The most grueling yet important part of forming campaign work for a client is the step of researching. Personally, I love researching because I like to understand all the facts and get inside the mind of the client I am meeting with to best accomplish their goals. My favorite part of researching is interviews because they are personal, interactive and enjoyable. However, if anyone has seen a bad interview the fault usually lies with the interviewer not asking the right questions or having all the wrong facts.
(Salty, 2021)
This video is a lighthearted take on how an unprofessional interview can get someone in a tricky situation. While these are celebrity interviews, the video can be easily applied to client research. Relationships are the foundation of any campaign and are the biggest make or break factor between the client and audience. Knowing the right questions to ask will create a focused start which will give the campaign clear direction throughout the entire process.
So how can we best research for our client?
There are several ways to go about the research process.
ROPES
Research, Objectives, Programming, Evaluation, Stewardship.
Research looks into the client and the target audience. The two different types of research are primary, designed and implemented yourself, and secondary, the findings of other researchers.
Objectives answer the question “where do we want to go?” Impact objectives are the desired program outcome. Output objectives are the work to be produced.
Programming encompasses the campaign’s theme, key messages, special events, uncontrolled media and controlled media.
Evaluation measures the success of the objectives and determines areas of improvement.
Stewardship is the main tool for maintaining relationships. They are difficult to maintain and there isn’t always instant gratification. (Platform Magazine, 2017).
Research starts formatively. It includes; “summary of background research gathered, identification of key audiences, description of proposed methods for primary research.”
"The second phase of the planning process deals with the heart of planning--making decisions dealing with the expected impact of the communication, as well as the nature of the communication itself" (Smith, 25).
setting goals and objectives
creating action and response strategies
developing the message strategy
selecting communication tactics
implementing the strategic plan
Survey Method of Research
Knowledge Questions
The example we learned was about the Oklahoma City Bombing. The questions used were to gage the audience’s pre-existing knowledge about the bombing to gage awareness and interest. Some of the questions include, “Who was responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing?”, ”What was the date of the bombing”, “What was the name of the building that was bombed?”After these questions were more specific questions about specific items used in the bombing, slogans used to commemorate the bombing.
Attitude Questions
Attitude questions deal with how the patient feels about a particular area of subject. Most of the questions deal with thoughts, perceptions, pros and cons of various aspects of the content of the survey. Most of the time these are personal, subjective answers so there will be a wide range of responses.
Here is the link to the survey questions we wrote for 5 Bridges!
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