Research

ResearchLecture #4Why is Research Important to the Practice of Public Relations? Helps determine who the campaign should reach.Helps determine who to communicate with.Helps determine the best channel for communicating.Helps determine what the message should include.Helps understand the background/history of those we are communicating with.Other reasons?

ResearchResearch is the starting point of a PR project, campaign, or assignment.

In order to solve a public relations problem, research must be conducted first.

Most clients are less interested in what PR professionals think than what they know. This is why it is important to use data to support what you know.ResearchResearch can be used so that PR professionals can show their efforts.Often times, PR professionals use three Os to determine whether or not their work was effectiveOutputs- De we get the coverage we wanted?Fashion coverage can be useless if it is not the type that was desiredOuttakes- Did our target audience see and believe our message?Were our efforts strong enough to change consumers minds, or persuade them to buy our product?Outcomes- Did our audiences behavior change?Did we see an increase in sales, more traffic in stores, more attendees at an event, greater desire for a particular style or color?

ResearchResearch is crucial to any PR plan because it helps:Segment audiences into target marketsIf you are an organization selling high priced merchandise and targeting college students, your plan of targeting the correct audience will be ineffective. Analyzes audience preferencesTrend forecasters often research trends and colors, it is then the merchandisers and marketing teams that research ways to make those desired by the target market. It is important to know what your target market likes and dislikes.Defining ResearchResearch: a systematic collection and interpretation of information to increase understanding

A PR professional must acquire enough accurate and relevant data about its publics, products, services, and programs to answer several PR questions.Answering Research Questions?How can we identify and define our constituent groups?Products? Region? Price? Income? *Demographics are key*How does this knowledge help us develop our messages?Determining who we are communicating with will help us decide what the message isHow does this relate to designing programs?Not all programs work with each target market. Programs can be based on gender, race, orientation, religion, income, age, etc.

Answering Research QuestionsHow does it relate to the media we use to convey our messages?Conveying our message via social media sites work much better for younger audiences than placing the same message in Readers Digest and other print sources. Print sources might be more beneficial when attempting to reach other age demographics.How does it relate to the implementation tactics of our program?Tactics are used to help target markets appeal to a particular program.The tactics used must intrigue your target market.

Principles of Public Relations Research?Establish objectives that lead to company goals

Differentiate between measuring outputs (press coverage) and outcomes (changes in awareness, attitude, behavior)This can be very difficult to do.

Measure media content in the first step of evaluation

Be cautious of comparing public relations effectiveness with advertising effectiveness the price of advertising; comparing apples to oranges

Be sure to understand your target markets in order to deliver clear messages to the right individuals.Purpose of Public Relations ResearchDescribe a process, situation, or phenomenon.

Explain why something is happening, what the causes are, and what the effect is.

Predict what will most likely happen if action is or is not taken.Types of Public Relations ResearchApplied Research: is either strategic or evaluative, designed to answer a specific questionStrategic: used primarily in program development to determine objectives, message strategies, and create benchmarks. Evaluative: used primarily to determine if a PR plan has accomplished its goals and objectives.Types of Public Relations ResearchTheoretical: more abstract and conceptual than applied.

It helps build theories of why people communicate, how public opinion is formed and how a public is created.There are many theories on all of these.

Serves as a framework for persuasion.Types of Public Relations ResearchSecondary: research that was completed by someone elses primary research, desk research Often cheap, and since PR programs typically follow a budget, professionals use secondary research firstOnline database, trade journals, libraries, census data, public records, informal contacts, company accounts, etc.Research MethodsResearch is very in-depth.

Students should have a knowledge of what it is, and how to apply it to fashion scenarios.

Understanding research methods will help students be able to apply the best technique to their fashion situations.Research MethodsThree most commonly used methods in PR today:Surveys- designed to reveal attitudes and opinionsCommunications Audits- reveals flaws in communication between management and target audiencesUnobtrusive Measures- fact-finding, content analysis, and readability studies that enable the study of a subject without involving the researcher.SurveysOne of the most frequently used methods of research in fashion

They are used to receive feedback from consumersDescriptive- describe the current situation or condition; captures reality at a specific pointPublic Opinion PollExplanatory- concerned with cause and effect, explain why a current situation or condition exists, and offer explanations for opinions and attitudes. Use the word Why to come to conclusionsWhy arent customers receiving good customer service?Why arent customers redeeming coupons?Why arent customers believing our messages?

Surveys include four elements: sample, questionnaire, interview, analysis of results

The SampleThe sample is the selected target group. Must be representative of the total public whose views are soughtSampling should be done quicklyDifficult to doEx. If you are attempting to understand customers attitudes of your brand, through surveying techniques then ideally every customer must be offered the survey.If a survey is given to every other customer, then the sample is already flawed. A person who had either a positive or negative experience could be left out of the sample because they were the other in every other survey given.Surveys are often only completed by those who are extremely passionate about or oppose a particular topic.

The SampleRandom Sampling: based on equality and independence

Equality- no element has any greater or lesser chance of being selected

Independence- selecting any one element in no way influences the selection of any other element.The SampleSimple Random Sampling- gives all members of the population an equal chance of being selected Systematic Random Sampling- uses a random starting point from a sample list and then includes every nth individual.Stratified Random Sampling- used to survey different segments or strata of the populationUsed in organizational communication structuresCluster Sampling- breaking the population down into small heterogeneous subsets and then selecting the potential sampleThe SampleConvenience Samples- unstructured, unsystematic, designed to elicit ideas. People on the streetQuota Sampling- choose subjects on the basis of certain characteristics- women, men, black, white, rich, poor.Often increases homogeneity, which helps validate the studyVolunteer Samples- willing participants who agree voluntarily to respond to concepts and hypotheses for research purposesThe QuestionnaireWhat you want to find out should influence the specific publics you ask, the questions you raise, and the research method you chooseKeep it short- no more than 5 minutesUse structured rather than open-ended questions, provide responses for OtherMeasure Intensity of FeelingsVery Satisfied, Satisfied, Dissatisfied, Very DissatisfiedThe QuestionnaireDo not use fancy words; remember semanticsDo not ask loaded questions Did you find everything in the store you were looking for? The answer is usually NODo not asked double-barreled questionsDid you find the right sizes in our store, or were the sizes you needed gone?PretestAttach a letter explaining the importance of the respondents answersThe QuestionnaireMail Questionnaire with commemorative stamps expensiveFollow up- if your questionnaire is being mailedSend out more questionnaires than necessaryEnclose a reward usually in retail a particular % off of at item.Research MethodsInterviews- Provide more personal feel for public opinionFocus groups- 90-120 minute discussion usually no more than 10 individuals with a predetermined common characteristic. Buying habits, age, income, etc. Must have moderator.Define objective and audienceRecruit your groupChoose the right moderator- establish rapport quicklyConduct enough focus groupsUse a discussion guideChoose proper facilitiesKeep a tight rein on observersConsider using outside helpResearch MethodsTelephone Interviews- suffer a high refusal rate; caller ID helps participants ignore unwanted and unknown callersEmail Interviews- least expensive, low response rate, suffers from biasesDrop-Off Interviews- combines face-to-face and mail interviews. Usually conducts a face-to-face interview and then leaves a questionnaire afterward (Not Very Common Anymore)Research MethodsIntercept Interviews- researchers gathers respondents on the street, shopping malls, or retail outlets.Delphi Panels- qualitative research tool that uses opinion leaders to help tailor the design of a general public survey.Internet Interviews- most widely used, some studies have found that they have significantly lower responses than mailed surveys.AnalysisAnalysis is done to produce meaningful recommendations.

The purpose of every sample is to come up with results that are valid and reliable.Communication AuditsBecoming an important method of research amongst PR professionals.Help define the relationships between management objectives and the communication methods to promote those objectives.They are typically completed to define the standing of a company with its employees and community to assess readership of communications or to examine the companys social responsibility standing.The Scope of the AuditCan be broad or narrow, depends on the organizations demands.

Measures the effectiveness of communications and whether or not they met predetermined goals.Audit SubjectsExisting Communication Programs- methods and media

Existing Communications Vehicles- publications, manuals, slides, teleconferencing, meetings, social media

Uneven Communications Workloads

Employees Working at Cross-PurposesAudit SubjectsHidden Information That Is Not Being Used- Someone with good ideas not being heard

Bottlenecked Information Flow- Where does communication stop or slow within an organization

Conflicting Notions about What the Organization is and Does- This is where the companys mission becomes very important

Many other reasons for completing an audit

Audit MethodologyAnalysis begins by:Studying all pertinent literature about the organizationAnalyzing competitive literature to compare and contrastConduct interviews with top management and move downward to detect areas of commonality and discontinuityRecommendations are then made from the knowledge gained by completing the audit

An audit should be done every couple of yearsUnobtrusive MethodsFact Finding no action can be taken unless the facts are known

Content AnalysisFrequency of Coverage- how many releases were usedPlacement Within the Publication- did releases appear more on pg. 1 or pg. 21People Reached- Circulation or web hits where the releases appearedMessages Conveyed- Did they express the organizations goals or just informational?Editing of Releases- How much of the submitted copy was edited?Attitude Conveyed- was the organization positive, negative, or neutral

EvaluationEvaluation-designed to determine what happened and why by measuring results against established objectives.Helps determine if a program should be continued, revised, or eliminated.Evaluation helps hold PR professionals accountable for their spending and time.PR professionals must evaluate what they have done to determine whether or not the expense was worth it.EvaluationEvaluation depends on 5 things:Setting measurable program objectives

Securing Management Commitment

Determine the Best Way To Gather Data

Reporting Back to Management

Selecting the Most Appropriate Outcomes

Measuring OutcomesAwareness and Comprehension Measurement- the consumer received the message directed at them, paid attention to the message, and understood the message.Measuring OutcomesRecall and Retention Measurement- does the message have a lasting impact on the consumer?Messages are sent to consumers everyday, and chances are your consumer has seen yours. But can the consumer remember and recall what was said in the message?Measuring OutcomesAttitude and Preference Measurement-How the message moved a consumers attitudes, opinions, and preferences.Opinion and attitude research.Measuring OutcomesBehavior Measurement- ultimate test of effectiveness.Did the message get your consumer to buy or do what was desired from the PR plan?Research and the WebUsing the internet as a research tool can tell the PR professional many things:Unique visitorsReturning visitorsTotal time spent on a siteDownloadsLinks from other sitesGoogle page rankContent popularitySale

Research and the WebSo many distractions that using the web is not always accurate researchDid someone spend idle time on the website,Someone just looking at pictures and not really paying attention to the messagesDid someone accidentally click your linkIs your website not functioning properlyClick-throughs are not always an indicator of consumer behavior

Research and the WebThe value of using web research is that it is:Intimate- can bring organizations closer to their publicsPrecision- provide more detailed answers about consumersTimeliness- almost instantaneousCost- considerable less expensive to produceOutside ResearchThere are firms that specialize in attitude and opinion surveying.Sometimes it can be cheaper to use an outside firm, and sometimes it can be more expensive.Be sure to determine if research on a particular subject has already been completed.RACE MethodResearch- Organizations structure HistoryMissionProducts and ServicesCompetitorsPublicsOrganizations goalsPast Issues & CrisesCurrent OpportunitiesRACE MethodActionObjectivesStrategyTacticsTrainingResourcesImplementationRACE MethodCommunicationCampaign ThemeExternal messagesInternal messagesSpokespersonMedia Selection

RACE MethodEvaluationPre and post campaign surveysExternal publicInternal publicMediaImpact on salesCompetitors responsesRecommendations for futureFinal ThoughtsResearch answers many questions about PR plans.PR professionals must engage in research and evaluation in order to be successful.PR professionals must constantly keep track of what is being said about them by consumers.Often fashion interns are responsible for web searches for their organizations to see if they are appearing on the internetOften with retail and fashion the most used evaluation technique is focusing on sales numbers.

ReferencesSeitel, F.P. (2011). The Practice of Public Relations. Prentice Hall: Boston.