By Katiemay Gardner, Head of Sales, ANZ, Pureprofile
When the news cycle quiets down, PR teams often feel the squeeze. Without fresh product launches or breaking news to ride on, the assignment doesn’t change: keep driving brand awareness, while building and sustaining a positive brand image.
This is where PR earns its stripes. In today’s noisy media landscape, “spray and pray” doesn’t cut it, and sometimes even the best relationships won’t always get you coverage. The smartest PR pros think like publishers – creating original, data-driven stories that journalists actually want. Done well, surveys provide what every newsroom craves: exclusive insights on timely topics that bring credibility, colour, and a narrative worth running with.
Rapid-response surveys don’t just fill quiet news days – they fuel stories, spark debate, and put brands in control of the conversation. What once swiped your budget and created weeks of excessive desk duty hours, now happens in days. With Pureprofile’s panel-powered research, PR teams can tap into any audience, generate meaningful insights, and package stories at speed – delivering faster turnaround, sharper economics, and the credible data the media is hungry for.
Seven tips for newsworthy research
1. Design for headlines
Start with the story you want to see published, then work backwards. Questions should be unbiased but built with journalistic appeal – clear, surprising, and curiosity-driven. The best hooks tend to tap into hot-button conversations like social shifts, etiquette, money habits, or lifestyle choices. These not only make headlines but also light up social feeds as people share, debate, and personalise the story. Pureprofile’s research team ensures every survey balances integrity with impact.
2. Time it right
Timing is a critical factor. Surveys tied to seasonal events, socio-economic pressures, or cultural flashpoints – like cost of living, holiday spending, or workplace shifts – are far more likely to be picked up. Build your PR calendar around these cycles, and respond quickly when news breaks.
3. Protect credibility
Nothing kills a story faster than weak data. Leading questions, poor sampling, or shaky methodology invite scrutiny and erode trust. Clients return to Pureprofile because we apply industry best practices – from questionnaire design to rigorous data quality controls – ensuring findings withstand tough media questions and can be confidently quoted and reused across campaigns.
4. Sample size matters
Sample size expectations differ by media outlet, market, and research type. Nationally representative surveys need larger bases; while niche groups demand precision over scale. There’s no single “magic number,” but we guide clients to the right sample size – and offer cost-effective omnibus options to reach targeted audiences.
5. Build for comparisons/ segmentation
Sometimes, the headline-grabbing aspect of your survey results emerges through comparing opinions across different demographics. In the planning stage, make sure your sample is set up to allow for these cuts. For example, if you want to explore the generational divide, ensure you have quotas for each age range. Generational splits, gender divides, and regional differences often deliver quotable contrasts that journalists love. We help PR teams slice the data in countless ways to uncover story angles that stand out.
6. Target the right audience
Sometimes the general population is right; other times, you need more niche-targeted voices – teachers, business leaders, parents, or politically representative samples. Pureprofile’s global panel network spans millions, enabling PR teams to zero in on the audience that matters most for each story.
7. Visualise the data
Sometimes even the strongest stat can fall flat without the right packaging. Clean charts, bold callouts, and easy-to-digest visuals help journalists and readers grasp insights instantly. In a scroll-first world, visual storytelling is essential.
Own the narrative
PR today rewards brands that create! Rapid-response surveys give companies the power to seize cultural moments, feed fresh narratives, and build thought leadership.
At Pureprofile, we partner with PR agencies and in-house teams worldwide to deliver the data that drives headlines. With millions of panellists across 100+ countries, advanced profiling, and fast-turnaround research, we help brands uncover insights that spark debate, capture attention, and build lasting credibility.
Katiemay Gardner
Katiemay Gardner serves as Head of Sales for Pureprofile’s ANZ region, where she draws on more than 10 years of experience in market research.
During her time at Pureprofile, Katiemay has been a key driver of the company’s expansion, spearheading growth in the PR and communications sector and building lasting client partnerships.
