Surveys to Know, Surveys to Show - A News Drivers Report from GBM Live! Newsroom

A News Drivers Report from GBM Live! NewsroomLeveraging surveys as a Public Relations tool using research and survey reports to gain effective media traction—

SURVEYS TO KNOW,

RESEARCH & MEASUREMENT

TO SHOWSURVEYS

highlighting the huge potential offered by research and survey reports in generating newsworthy stories in the print media.

2013, THE INDIAN PRINT MEDIA PUBLISHED

1,750 STORIES based on survey reports commissioned

BY 258 COMPANIES IN INDIA.

2014,

the numbers increased to

BY 261 COMPANIES IN INDIA,

Disclaimer: This study has been compiled based on an analysis of two years of published survey reports (2013 and 2014) across mainline print publications in

India. The media universe scanned includes 14 English publications—The Economic Times, Business Standard, The Hindu Business Line, Mint, The Financial

Express, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, DNA, The Indian Express, The Hindu, BW Businessworld, Business Today, Business India, and Forbes, across the

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and National editions. For more information, refer to the Research Methodology annexure.

421* COMPANIES HAVE LEVERAGED SURVEYS FOR

GENERATING NEWS

2,004 STORIES based on survey reports commissioned

1Surveys to Know, Surveys to Show | A News Drivers Report from GBM Live! Newsroom

*421 companies are the unique cos who have taken out surveys across 2 years.

The use of surveys or research reports as a public

relations tool can be traced back to the times of

Edward Bernays as far back as 1923 when he

effectively used a survey to showcase the

preference of the American public for a

particular type of soap in a well-documented

case study of successful public relations. Over 90

years on, the PR industry continues to use surveys

and research reports and we thought it would be

interesting to get a sense of how receptive the

media in India are to using the results of surveys

in their reportage.

Surveys are conducted by organisations to either

gather insights or to drive a point of view. The

former are what we refer to as "Surveys to Know”

and are normally a source of competitive

advantage. And hence the ndings of such

research are kept private. The latter, “Surveys to

Show” are often used very effectively by PR

practitioners to build thought leadership on a

subject for a company or brand.

Research and survey findings

continue to be a good source

of reference information for

media. From the early days

of Public Relations, when

Edward Bernays championed

the use of surveys as a PR

tool to effectively convey a

point of view, till today, much

has changed in the media

world, but what has not is

the simple fact that relevant

and resonant content will

always shine through.

Preface


We nd survey reports to be very important and newsworthy, especially if they are reective of

trends. Even otherwise, we often quote them in our industry stories. I also prefer survey reports

to press releases and announcements, and at times craft stories entirely based on survey

ndings. PTI publishes stories based on research surveys often, almost 2–3 times a week.

– Special Correspondent, Press Trust of India

“ “

In this rst-of-its-kind report from GBM Live!

Newsroom, in association with Impact Research

& Measurement, we explore the developments

and the opportunities research and survey

reports bring to the fore as an effective PR tool

for garnering media traction.

Key Findings and InferencesIn our study, when we considered the prominent

coverage garnered by named surveys in 2013 and

2014, on an average there were seven prominent

articles elicited by a named survey in 2013, and

three prominent articles elicited by a named survey

in 2014. Survey reports and their key ndings have a

long shelf-life, unlike one-time consumables such as

press releases. With multiple ndings, there are

many stories that can be written around a survey's

ndings in a distinct fashion, leading to long-term

media mileage through continued utilisation of the

survey's ndings.

Here are some of the key findings from our

study and how you can turn them to your

advantage.

1. Learn from the Consulting Big FourConsulting rms, given their nature of work, thrive

on research and surveys. Just the Big

Four—PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Ernst &

Young and Deloitte—released between them 31

named surveys in 2013 and 49 in 2014. Their

coverage is testimony to how well surveys do in

media.

2. To accredit or not to accreditShould you conduct the survey in-house or

partner with a research rm? While the stamp

of approval of an established research rm

does add a lot of credence, conducting in-

house surveys is on the rise—it is the content of

the ndings that matters the most.

3. Don't sweat the sample size—content is

king Sample size is not a predominant factor that

decides the fate of survey getting media

mileage. What matters more is the content,

relevance and the ndings of the survey. Even if

the survey has a small sample size, but its

ndings are relevant, the media houses will

The writing is on the

wall—opportunities to use

surveys to create buzz in

the media space is not

utilised to the fullest.


E F

Learn from the Consulting Big Four

To accredit or not to accredit

Don't sweat the sample size—content is king

Make them frequentTell a more visual story

Not so easy to get quotes carried

Top publications to target

Strike while the iron is hot�

MEDIA MILEAGE

consider carrying the survey along with their

stories. So, focus more on topic and content of

the survey rather than arranging a large sample

size. That said, to ensure authenticity of the

survey ndings the sample size should be

statistically signicant.

4. Tell a more visual storyInfographics are a good way to explain

complicated data in a simple way. Though, just

20% of the articles mentioning the survey also

carried an infographic in 2013 and just

marginally up at 21% in 2014; what makes the

observation more interesting is the percentage of

the article area that was covered by the

infographic. Despite the low numbers, it was

interesting to observe the percentage of an article

that was dedicated to the infographic

representation of facts, which has steadily

increased from 2013 to 2014. If the survey

reports have infographics for data

representations, then there is great scope that

media houses will pick up those infographics as

part of their stories.

5. Make them frequentMany survey reports generated media stories

throughout the year, especially the ones with

periodic frequencies. The monthly Bank of

America-Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey is a

prime example of how it continued to garner

maximum media coverage in 2013 as well as

2014.

6. Not so easy to get quotes carriedMedia tend to be uninterested in carrying quotes of

the spokesperson of the company that conducted

the survey; we observed just one-fourth of the

articles citing the survey carried the quote from the

company's spokesperson in 2013, though the

number went up in 2014.

7. Top publications to targetOnce the survey has been released, then which

publication should be pitched to carry the survey

ndings? We observed that amongst our media

universe, while the top business dailies publish the

maximum number of stories based on surveys,

mainlines such as The Times of India are not far

behind, especially for sectors other than Consulting

and Research. One should choose depending on

the target audience.

8. Strike while the iron is hot�Time the release of a survey's ndings with

opportunities relevant to the survey's ndings. For

example, opportunity- based surveys on the

elections in India before the general election in

2014, or say, a survey on gender diversity timed

around International Women's Day.

Be it an exercise to gather knowledge from the market, or a

showcase of thought leadership—Surveys to Know, Surveys to

Show—there is no denying the fact that research surveys serve

as an effective PR tool to garner media mileage.


2013

2014

MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

INDIAN COMPANIES 105

153

1,750 ARTICLES 258 COMPANIES IN INDIA

2,004 ARTICLES261 COMPANIES IN INDIA

100

161

The SurveysAnalysis of surveys and their commissioning companies

In our study of the surveys covered by the print

media, we analysed the published articles that

were based on surveys commissioned by

companies in India. We drilled down on who

commissioned the surveys—multinational

companies operating in India versus Indian

companies; the sector analysis of the companies

that commissioned the surveys; survey

accreditation by research rms; sample size of

the research; periodic surveys as well as

opportunity-based topical trends that spiked a

surge in the coverage of surveys in India, among

others.

Multinational versus Indian companies

Of the 1,750 articles based on surveys

commissioned by 258 companies in India in

2013, 59% were commissioned by multinationals

operating in India. In 2014, of the 2,004 articles

based on surveys commissioned by 261

companies in India, 62% were commissioned by

multinationals. Multinational companies

operating in India clearly commissioned more

surveys than their Indian counterparts—a trend

that continued in 2013 as well as 2014. This

indicates the importance multinational

companies place in commissioning surveys as a

PR tool to help establish their brand presence in

local markets.

Of the total articles based

on surveys that were

covered by the print

media, multinational

companies operating in

India commissioned more

than 50% of the surveys.


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Con

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g IT

HR

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Med

ia &

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Ban

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Real Est

ate PR

Travel

Insu

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Fin

an

ce

FM

CG

Tele

com

Health

care

Ed

uca

tion

Tech

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En

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46

63

2013 2014

37

18

32

28 27

1615

9

12

9

5

12

53

57

4 4 4

9

3

02

5

0

3

02

02

02

Just the Big Four

Firms—PwC, KPMG,

EY, Deloitte—released

31 named surveys in

2013, 49 in 2014

Sector Analysis

By further drilling down the sectors of the survey-

commissioning companies, we found that consulting

rms dominated throughout 2013 and 2014 in

terms of churning out the maximum number of

survey reports—46 named surveys in 2013, and 63

named surveys in 2014. For example, the Big Four

rms—PwC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte—released a total of

31 named surveys in 2013, and the number further

increased to a total of 49 named surveys in 2014.

Consulting rms, true to the nature of their

work, thrive on research and analysis. But even

IT rms and other sectors such as HR are

joining the bandwagon by commissioning

research and surveys to establish themselves as

thought leaders in the market. For example, IT

rms such as Google and Cisco published six

and ve named survey reports respectively in

2013, and McAfee followed suit with three

named surveys in 2014.


Survey Accreditation

Most surveys are either conducted in-house, in

partnership with other agencies, or are

accredited by established research rms.

Accreditation by established market research

rms validates the methodology and ndings of

a survey. For example, research rms such as

Nielsen, Ipsos, TNS and IMRB accredited many

named surveys of other companies during 2013

and 2014.

Despite the potential of

bolstering research findings

through the stamp of

approval of accredited

research firms, conducting

independent in-house

surveys has been on a

higher trend.


How many named surveys were accredited by a research rm?

100% = 88

2014100% = 92

2013

80%

8%

12%

70%

11%

19% IN-HOUSE

ACCREDITED

WITH OTHER AGENCIES

Research data's sample size

Of the 1,750 articles covered by the print media

on surveys in 2013, only 31% mentioned the

sample size of the research data. In 2014, the

percentage gures were even lesser at 20% for a

total of 2,004 articles. This clearly indicates how

sample size is not a predominant factor for

getting media mileage. However, for the

authenticity of the research ndings, the sample

size should be statistically signicant.

Of all articles on surveys, how many mentioned sample size?

Even if the sample size is

small, if the findings are

relevant, media houses

will consider carrying the

survey stories—content,

truly, is king.

20%

80%

100% = 2,004

2014

69%

31%

100% = 1,750

2013

Not Mentioned Mentioned


Some keen observations

Opportunity-based topical surveys:

Owing to the Indian general election of 2014,

the run-up to the elections throughout 2013 and

the early part of 2014 saw a lot of political

surveys churned out by media houses as well as

the likes of Goldman Sachs and Google. Topical

opportunities must be seized.

Competition and one-upmanship drove

similar themed surveys:

As if spurred by the quest for one-upmanship,

2013 saw a lot of consulting rms releasing

survey reports based on a common topic, though

subtly differentiated. For example, EY's Bribery

and Corruption: Ground Reality in India, KPMG's

Fraud Survey, Kroll's Global Fraud Report and

PwC's Invading Privacy: Cyber Crimes on Rise,

focused on the common theme of fraud.

Periodic surveys received maximum media

coverage:

Periodic surveys managed to garner good media

exposure and coverage throughout the

year—irrespective of the frequency, be it monthly,

quarterly, annual or biennial. For example, the

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Fund Manager

Survey, which is a monthly survey report,

garnered the maximum print media

coverage—generating 27 articles in 2013, and

31 articles in 2014.


0

5

10

15

20

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

No

. o

f a

rtic

les

2013 2014

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey was constantly in the news

52%

37%

11%19%

53%

28%

The Media CoverageAnalysis of survey stories and their print media coverage

100% = 1,750

2013

100% = 2,004

2014

Headline Mention Prominent Mention Passing Mention

From front-page coverage and prominent

headlines to passive mentions, use of

infographics and leadership quotes, coverage in

regional editions, among others—we tracked the

print media coverage of all the stories generated

by surveys to analyse what worked in reaping

maximum media mileage.

Front-page coverage and headline grabbers

Of the 1,750 articles on surveys in 2013, only

9% accounted for front-page stories. In 2014, the

percentage remained ditto at 9%, for a total of

2,004 survey stories. Surveys that made it to the

headlines were a low 19% in 2013, but rose up

considerably to 52% in 2014. Front-page

coverage however, remained grim—proving how

surveys should not be created keeping front-page

coverage in mind. Rather, front-page of

supplements specic to a sector ought to be

targeted. For example, HR surveys got featured

on the front-page of HR and career-specic

supplements.

Surveys should not be

created keeping front-page

coverage in mind. Rather,

the focus should be the

front-page of sector-

specific supplements.

How many articles on surveys made it to the front page of a publication?

9%

91%

100% = 1,7502013 100% = 2,0042014

What % of articles mentioned a survey's name in headlines?


Regional Editions

Of the seven editions we tracked, Delhi—the

capital city's edition—took the pole position in

providing maximum coverage on surveys in the

print media. The positions largely remained the

same for all the city editions in 2013 as well as

2014, in the descending order of editions from

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai,

the National edition, and Hyderabad.

Delhi—the capital city's

edition—took the lead

in providing maximum

coverage on survey stories.

Which region provided the maximum coverage on surveys?

Overall Articles 2,004

Overall Articles 1,750

2013

2014

141

187

227 228

279

318

370

168192

271 279306

383405

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Hyderabad National Chennai Kolkata Bangalore Mumbai Delhi


A picture speaks a thousand words

Infographics are a good way to explain

complicated data in a lucid way, though only

20% of the 1,750 survey articles in 2013

featured infographics, which was bettered by just

1% at 21% from a corpus of 2,004 survey

articles in 2014. Despite the low numbers, it was

interesting to observe the percentage of an

article that was dedicated to the infographic

representation of facts—in 2013, 25% of the

survey articles carrying an infographic allocated

100% area to the infographic; whereas in 2014,

32% of the survey articles devoted full area to the

infographic. It was also observed that media

houses do not create their own infographics for

the stories, but simply use the ones provided

originally with the story—highlighting the high

potential of a media house picking up the

infographic as part of their story.

The way media houses

allocate high print space to

an infographic highlights

the importance they pay to

graphic representation of

data.

2013

34% 14% 28% 25%

34% 28% 6% 32%

2014

What percentage of the article's area was covered by an infographic?


I cite survey reports and use them to

substantiate data points in my stories. We

publish stories based on survey ndings in

our publication, often 4–5 times in a month.

Especially, we use the infographics of the

survey ndings to complement our stories

as they simplify complex data for readers.

– Special Correspondent,

Business Standard “

“

Quoting the spokesperson

We observed that articles citing a particular

survey did not necessarily carry a quote from the

spokesperson of the company that conducted or

commissioned the survey. Of the 1,750 survey

articles in 2013, only 26% carried quotes

whereas the gure for 2014 was better at 42%

from a total of 2,004 survey articles.

While quotes may seem

to add more credence, the

key findings and survey

results take centre-stage

over quotes from

spokespersons.

13

100% = 1,750 100% = 2,004

2014

42%

2013

26%

Surveys to Know, Surveys to Show | A News Drivers Report from GBM Live! Newsroom

Prominent Coverage

If the coverage of a survey cited the name of the

survey along with the name of the company that

commissioned the report, we have classied it as

prominent coverage. In 2013, of the 1,750

articles in total, 1,269 articles were classied as

prominent. In 2014, of the 2,004 articles in total,

1,791 articles received prominent coverage. The

percentage of headline mentions more than

doubled from 27% in 2013 to 58% in 2014.

On an average, one

particular survey elicited

seven prominent media

stories in 2013, and three

prominent media stories in

2014.

Headline Mention Prominent Mention

58%

42%

2014100% = 1,791

27%

73%

27%

73%

2013100% = 1,269

What % of prominent articles mentioned a survey’s name in headlines?


Some Keen Observations

Publications providing maximum coverage: We

observed that the business dailies such as The

Economic Times, Business Standard and The

Financial Express carried the maximum number

of articles on surveys, closely followed, and

sometimes trumped, by The Times of India. While

the business dailies primarily featured surveys on

Consulting and Research, The Times of India was

more HR- and IT-centric than other print

publications

2013 2014

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS211 317 304 296

410 390 313 445

Survey articles published in


Media Universe

BENGALURU

IA

BM

UM

The Economic Times

Business Standard

Mint

The FinancialExpress

The Hindu Business Line

The Times of India

Hindustan Times

DNA

The Indian Express

The Hindu

BW Businessworld

Business Today

Business India

Forbes

CH

ENN

AI

LANOITAN

BUSINESS PAPERS

BUSINESS MAGAZINES

MAINLINES

MEDIA


While the media space is huge—digital media,

especially, with a wide range of metrics for

tracking digital content—we concentrated on the

print media as it has largely remained

unmapped, besides being of primary relevance

to the world of PR. Our report is based on the

print media coverage of research and survey

reports in select English publications of

India—tracked across six metropolitan cities of

Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad

and Kolkata. The media universe we tracked

and analysed comprised the top-14 English

publications, including mainlines, business

dailies and business magazines.

We analysed data for not one, but two

years—2013 and 2014. The rationale for the

protracted analysis has been to go beyond

outliers that may only account for a one-time ad

hoc affair in a year. A two-year period helps

conrm trends, especially periodic trends that

reprise annually. We scanned through the

dened media universe to collect articles that

mentioned research or survey reports, tracking

only those surveys that were conducted by

companies operating in India. Surveys

undertaken by an industry body or government

agency are not part of the analysis, except for

when the survey was conducted in collaboration

with a private company.

For both 2013 and 2014, we collected data on

the conducted surveys, and the media coverage

the surveys received, identifying aspects such as:

·The name of the survey

·The company that commissioned the survey

Whether the survey was accredited by a research firm or not

·Periodicity of the survey

·The sector the survey-commissioning company operates in

Total media mentions garnered by the surveys

—1,750 articles in 2013, and 2,004 articles in

2014—were inclusive of direct mentions in the

headlines or a passive mention as a reference

in the article, categorised as:

Headline mention

Prominent mention with the article talking primarily about the survey's findings

Passive mention of the survey as a reference in the article

Research Methodology


Keywords used to identify news articles are:

study conducted; survey by; study on; survey on;

research reports; key ndings; research ndings;

survey period; study period.

18

About Genesis Burson-Marsteller

Genesis Burson-Marsteller is a leading public

relations and public affairs consultancy that

delivers integrated communication services to

some of the best global and Indian companies.

Our focus is on creating real measurable impact

on our client's business through evidence based,

ideas driven and result oriented campaigns. We

have created a network across South Asia which

includes wholly owned ofces in seven of India's

key metros and a strong afliate footprint in

over 200 cities across India and in neighbouring

countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal,

Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Committed to Being More, we are one seamless

team that has a common purpose and attitude:

integrated across four practices (namely, Brand

and Consumer, Corporate and Financial,

Telecom and Technology as well as Health and

Wellness) and Centres of Expertise (Corporate

Responsibility, GBM Digital Studio, GBM Client

Studio, GBM Content & Design Bureau, GBM

Crisis & Issues Group, GBM Live! Newsroom,

Step Up, The Outstanding Speaker Bureau), to

assist clients achieve their business objectives.

About Impact Research &Measurement

Established in 2004, Impact Research and

Measurement is a leading Media Intelligence

rm in India. Impact conducts secondary media

research to help companies analyse their media

presence, and the impact of their media

relations programmes. Impact is the only Indian

company to have been granted full membership

of AMEC, the global trade body and

professional institute for PR agencies and

practitioners who provide media evaluation and

communication research. Impact is also a

member of FIBEP, that is the World Association

of Media Monitoring companies. Impact offers

media research, media monitoring &

measurement services that cover exposures in

Print Media in 50 Indian cities, Online sites and

Blogs, Television and conversations on Social

Media platforms.

Surveys to Know, Surveys to Show | A News Drivers Report from GBM Live! Newsroom

Copyright ©2015 Genesis Burson-Marsteller

All rights reserved.

For further details please contact:

Shilpa Karthik

Head - Marketing Initiatives

+919811793973 I www.genesisbm.inRESEARCH & MEASUREMENT

Data & Analytics

Surveys to Know, Surveys to Show - A News Drivers Report from GBM Live! Newsroom