PR research is research conducted to show a wide scope of behaviour and attitudes of the general public, or sectors within it, that is used to generate PR activity and coverage by brands and agencies.

When you think of the word research, what comes to mind? Now think of research in the context of marketing. The words ‘market research’ are likely to pop into your head. Market research is widely used by brands in order to gauge how consumers feel, how they behave and ultimately, what they want. Something that is slightly similar but far less thought of, or even known, is something that goes by the name of PR research. The simple distinction is that while market research is commonly centred on a specific product, PR research usually reaches wider and looks at more general topics as a whole.

Here are a few differences between market research and PR research that should help you better understand PR research and how it can benefit companies who use it.

Focus – Specific vs Broad

As mentioned above, market research usually has a very specific focus such as a particular protein drink or make and model of automobile. Companies like to have this narrowed focus in order to find out specifically how consumers feel about certain product features or packaging attributes. This allows them to see what consumers may like about their products and what they may not like. On the other hand, PR research tends to have a broader focus, looking at topics such as education, holidays or exercise as a whole. This research aims to gain a general understanding of how the public feels or how they behave in relation to these topics. For instance, a PR survey put out by a travel agency may ask respondents where they are most likely to go on holiday. The beach or the mountains?

Length – Long vs Short

In order to achieve this specific focus, market research surveys tend to be on the longer side, with numerous questions, nearly one for each little feature of the product. PR research and PR surveys on the other hand tend to be quite short, in order to gain a general understanding of the public’s feelings about a specific topic. But what is this information and data used for?

Goal – Product Improvement vs Headline Generation

One major difference between market research and PR research is how companies use the data that is collected. The goal of market research is to gather data about how consumers feel about current product features or advertisements, and make changes to the product accordingly. If the data shows that the vast majority of consumers wish the product had a certain capability, the company would try to improve the product in that sense in the next model. PR research, on the other hand, is used in order to gain strong statistics that can be used in headlines and news stories. Take our holiday example from above. If the data came back and showed that 70% of people actually prefer the mountains to the beach, the travel agency could put out a news story or press release with that statistic as the headline in hopes to gain the attention of potential customers and build interest in their services. I mean, would that not catch your eye?

Timeline
General population survey of 1,000-2,000 respondents can complete fielding in 24 to 36 hours. Additional time may be necessary for additional filters and specific geographic targets.

Dependable Data
All surveys are compliant with certified market research standards and compliance codes. Additional layers of quality control ensure results are accurate.

Experience
A dedicated team of media/PR, and accredited market research professionals work closely with you. The mission is to offer creative and practical advice to ensure the entire process and results meet and exceed expectations.

Full Service PR Surveys Include:

PR RESEARCH TERMS TO KNOW:

  • PR Survey: PR surveys are the most common form of PR Research. A series of questions on a topic are written and filled in by our panel of consumers to generate data that is used to construct a narrative for the media.
  • Segmentation: The data is broken up into different groups with shared characteristics such as age, geographical location, gender, occupation and more. In PR research it is better to keep these segments broad.
  • Top Line: This is the key stat pulled out by journalists or creatives that will shape the creative element of your PR campaign
  • Into Field: This means your PR research has gone live and is being filled out by the panel
  • MRS Accredited: MRS is the Market Research Society. They are the UK professional body for research, insight and analytics
  • GenPop: Short for General Population and means the PR Research is representative of the general public
  • Executive Summary: An executive summary is a short document summarizing the data. As well as providing the raw data in excel format, we provide a document of the stats broken down by segments and grouped together by topic or overall findings
  • Data Visualisation: Data Visualization is a key part of PR Research. Rather than simply having pages of written states, data visualization places the findings in to a visual format, such as a chart, infographic or report, to help audiences digest the key stats