AND THE SURVEY
SAID . . .
By Henry DeVries
Another publicity secret is that the media
loves numbers. An easy way to generate news that will get
your name out there is to analyze and report statistics.
Give the media provocative numbers, and they will give you
coverage. This is what we term publicity-generating research.
This is how it works. Find a topic that
relates to your organization. Commission an opinion survey.
Then release the results to the media in a news release that
offers your analysis.
Here are some other examples of publicity-generating
research in action, all taken from USA Today.
- If you like steamy sex conversations
over dinner, you’re probably single, according to
a survey of 300 men and women conducted by Sfuzzi, a
trattoria with locations in New York; Washington, D.C.;
Dallas; and Houston.
- One in three people suffer pangs of
guilt along with pangs of hunger for a snack. The survey
was conducted for Continental Baking Co., the maker of
Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, and Ho Hos.
- The lowly penny has a big following
with the public, says a Gallup poll. Of 750 adults asked
if the penny should be discontinued, the con-cents-us was
clear: 62 percent want to save the single-cent coin. The
poll was commissioned by Americans of Common Cents, a group
organized by the zinc industry. Pennies are made mostly
of zinc and use less than 3 percent copper.
- A friendly, helpful staff is what 76
percent of patrons want at a fast-food restaurant, according
to a Wendy’s/Gallup survey of 1,029 fast-food consumers.
- People would rather pay $50 a month
for insurance that includes a nursing home benefit than
have free coverage without the benefit, says an American
Association of Retired Persons study of 1,490 adults.
- Cleveland and Nashville are among the
ten cities that will be hot for hotel development in the
near future, say hotel real estate consultants Laventhal & Horwath.
Here is another idea on how to distribute
this information nationally. News USA at (202) 393-2200 and
the North American Precis Syndicate at (818) 761-4012 are
two of the nation’s premier newspaper feature placement
services. These firms send monthly packages of features to
more that 10,000 daily and weekly newspapers in the United
States. You can expect 100 to 400 newspaper appearances per
feature. For a fixed full-service fee, News USA researches,
writes, edits, typesets, prints, and disseminates the material.
Both provide physical clippings and detailed usage reports.
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Copyright© New Client Marketing Institute
2000 – 2003. You may reprint this article in any publication
or Web site as long as you credit Henry DeVries as the author
and include his Web site address, www.henrydevries.com.
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