Taking the guesswork out of the equation.

Last night, Mike Lake from Burson-Marsteller spoke with us about a campaign he recently worked on.  In the campaign he stressed a key Burson-Marsteller value, research, research and more research.  At Burson-Marsteller they call their fundamental use of research an "evidence based approach."  Whether it be through focus groups, surveys, or analyzing secondary data, this approach is crucial to any PR campaign.  

When approaching a campaign, having an "evidence based approach" helps eliminate some of the risk.    According to Mike Lake, "Clients love data" and are "willing to spend extra money upfront" to eliminate as much risk as possible.  By providing this data, PR Agencies have the ability to tailor messages for their audience.  This allows them the ability to test a message before their client spends millions of dollars on a campaign that might not even work.  After all, "how do you know what people will respond to until you ask them?"


Taking the guesswork out of a campaign is fundamental to achieving a successful campaign.  It is also fundamental to having a successful pitch.  Before even getting the client, PR agencies have to do  some upfront research.  When pitching a prospective client, agencies that present new data that hasn't been seen before have a leg up on their competition.  According to Mike Lake when pitching clients he's found that, "clients love it when you give them new research."  It shows the prospective client that you aren't sticking with the status quo, and are willing to look outside the box.