In Collaboration With...

The past few weeks have been an overload with qualitative research. It has been discussed everywhere! Not only have I been learning about it in Public Relations Research with Professor Laskin, but also my Consumer Behavior (Marketing) class has had a few lectures on it. Until now, I was unaware of how many different fields qualitative research was necessary in. Through reading my classmates blogs, I have found it interesting how much the fashion and design industry utilizes qualitative research.

 

Sam Greitzer talks about how much designer Tommy Hilfiger depends on qualitative research. (http://mediacloset-samgreitzer.blogspot.com/2010/10/qualitative-research.html)%20It Hilfiger looks around and finds inspiration from, "movies, music celebrities and art and uses them to thread together different signature looks." It is important for him to design clothing that the average person wants to wear.

 

Paige Weiners also discusses how important qualitative research is to designers. (http://paigequpr.blogspot.com/2010/10/qualitative-research.html). "When thinking of what new styles to create for the season, designers need to think of if their target market is actually going to wear the new trends." Focusing on the correct target market is vital for the success of any public relations campaign. The agent needs to make sure that all of their efforts are being segmented in the right place.

 

With all the celebrity clients I may have as an entertainment public relations agent, I can help out with the designers in creating their looks. I can help a designer team up with my client to design a line, "in collaboration with." It's a positive way to get my clients name out for media impressions but also good for the designer to team up. I would definitely have to use qualitative research to make sure that I team up the correct client with an appropriate designer.

What do YOU want?

  I’m not going to lie, this has been one of the more difficult blogs to write. I understand what Qualitative Research is, but how can I explain it? How can I relate it back to Entertainment Public Relations? I’ve been sitting here thinking about it for a good amount of time and realize how important focus groups can be for an Entertainment Public Relations specialist.

    A focus group is a way to reach out to consumers and customers in order to get feedback. (http://www.cse.lehigh.edu/~glennb/mm/FocusGroups.htm). In the entertainment world, feedback is necessary. It helps the industry in seeing trends and uncovering what it is audiences enjoy. Studio heads with their public relations agents, can sit down with groups of people and ask them questions about the latest television shows and other entertainment areas. They can then draw conclusions on how to market and who the best target market segments would be.

    I also found this YouTube video on tips for conducting a focus group to be helpful. Business Tips for Conducting Focus Groups explained in less than 3 minutes some good ideas for a focus group.  It explains how important it is to get the consent from all the participants, whether it is verbal or written documentation, you need to make sure everyone has a general understanding of what it is they are getting themselves into.

     Another tip the video stressed was the need for a game plan. It is important when conducting a focus group that you have the questions you want answered and not to stray away from them. Otherwise, it could be considered a waste of time and money if we don’t uncover what we were set out to do.

    Focus groups are definitely necessary in the world of Public Relations when conducting research. We learn the likes and dislikes of our most valuable audiences. Entertainment professionals need to know what their consumers want to see. The in class presentations we have had over the past few weeks have clarified this and the different type of research methods.

Social Media's Importance

     Social media is a phenomenon which has become part of our everyday lives. It’s unbelievable how rapidly it has taken over. Our day to day activities include updating our twitters and checking our Facebooks. It’s a trend which looks like it’s going to stick. With social media, it becomes easy for researchers to participate in unobtrusive research. They can see the likes and interests of the various demographics it is researching.

     I never realized how much of an asset social media could be to researchers until reading Katie Warner’s blog (http://katiewarnersblogforprresearch.blogspot.com/2010/10/non-profits-facebook-and-unobtrusive.html?spref=bl) and Katerina Torres’s blog (http://socialmediaforpr.blogspot.com/2010/10/social-media-great-outlet-for.html), both regarding social media, unobtrusive research and the benefits to the public relations world.

       Katie focuses on social media in relation to non-profit organizations. Using unobtrusive research is beneficial for a non-profit because it is not very costly. Non-profits strive to donate as much money as they can to their various charities so the fact that they use social media to target their specific audiences I find beneficial.

     I enjoyed how Katerina gave positives and negatives of social media in public relations. It made it more comprehensible to see where social media techniques flourish and where they are lacking. Katerina explains how research can be biased when she says, “Because of the influence society has on us, sometimes unobtrusive research could be the best way to retrieve real raw information without it being biased by an outside influence.” This is how I began to realize how vital unobtrusive research can be to researchers.

    Specializing in entertainment public relations, I have realized that tracking my clients through social media is important. I can see what consumers believe and want to know about my clients. I can also see what fans like and their interests. I can then set up the appropriate campaign for my clients. I found it interesting realizing how much social media would affect my clients and their well-being.  

Um Thank UM You?

Today, I was responsible for presenting to the class, unobtrusive research methods, with a focus on content analysis. This meant, I had to do my own form of research in order to be able to speak about it for at least a half hour. What I learned was very interesting. Since I already presented, I will simply summarize my findings, clear and concisely.

    Unobtrusive research is when we don’t interfere with the day to day life of the subject we are studying. It helps the researcher to reduce bias and leads to more accurate results. Unobtrusive research is also extremely economical. When discussing unobtrusive research content analysis, I spoke to the class about how content analysis is analyzing the different forms of content that are presented before you. Word count is the most often used technique of content analysis. We can understand what the author stresses as the most important part of the work, through the use or words.

     After my presentation, Professor Laskin mentioned to the class a study that was done in which the Thank You Speeches of a prior Academy Award Ceremony were analyzed. The jist of the study explained how the use of parasite words, such as um and like, take away from the actual speech itself.

    Now, onto the Entertainment Public Relations part….

     Having good expression through oral communication is an intricate part of any person in the entertainment world. As a Entertainment Public Relations professional, it becomes essential that I work with my clients and set them up with the appropriate speech coaches. A client that can’t express themselves in a well mannered way, without the use of distracting words, is a harmful one. They are making themselves look bad in the public light. People lose sight of the fact that someone has just won an award, and zero in on them sounding ignorant.

    A study (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97983&page=1 ) done by psychologist, published by ABC news, puts it simply as the uhs and the ums in a speech, “These phrases mean 'I need to make sure you realize I'm delaying because I'm having trouble.'" I find this very interesting.

    I would never want my client to look like they were having trouble when in the spotlight. That is why I think it is important for all in the entertainment business to practice public speaking. The way one delivers themselves can make or break their image. In this world, image is everything.