Consumer trends - the under utilisation of research in Consumer PR
Published January 26th, 2006 in GeneralThe media and PR community are starting to cry out more often about the number of surveys that seem to be conducted these days. We’ve got figures on political support, how people intend to spend their savings and even Northern Irish men’s cooking skills. That said, you simply can’t beat a good survey to get into the news.
I’ve noted a couple of PR practitioners commenting that media relations is only one element of our jobs. That is true, but making our clients newsworthy and hence conducting media relations is a vital part of Public Relations.
Conducting research is one way to make a client more newsworthy, and I think it’s a tactic that can sometimes be overlooked in the world of Consumer PR, specifically the retail sector.
I used to work in Game, a video games retailer, and as a result I often like to look at what’s happening in the marketplace despite the fact that I don’t play video games anymore. It pains me to see that they constantly miss out on numerous opportunities to promote themselves in the media. The most recent example of this was in the run-up to the launch of the Xbox 360, they don’t seem to have done anything whatsoever despite the fact that it was one of the most in-demand Christmas presents last year.
Now look at a recent survey conducted by 1UP, a video games website, who conducted a survey amongst its readers (via Joystiq). The figures showed that:
- 77% plan to purchase a new games console in 2006
- 17% have already bought an Xbox 360 and 59% of those who say they will buy a new games system will purchase an Xbox 360
This could easily have been replicated for the Irish market and the research could have been tailored for regional use, etc. Unfortunately though numerous large retail chains simply don’t engage in Consumer PR and I think that they are really missing out. Future trends are always of interest to the media especially when it involves a battle between big brand names like Sony and Microsoft.
Technorati Tags: Game, Microsoft, Piaras Kelly, PR, Public Relations, Research, Sony, Xbox 360
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You’re dead on the money in terms of the potential of PR like this. I presume Game is a British concern and perhaps there is no real focus on Ireland as a market. A lot of British retailers assume Ireland is just another part of the UK when it comes to their marketing and PR. One of the latest examples is for Vics nasal spray ad on the radio. Premise of the ad is that a truck overturned on the M25 (a major route in the UK) and congestion cleared up completely. All delivered in a British accent. This doesn’t sit well with me. They could easily have had an Irish version and replaced the M25 with the M50 (major road route in Ireland).
This may seem slightly off topic in response to your excellent observations but I think it is sloppy thinking on behalf of a lot of UK retailers based in Ireland and the Game example is perhaps an example of this.