Digital PR Campaigns Built From Data, Surveys and FOI Requests

A survey gives you a number nobody else has, but only if the method stands up. The British Polling Council's disclosure rules ask published findings to state the client, fieldwork dates, method, sample size and geographic coverage, with full tables online within two working days. We work to the same standard for press surveys, keep questions neutral so the headline reflects what respondents said, and drop sub-groups too small to quote with confidence.

FOI requests turn public records into exclusive stories. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 a request must be in writing, give the requester's real name and an address for correspondence and describe the information wanted, and authorities should normally reply within 20 working days. They can refuse requests that would cost more than the appropriate limit, £600 for central government and £450 for most other public bodies, so we write narrow, specific requests that are likely to be answered in full.

Some of the strongest campaigns use data you already hold, aggregated and anonymised, or public datasets combined in ways nobody has tried. Official statistics run to a timetable: the ONS aims to publish release dates at least four weeks ahead where possible, so a campaign built on public data can be timed to land when journalists are already writing about the topic. Every figure is checked against its original source before it goes to press.

Data needs a form journalists can use: a ranked index, an interactive map, a calculator, a set of charts or a regional breakdown. We host it on your main domain, close to the commercial page it supports, rather than on a separate microsite, and link from it to those pages. Google says it uses links as a signal of relevance and that every page you care about should be linked from at least one other page on your site.

Ideas are developed against three filters: relevance to your brand and target pages, news value for the publications your buyers read, and whether the data to prove the headline can be found. We write sample headlines for each idea, check what has already been covered, and drop anything a news editor would see as a repeat or an advert. You approve a short list of tested concepts, not a long list of brainstorm notes.

We design questionnaires that produce clear, quotable findings without leading respondents, commission fieldwork with a recognised research panel and analyse the results by age, gender and region. Every release states the sample size, fieldwork dates and method, which journalists often ask for before they run a figure. The Market Research Society Code also expects published findings not to be presented in a misleading way, and we write releases with that in mind.

We identify the public bodies that hold the data, from councils and police forces to NHS trusts and government departments, and send consistent, tightly worded requests to each one. Responses are logged, chased and checked, and refusals or partial answers are reported honestly rather than filled with guesswork. FOI data suits regional press especially well, because each authority's figures become a local story with its own headline.

Indexes and rankings, such as the best and worst places for a cost, a habit or a service, combine several public or first-party datasets into one league table. They give journalists a clear headline, a local angle for every town on the list and a reason to link back to the full methodology on your site. We document every source and weighting, so the index can be refreshed and pitched again next year.

Not every campaign needs a dataset. Creative campaigns build on a cultural moment, a seasonal habit or an expert's knowledge, turned into visuals, guides or tools journalists want to share. For Custtom, one spider season campaign earned 23 pieces of coverage on its own. We plan seasonal ideas months ahead, so the asset is live and tested before journalists start writing the story.

We pitch in waves: national titles first, then regional cuts of the same data, then trade and specialist press with angles written for their readers. Our team includes a former Reach PLC journalist, so pitches are written the way newsrooms want to receive them. Each wave is shaped by what the last one earned, and follow-ups add new data rather than simply chasing a reply. Read how to pitch a journalist for the detail.

We report the links each campaign earned to its target pages, unlinked mentions, referral traffic and the movement in rankings and revenue for those pages. Google Search Console's Links report is a useful cross-check, though Google says it is a sample capped at 1,000 rows per table, so we combine it with third-party link data. Coverage counts are included, but they are never the headline measure of success.