DATA-DRIVEN HEADLINES 
Using Data to Drive Media Coverage 
PRSA Webinar October 28, 2014 
Sandra Fathi 
Chair, PRSA Tri-State District 
President, Affect 
Web: affect.com 
Email: sfathi@affect.com 
Twitter: @sandrafathi 
Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
DATAFICATION OF THE WORLD 
For Consideration 
» Big Data vs. Small Data 
» Information Sets 
» Complex Topic vs. Boring Topic 
» At a Glance & Emphasis 
» Decision-Making, Persuasion & 
Taking Action 
Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
PROPRIETARY DATA 
The Gold Standard 
» Company Owned 
» No other organization has access to the same information/insights 
» Sole credible source 
» Data is accessible and can be reproduced over time 
» Potentially Biased 
» Based on customer base or internal/platform insights 
» May not be scientifically accurate or statistically significant 
Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
COMMISSIONED DATA 
Next Best Thing 
» Partners with Credible Third-Party Source 
» Access to Large Database/Consumers 
» Appears Unbiased 
» Costly & Difficult to Replicate 
» May Not Be Directly Associated with Company 
Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
CURATED DATA 
Resourceful & Insightful 
» Cost-Effective 
» Requires Research 
» Ability to Combine Data Sets 
» Doesn’t ‘Own’ Content 
» Difficult to Replicate (Unless using public/ 
government sources) 
Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
DATA TYPES 
Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
7 TIPS FOR SUCCESS 
Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
1. A SINGLE DATA POINT CAN 
MAKE HEADLINES 
Just One Surprising Number 
» One number is all you need to craft a headline 
» Counter-intuitive data 
» Confirmation of long held beliefs 
» Small vs. big data sources 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
2. AGGREGATE DATA TO 
CREATE NEW DATA 
Let Someone Else do the Work 
» Find credible sources 
» Combine the data in interesting/new ways 
» Demonstrate correlation or potential links 
» Leverage multiple sources to emphasize a point/gain credibility 
» Present facts/information in new ways 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
FEAR OF EBOLA 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
3. EXAMINE DATA OVER TIME 
TO IDENTIFY TRENDS 
Look with New Eyes 
» Examine industry reports/annual reports for patterns and trends 
» What may seem insignificant in one year and be significant in decades 
» Innovation or change? 
» Disruption or erosion? 
» Can you use the information to make predictions? 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
4. KNOW HOW TO ASK THE 
QUESTION 
Tailor Questions for the Answers You Seek 
» Visualize the headline: 
Do you believe in a woman’s right to equal pay in the workplace? Yes/No 
96% Say Yes 
Are you a feminist? Yes/No 
79% say No 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
5. DATA DOESN’T HAVE TO BE 
EXPENSIVE 
Creativity Goes Further Than Money 
» Examine Your Internal Resources 
» Customer Database 
» Partnerships 
» Examine External Resources (Free/Freemium) 
» Social Media Channels 
» Forums/Message Boards 
» Examine Low-Cost Paid Resources 
» Third-Party Single Question Sources 
» Advertising Campaign 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
6. CHECK WHAT’S IN THE SAFE 
What Can You Extract From Your Company/Customers/ 
Technology? 
» Readily available data 
» Data you will have to mine for 
» New data sources you can create 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
7. VISUALIZE THE DATA 
The Presentation 
» Simplicity vs. Complexity 
» Quick Information Absorption 
» Broadens Interest Group 
» Increases Real Estate (in the mind and on paper) 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
DON’T OVERCOMPLICATE IT 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
SINGLE DATAPOINT 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
SURPRISING NUMBER 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
FRUGAL GIANT 
» 1,006 Internet Users Surveyed 
» Email and Online 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
COMMISSIONED STUDY: 
OVERKILL? 
» Harris Interactive Poll 
» 9,126 Adults 18+ 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
THIRD-PARTY DATA - VISUALIZED 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
SIMPLE GRAPHIC EXPLAINS 
COMPLEX TOPIC 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
SIMPLE GRAPHIC 
DEMONSTRATES 
COMPLEX TREND OVER 
TIME 
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 
Affect
DID YOU REALLY NEED THE 
VISUAL? 
Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
MORE RESOURCES: 
• Case Studies: Affect.com 
• White Papers: Techaffect.com 
• 90 Seconds to PR Success: You Tube - Affect Strategies 
• Slideshare.net/sfathi 
Sandra Fathi 
Chair, PRSA Tri-State District 
President, Affect 
Web: affect.com 
Email: sfathi@affect.com 
Twitter: @sandrafathi 
Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010

Data-Driven Headlines: A Guide to Securing Media Coverage Through Data

  • 1.
    DATA-DRIVEN HEADLINES UsingData to Drive Media Coverage PRSA Webinar October 28, 2014 Sandra Fathi Chair, PRSA Tri-State District President, Affect Web: affect.com Email: sfathi@affect.com Twitter: @sandrafathi Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
  • 2.
    Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY& CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
  • 3.
    Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY& CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
  • 4.
    DATAFICATION OF THEWORLD For Consideration » Big Data vs. Small Data » Information Sets » Complex Topic vs. Boring Topic » At a Glance & Emphasis » Decision-Making, Persuasion & Taking Action Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
  • 5.
    PROPRIETARY DATA TheGold Standard » Company Owned » No other organization has access to the same information/insights » Sole credible source » Data is accessible and can be reproduced over time » Potentially Biased » Based on customer base or internal/platform insights » May not be scientifically accurate or statistically significant Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
  • 6.
    COMMISSIONED DATA NextBest Thing » Partners with Credible Third-Party Source » Access to Large Database/Consumers » Appears Unbiased » Costly & Difficult to Replicate » May Not Be Directly Associated with Company Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
  • 7.
    CURATED DATA Resourceful& Insightful » Cost-Effective » Requires Research » Ability to Combine Data Sets » Doesn’t ‘Own’ Content » Difficult to Replicate (Unless using public/ government sources) Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
  • 8.
    DATA TYPES AffectPROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
  • 9.
    7 TIPS FORSUCCESS Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010
  • 10.
    1. A SINGLEDATA POINT CAN MAKE HEADLINES Just One Surprising Number » One number is all you need to craft a headline » Counter-intuitive data » Confirmation of long held beliefs » Small vs. big data sources PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 11.
    2. AGGREGATE DATATO CREATE NEW DATA Let Someone Else do the Work » Find credible sources » Combine the data in interesting/new ways » Demonstrate correlation or potential links » Leverage multiple sources to emphasize a point/gain credibility » Present facts/information in new ways PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 12.
    FEAR OF EBOLA PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 13.
    3. EXAMINE DATAOVER TIME TO IDENTIFY TRENDS Look with New Eyes » Examine industry reports/annual reports for patterns and trends » What may seem insignificant in one year and be significant in decades » Innovation or change? » Disruption or erosion? » Can you use the information to make predictions? PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 14.
    WOMEN IN ENGINEERING PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 15.
    4. KNOW HOWTO ASK THE QUESTION Tailor Questions for the Answers You Seek » Visualize the headline: Do you believe in a woman’s right to equal pay in the workplace? Yes/No 96% Say Yes Are you a feminist? Yes/No 79% say No PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 16.
    5. DATA DOESN’THAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE Creativity Goes Further Than Money » Examine Your Internal Resources » Customer Database » Partnerships » Examine External Resources (Free/Freemium) » Social Media Channels » Forums/Message Boards » Examine Low-Cost Paid Resources » Third-Party Single Question Sources » Advertising Campaign PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 17.
    6. CHECK WHAT’SIN THE SAFE What Can You Extract From Your Company/Customers/ Technology? » Readily available data » Data you will have to mine for » New data sources you can create PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 18.
    7. VISUALIZE THEDATA The Presentation » Simplicity vs. Complexity » Quick Information Absorption » Broadens Interest Group » Increases Real Estate (in the mind and on paper) PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 19.
    DON’T OVERCOMPLICATE IT PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 20.
    SINGLE DATAPOINT PROPRIETARY& CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 21.
    SURPRISING NUMBER PROPRIETARY& CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 22.
    FRUGAL GIANT »1,006 Internet Users Surveyed » Email and Online PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 23.
    COMMISSIONED STUDY: OVERKILL? » Harris Interactive Poll » 9,126 Adults 18+ PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 24.
    THIRD-PARTY DATA -VISUALIZED PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 25.
    SIMPLE GRAPHIC EXPLAINS COMPLEX TOPIC PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 26.
    SIMPLE GRAPHIC DEMONSTRATES COMPLEX TREND OVER TIME PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014 Affect
  • 27.
    DID YOU REALLYNEED THE VISUAL? Affect PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL October 28, 2014
  • 28.
    MORE RESOURCES: •Case Studies: Affect.com • White Papers: Techaffect.com • 90 Seconds to PR Success: You Tube - Affect Strategies • Slideshare.net/sfathi Sandra Fathi Chair, PRSA Tri-State District President, Affect Web: affect.com Email: sfathi@affect.com Twitter: @sandrafathi Affect Strategies PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010

Editor's Notes

  • #6 411,000, and from 21 million employees to 23 million, which accounts for more than 20 percent of all U.S. private sector employees.
  • #16 “I wouldn’t call it a hostile environment, but it’s definitely chilly,” said Nadya Fouad, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who presented the results to the American Psychological Association in a talk entitled “Leaning In, But Getting Pushed Back (and Out.)”
  • #23 We conducted this survey among a nationally representative sample of Internet users 18–74 in the USA using an email invitation and an online survey. We surveyed a total of 1,006 people between August 26–29, 2014.
  • #24 Survey Methodology This survey was conducted online in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, G.B., and the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of Kronos from Sept. 8-16, 2014 among 9,126 adults ages 18 and older.
  • #25 Social Security Administration - http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/