Partnering with a PR firm to prepare for an unknown known
A client was preparing to launch a new product and developed a public relations program to help answer potential consumer questions. The client was concerned about the potential for negative news reports influencing consumer attitudes and the success of the launch and wanted to understand how the campaign would perform in that type of context.
Method:
Target respondents were recruited online and exposed to curated news stories about product effectiveness which ranged from positive, to neutral, to negative. Under each condition, measures of consumer concern were taken. Respondents were then exposed to the PR program, after which additional measures were taken. The different framing produced different levels of concern and the difference in the concern pre- and post-exposure to the PR campaign demonstrated the effectiveness of the campaign under each possible condition.
Result:
The research assured and precisely quantified program effectiveness. It proved the effectiveness of the PR program by reducing concern about the product by over 20% and showing that the prevailing question was satisfactorily answered for more than half of the respondents. Additional diagnostic data provided direction for program improvements.