An interesting headline from PR Daily a couple months ago: “The vast majority of public relations pros have something to be thankful for today: that you don’t work for SeaWorld’s crisis communications team.” In the wake of the Blackfish opening, the Orlando Business Journal included a quick online poll in one of its articles, asking, “Has CNN’s ‘Blackfish’ documentary changed your perception of SeaWorld?” Much to everyone’s surprise, at one point, 99% of voters had answered that their perceptions remained unchanged. Something smelled fishy. Upon closer inspection the Business Journal found that most poll responses came from a single IP address. You guessed it – SeaWorld’s. The message is clear and has been reinforced time and time again in my two decades of research experience: you can survey whoever you want, but that doesn’t mean the data is accurate, meaningful, or useful.
And good research is about more than just getting the right answers: it’s about finding facts and turning them into results you can act on. It’s about leveraging your audiences’ opinions to accomplish your goals. It’s about finding a story that people need and want to hear. I’m not saying researching for the sake of knowledge isn’t welcome, but at the end of the day, it’s the actionable research that lets you run a campaign, raise awareness on an issue, or turn your ideas into reality. The best research is research with a purpose, research that has an impact.
While it’s easy to look back and point out the wrong, it’s harder to do that in the moment. The problem today is that with the huge availability of information online, there is tons of research out there, but it is much harder to determine what’s good or what’s bad. That’s where this blog comes in. Our leading team of researchers has decades of experience helping our clients parse through the noise to understand what is accurate, meaningful, and useful in the world of research and how research can be leveraged to inform strategy, drive headlines, and optimize content, and the KRC Insights blog will help you do the same. We’ll discuss research techniques, results, and ideas, and show you how a researcher thinks, straight from the minds of some of the best in the industry. We’ll discuss current events and the latest research findings, and show you how to differentiate between the good and the bad, the useful and the noise. We’ll show you how to take a mountain of data, pull out the needles of insight within, and turn those into meaningful findings. We hope that when you visit, you’ll be able to better parse through the noise understand how research can be leveraged to fuel compelling headlines, optimize successful campaigns, and drive winning strategies.
As a final word, welcome to the KRC Insights blog. If you like what you read and learn a lot from us, then help us out by leaving a comment or sharing this blog. Enjoy your time here.
