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The age of big data has opened the door to countless possibilities for collecting, analysing and interpreting data. How brands optimise data - their own and the data of others - increasingly underpins the success of any effective PR and marketing strategy.
Financial services brands have long been collectors of data, and it's just the type of information that media and stakeholder audiences are hungry for! Data that creates debate, sparks a conversation with stakeholders or illustrates the problem your brand is solving is key to building a clever and compelling communication campaign that can raise brand awareness with column inches or attract leads. Here, we've broken down the different types of data and how they work differently to command attention.
1. Proprietary Data
Proprietary data is classified as content that you, and you alone have access to and ownership of, through your organisation’s resources, technology or customer base. Proprietary data remains a popular tool for PR professionals in large part because it truly is unique. In the best cases, it can be converted into insights that drive actions, namely buying behaviours (think Amazon or Google).
Building a compelling "good-news" narrative from the mountains of proprietary data available is (and needs to be) a key plank of your PR strategy.
2. Commissioned data
Commissioned data, by comparison, is data produced by an organisation or its partners, and includes research reports, studies, surveys and opinion polls. Ordinarily, significant costs are involved in retrieving and compiling the data, but they are usually more than outweighed by the benefits of novel or compelling findings.
A good example is the case of Natixis Invesment Managers’ 2018 Global Retirement Index (GRI). The annual research report compares the ability of 43 countries to meet the needs of their retirees by examining the factors that drive retirement security, with Australia ranking sixth in the world. The research report becomes a narrative to your brand's perspective on a topic. In the Natixis example, the GRI delivers relevant and timely information about retirement (and superannuation) and in doing so it ties GRI and its brand to a topic which has a great impact on Australian audiences. It gives legitimacy to the brand, the content, and its profile.
3. Curated data
The third type of data to consider is curated data. As the name suggests, companies can leverage preexisting research reports, studies and surveys to identify new opportunities for old information. Curated data is the least costly to an organisation, and if delivered through an editorial calendar, has the potential to offer multiple bites of the cherry.
A good way for a financial services brand to use curated data is to reference, say, a recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) or World Economic Forum (WEF) report. Drill down into their data to draw out insights that are meaningful for your audience. Coupling your insights with messages and commentary for media and content for your owned channels (e.g. social) will help to re-start a conversation with stakeholders.
Doesn’t sound so scary now, does it? If used strategically, data can underpin your cross-platform PR strategy. Give it a go, the possibilities are endless!
If you’d like to discuss adjusting your communication strategy for the current times, please call us or fill out our contact form here.
