, Play
England
Find out more about CharityComms: www.charitycomms.org.uk
Sign up for the CharityComms eNews for all the latest charity communications news, views and resources: http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/about/enews.aspx
Creating Powerful Communications Strategies: CharityComms Seminar 19 January 2011
digital with a cause.
Research and insight - the foundation of an effective comms strategy
Introducing us
Amanda Prosser
Director of digital agency Public Zone
Public/voluntary sector specialist
Marcomms, PR, digital expertise
Becky McLauchlan
Charity comms specialist
Former Play England Head of Communications and Campaigns
Today’s agenda
Why is research and insight so important?
How to do it
Play England case study
Why bother with research and insight?
Multiple benefits
Develop criteria to inform decision-making
Place the audience at the heart of your strategy
Establish a baseline
De-risk your approach
Gain unexpected insights
Convert detractors to supporters
Here’s a process you could follow…
digital with a cause.
1. Identify and prioritise target audiences
One group or sub-categories?
Engaged or disengaged?
Ambassadors?
How does each group influence/connect with each other?
Hardest to reach vs easy targets
Are they new, existing, internal or external?
2. Decide what questions to ask
What they currently think, feel or do?
What might motivate them to change or act?
How aware of your organisation/cause are they?
What do they think of your organisation/cause?
What do they want from you?
How do you reach them? What media do they consume? consume?
3. Talk to people
Low cost methods•Survey monkey•Social media•Email database•Through partners•On the street•On the phone•In their homes•Feedback button
Paid for• Omnibus surveys• Brand awareness
tracking• Social media listening• Focus groups
4. Watch them
Low cost• Internet café• In their homes• Social media
observation• Internet forum
observation
Higher cost• Immersive design• Usability labs
5. Secondary research
Internet
Research organisations
(e.g. NatCen)
Libraries
Partner organisations and peers
6. Competitor analysis
How are your competitors positioning themselves or their campaigns?
What tactics are they using?
How can you differentiate your organisation or your campaign?
7. Google analytics
8. Draw conclusions
Draw up audience pen pictures
- Where are they on their journey with you?- What motivates them?- Communication channels- Messages/calls to action- Content
Draw up criteria by which you can select the best approach or tools
Interpretation is key
9. Product development and testing
Test your messages
Multi-variant testing (email, web designs, branding)
Prototype testing in usability lab
Focus groups
Forum feedback
Play EnglandA case study
digital with a cause.
Case study
Need for change
Website out of date and unrepresentative
Missing social media opportunities
Large database under-utilised
Internal obstacles to progress
> Digital strategy
Audience research
External agency
Emailed database to invite
Focus groups, telephone interviews
Qs: - Good/bad/missing?- How used?
Insights
Resources valued but hard to find
Need for fast, up-to-date info
What Play England is and does
Weighty and inaccessible
Not playful!
Staff research and insights
Define and prioritise audiences, work
Understand obstacles to progress
Resolve differences before project begins
ResponseLead with resources – combined, tagged
What is delivered, not how it’s delivered
Horizontal links
Integrated social media, email
Internal changes: - CMS- CRM- project
resourcing- print to
digital
Thank you for listening
digital with a cause.
Find out more about CharityComms: www.charitycomms.org.uk
Sign up for the CharityComms eNews for all the latest charity communications news, views and resources: http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/about/enews.aspx
Creating Powerful Communications Strategies: CharityComms Seminar 19 January 2011
