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Basics of Advertising & PR Research Part 2

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8 views

Basics of Advertising & PR Research Part 2

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samuelosagieainetor11
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Basics of Advertising & PR

Research Part 2
MAC 326
Advertising and Public Relations
Research
• The four steps in the strategic management
process in the RACE
– Research,
– Action planning,
– Communication, and
– Evaluation.
Importance of Research in Public Relations
Management
• Research makes communication two-way by collecting information
from publics rather than one-way, which is a simple dissemination of
information.
• Research allows us to engage in dialogue with publics, understanding
their beliefs and values, and working to build understanding on their
part of the internal workings and policies of the organization.
• Scholars find that two-way communication is generally more
effective than one-way communication, especially in instances in
which the organization is heavily regulated by government or
confronts a turbulent environment in the form of changing industry
trends or of activist groups.See, for example, Grunig (1984), pp. 6–
29; Grunig (1992a; 2001); Grunig, Grunig, and Dozier (2002); Grunig
and Repper (1992).
• Research makes public relations activities strategic by
ensuring that communication is specifically targeted to
publics who want, need, or care about the information.
Ehling and Dozier (1992).
• Without conducting research, public relations is based
on experience or instinct, neither of which play large
roles in strategic management. This type of research
prevents us from wasting money on communications
that are not reaching intended publics or not doing the
job that we had designed them to do.
• Research allows us to show results, to measure
impact, and to refocus our efforts based on
those numbers. Dozier and Ehling (1992).
• For example, if an initiative is not working with a
certain public we can show that ineffectiveness
statistically, and the communication can be
redesigned or eliminated. Thus, we can direct
funds toward more successful elements of the
public relations initiative.
• Without research, public relations would not
be a true management function. It would not
be strategic or a part of executive strategic
planning, but would regress to the days of
simple press agentry, following hunches and
instinct to create publicity.
• As a true management function, public
relations uses research to identify issues and
engage in problem solving, to prevent and
manage crises, to make organizations
responsive and responsible to their publics, to
create better organizational policy, and to
build and maintain long-term relationships
with publics.
• A thorough knowledge of research methods
and extensive analyses of data also allow
public relations practitioners a seat in the
dominant coalition and a way to illustrate the
value and worth of their activities.
• In this manner, research is the strategic
foundation of modern public relations
management.
Stacks and Michaelson (in press).
Purpose and Forms of Research

• The purpose of research is to allow us to


develop strategy in public relations in order to
– (a) conduct our campaigns with specific purpose
and targeted goals,
– (b) operate as a part of the overall strategic
management function in an organization, and
– (c) measure the effectiveness of public relations
efforts
• . By conducting research before we communicate, we
revise our own thinking to include the views of
publics. We can segment those publics, tailor
communications for unique publics, send different
messages to specifically targeted publics, and build
relationships by communicating with publics who
have an interest in our message.
• This type of planning research is called formative
research because it helps us form our public relations
campaign.Stacks (2002).
• Formative research is conducted so that we
can understand what publics know, believe, or
value and what they need or desire to know
before we began communicating. Thereby,
public relations does not waste effort or
money communicating with those that have
no interest in our message.
• Research also allows public relations
professionals to show the impact made
through their communication efforts after a
public relations campaign. This type of
research is called evaluation research.
• Using both forms of research in public
relations allows us to communicate
strategically and to demonstrate our
effectiveness.
Formal Research

• Formal research normally takes place in order to generate


numbers and statistics that we can use to both target
communications and measure results.
• Formal research also is used to gain a deeper, qualitative
understanding of the issue of concern, to ascertain the range of
consumer responses, and to elicit in-depth opinion data.
• Formal research is planned research of a quantitative or
qualitative nature, normally asking specific questions about
topics of concern for the organization.
• Formal research is both formative, at the outset of a public
relations initiative, and evaluative, to determine the degree of
change attributable to public relations activities.
Informal Research

• Informal research is collected on an ongoing basis by most


public relations managers, from sources both inside and
outside of their organizations. Informal research usually
gathers information and opinions through conversations.
• It consists of asking questions, talking to members of publics
or employees in the organization to find out their concerns,
reading e-mails from customers or comment cards, and other
informal methods, such as scanning the news and trade press.
• Informal research comes from the boundary spanning role of
the public relations professional, meaning that he or she
maintains contacts with publics external to the organization,
and with internal publics.
• The public relations professional spends a great deal of time
communicating informally with these contacts, in an open exchange of
ideas and concerns. This is one way that public relations can keep
abreast of changes in an industry, trends affecting the competitive
marketplace, issues of discontent among the publics, the values and
activities of activist groups, the innovations of competitors, and so on.
Informal research methods are usually nonnumerical and are not
generalizable to a larger population, but they yield a great deal of
useful information.
• The data yielded from informal research can be used to examine or
revise organizational policy, to craft messages in the phraseology of
publics, to respond to trends in an industry, to include the values or
priorities of publics in new initiatives, and numerous other derivations.
Types of Research
• Research in public relations management
requires the use of specialized terminology.
The term primary research is used to
designate when we collect unique data in
normally proprietary information, firsthand
and specifically relevant to a certain client or
campaign. Stacks (2002
• Primary research, because it is unique to your
organization and research questions, is often the
most expensive type of data to collect.
Secondary research refers to research that is
normally a part of public domain but is
applicable to our client, organization, or industry,
and can be used to round out and support the
conclusions drawn from our primary research.
Stacks (2002); Stacks and Michaelson (in press).
• Secondary research is normally accessed
through the Internet or available at libraries or
from industry and trade associations.
Reference books, encyclopedias, and trade
press publications provide a wealth of free or
inexpensive secondary research. Managers
often use secondary research as an exploratory
base from which to decide what type of
primary research needs to be conducted.
Quantitative Research

• When we speak of research in public relations, we are normally


referring to primary research, such as public opinion studies based
on surveys and polling.
• (The following lists quantitative research methods commonly
employed in public relations.)
– Surveys are synonymous with public opinion polls, and are one example
of quantitative research. Quantitative research is based on statistical
generalization. It allows us to make numerical observations such as “85%
of Infiniti owners say that they would purchase an Infiniti again.”
– Statistical observations allow us to know exactly where we need to
improve relationships with certain publics, and we can then measure
how much those relationships have ultimately improved (or degraded) at
the end of a public relations initiative.
• Quantitative research allows us to have a
before and after snapshot to compare the
numbers in each group, therefore allowing us
to say how much change was evidenced as a
result of public relations’ efforts.
Methods of Quantitative Data Collection

• Internet-based surveys
• Telephone surveys
• Mail surveys
• Content analysis (usually of media coverage)
• Comment cards and feedback forms
• Warranty cards (usually demographic information on
buyers)
• Frequent shopper program tracking (purchasing data)
Qualitative Research

• The second major kind of research method


normally used in the public relations industry
is qualitative research. Qualitative research
generates in-depth, “quality” information that
allows us to truly understand public opinion,
but it is not statistically generalizable.
Methods of Qualitative Data Collection

• In-depth interviews
• Focus groups
• Case studies
• Participant observation
• Monitoring toll-free (1-800 #) call transcripts
• Monitoring complaints by e-mail and letter
Mixed Methods/Triangulation

• Clearly, both quantitative and qualitative


research have complementary and unique
strengths. These two research methodologies
should be used in conjunction whenever possible
in public relations management so that both
publics and issues can be fully understood. Using
both of these research methods together is
called mixed method research, and scholars
generally agree that mixing methods yields the
most reliable research results.
Reference
• https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_mastering-
public-relations/s09-public-relations-research-
the-.html

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