One thing that stood out to me the most throughout this week on the PR study tour was how important research is in the public relations field. Last semester when I took my research methods class I was told that I wouldn't be using what I was learning in my career. Every single agency we visited said that they conducted research every single day and even used many of the methods I learned in my class. So needless to say, this surprised me and was definitely eye-opening. After visiting all of the agencies and seeing how each uses research, it is something that I am interested in. A few agencies that we visited stood out to me as far as research goes:
{Engauge}
Engauge has two positions where research is the employee's job. One is called Research and the other is Analytics. Those on the research team conduct focus groups, create surveys, and develop executive summaries. Those on Analytics develop trend reports and analyze data for web, email, and the social departments.
{Fleishman Hillard}
On a daily basis, the digital team monitors for clients through Radian 6 and other tools. They research what is going on with their clients and competitors. Fleishman Hillard believes that research is the core of their communication efforts.
{Edelman}
Edelman has a research department, called Strategy One, and we had the opportunity to speak to the Director of Research, Sam Rhue. He was so inspirational and informative and gave me a different insight into what is involved in research. He spoke about getting the opportunity to travel to LA, New York, Virginia, and more all in one week while working on research for clients. To me, this would be a dream! He leads focus groups all across the country and gets to work with many departments throughout Edelman.
{Porter Novelli}
At Porter Novelli, their research team is called Strategic Planning & Research. We met one member of the team, Christine. She gave us a presentation on what she gets to do, and I have to say that it sounded like fun! She creates online and proprietary surveys, uses consumer databases, organizes and watches focus groups, conducts expert interviews, uses Factiva and LexisNexis, and uses Google to conduct research.
Overall, every PR agency uses research to help understand their clients' goals better and to create a more successful campaign. Research is also used to analyze and evaluate efforts. It is a vital part of public relations.
How do you use research in your everyday life?