How data-driven PR could democratize Big data
By Paul Noonan, Content & Insight Director
As the digital diary of Big Data records life on an unprecedented scale, vast amounts of new knowledge is falling through the gap between data and public understanding. Ninety percent of all the world’s data was created in the last two years and this could contain untold new insights, inventions and discoveries. Yet much of it is held in private hands, specialist silos or complex formats inaccessible to most of us. This means the world is increasingly data-rich but information-poor, and misinformation and misunderstanding are filling the vacuum. There is a growing need for new ways to democratize and humanize data.
The burgeoning field of ‘data journalism’ where specialist reporters sift statistics for stories offers the potential to unlock Big Data for the public good. This is spawning a parallel new form of ‘data-driven PR’ where organizations mine their own data for publicity value, with 68 percent of journalists now seeking original data from communications professionals. It could herald the transformation of PR from a discipline associated with spin and soft news to one built on the solid foundations of trustworthy data, dramatically increasing its credibility and influence.
Why we’re data rich, but information poor
This has never been more needed than today as poor data corrupts public discourse and decisions. Studies show the EU’s green hydrogen targets were created without “robust analysis”, coastal developments are being built on a falsely optimistic picture of future sea levels and some scientists have argued even the IPCC climate scenarios that businesses and policymakers rely on are built around inaccurate, outdated assumptions. Deliberate misinformation is also mushrooming, amplified by social media and AI.
Meanwhile many leading data hubs, from industry associations to analyst houses, are unable to translate their insights for non-expert audiences to drive more informed decisions. Data-driven PR could form a creative conduit channeling this valuable data into the mainstream to counter misconceptions or misinformation and drive more evidence-based thinking.
How PR can bridge the gap between bata and public understanding
Some 403 million terabytes of data is created every day and this ballooning ‘Big Data’ pool has spawned the field of ‘data journalism’ to find the news behind the numbers. This has led to major scoops such as the ‘Panama Papers’. Yet with Big Data growing faster than the skills needed to exploit it and much of it held in private hands, journalists also need help from PR to mine this vast societal resource for human value.
This would be mutually beneficial because data often has major hidden publicity value for organizations and PR messages have more credibility when buttressed with hard data. Crucially, the communications industry’s expertise in turning complex information into compelling content is perfectly suited to unlocking Big Data for the masses. PR has a vast ready-made toolkit for the task, from digital data animations, graphs and infographics to social media tools and white papers.
The untapped publicity value of Big Data
Many organizations are unwittingly sitting on a goldmine of data with hidden publicity value and the power to enrich public discourse, influence their audiences and drive more informed decisions. Standards bodies, industry associations, consultancies, industry charters, business accelerators, analyst houses, stock exchanges, engineering institutes or multinational companies are all rich reservoirs of knowledge with potential answers to some of society’s biggest challenges.
Market analysis, customer case studies, annual reports, customer and partner surveys or R&D results can all contain newsworthy insights. For example, corporate export figures could reveal new shifts in global trade, recruitment data could reveal changing workforce demographics, business modelling of financial climate risks could reveal gaps in economic adaptation planning. Yet this data is often buried in departmental silos, dense documents and jungles of jargon with 97 percent of organizational data sitting unused. Many communications functions within organizations lack the data literacy to properly understand or communicate their data.
The promise of data-driven PR
The merger of data journalism and PR is already showing great promise to unlock this data for societal benefit. We work with world-leading data hubs, from management consultants Ayming and McKinsey to the financial information arm of stock exchange SIX, to unlock their data for key audiences. Our team combines data analysts, dedicated copywriters, media relations and digital design specialists who help analyze and transform client data into powerful, influential content.
For example, we worked with Finbourne Technology to uncover the news, hidden in millions of transaction records, that Europe’s fixed-income trading data is riddled with gaps and flaws that could undermine bond market transparency, a revelation featured in major financial titles such as Bloomberg.
Similarly, we helped Bitbloom use results from testing their machine learning system on wind farm data to estimate that we could be losing up to £25,000 per MW annually by failing to detect declining turbine performance. This spawned a well-received White Paper supplemented with case studies and expert analysis, attracting widespread engagement across the wind industry. We also partnered with Emburse to analyze data from Freedom of Information requests revealing that the UK government rejected less than 1 percent out of 3 million expenses claims. This produced national coverage highlighting the need for more scrutiny around public finances.
A step-by-step guide to data-driven PR
Effective data-driven PR should start with a thorough data audit to understand each organization’s potential information assets. Comms professionals can suggest calculations, data cuts and comparisons or survey questions to unlock useful insights.
Data outputs must be quality-checked for accuracy, including verifying sources, sample sizes, methodologies and interpretations. This can include working with experts at the organization such as Research Directors, analysts, or third-party research companies and data auditors.
The next step is to mine the data. There are now AI-powered tools such as Wobby.AI that can automatically crunch the numbers to produce any desired insights, such as the gender gap between respondents in a particular sector, illustrated with written summaries and graphs. The final and most important task is to understand what the data tells you, joining the data dots into a coherent storyline or theme that will frame its presentation.
Making data shine
Now it’s time to bring the data to life. Sometimes, stats can be supplemented and strengthened with other data from reputable public sources. For example, a UK company’s data showing rising sales of low-carbon heat could be compared with Office for National Statistics data to show the jobs created by the industry’s growth. Findings can also be combined with ‘what if?’ scenarios to estimate results if reproduced more widely. If the low-carbon heat industry created 2,000 jobs last year, how many jobs could be created if its current growth trajectory continued for the next 10 years?
Data can then be brought to life for different audiences through content from gated white papers with third-party quotes and case studies to social media infographics, thought leadership series for magazines or digital data animations for broadcasters. Press releases can be timed to coincide with topical events or tied into topical issues to maximize publicity. Lasting impact can be achieved by drip-feeding data in news bulletins throughout the year or creating ‘evergreen’ content such as annual Outlooks refreshed with new data.
Towards a new form of PR
With the counterfeit currency of bad data so often corrupting the marketplace of ideas, we urgently need to put good data into wider circulation. This calls for a new form of data-literate communications and communications professionals with the skills to mine and refine complex data for public consumption.
The result would be a more transparent, trustworthy form of Public Relations that trades in the hard currency of quality data, putting newly minted insights into mass circulation. Ultimately, data-driven PR could democratize the world’s data resources, redistributing new knowledge across every sphere of society to fuel more evidence-based decisions.
Q1: What is data-driven PR and why does it matter?
Data-driven PR combines the analytical skills of data journalism with the ability of PR to translate complex information into compelling content for new audiences. This could help democratize data resources, combat disinformation, enrich public discourse and drive more informed decisions.
Q2. How can organizations benefit from mining their own data for PR?
Organisations can uncover valuable, newsworthy insights that could enhance their credibility, strengthen market positioning, influence key audiences and turn them into respected, renowned thought leaders.
Q3. What are the key steps to implementing data-driven PR?
Bring in dedicated data analysts, copywriters and digital designers who specialise in turning complex data into compelling content. Conduct a data audit, analyze findings with AI or experts, translate insights into compelling narratives, and distribute via PR-friendly formats like infographics and white papers.
Q4. How does data-driven PR combat misinformation?
By translating verified, credible data for public consumption, PR can counter misleading narratives with accurate, fact-based insights.
About the author
Paul Noonan is Aspectus’ Content & Insight Director specialising in turning complex data into compelling content from research reports and white papers to messaging houses, social media campaigns and thought leadership series. His content has won industry awards, and his published work has appeared in Reuters, Forbes, the Times Higher Education Supplement, the Telegraph and he has written white papers for C-suite audiences and parliaments. He has developed content for major clients including McKinsey, Ayming, Airswift, Sulzer, COWI, and the Powering Past Coal Alliance. alue.
