Using Research and Infographics in PR effectively

PR-Net presents a session on the ways in which PR professionals can utilise research to create more impactful PR campaigns and, most essentially, write compelling media releases. 

At the event, hosted at the offices of FleishmanHillard, Bryanston, Johannesburg on Thursday, September 25, at 5.30pm, Henk Pretorius CEO of Columinate will provide practical solutions and insights with regards to research such as:

-        Selecting the appropriate audience or target market for the survey

-        Qualitative or quantitative research – which one works best for PR surveys as well as the media?

-        Determining what sample size will be effective. Bigger samples aren’t always better and what is a good rule of thumb when commissioning research?

-        Determining what your sample make-up should be. Do you require a nationally representative sample that includes a good spread across different demographics?

-        What types of questions are effective for media surveys?

-        What method of data collection will work best? Telephonic interviews? Face to Face? Online?

-        How to contextualise your survey and the methodology. Remember, when people don’t like your results, they will attack the methodology.

-        Using Infographics to illustrate the research findings. What makes a good research infographic?

-        How to find meaning in the data, go beyond the stats and present the implications.

About Henk

Henk Pretorius is CEO and co-founder of Columinate, South Africa’s leading online marketing research agency.  

Since its inception in 2008, the agency has seen remarkable levels of growth. After achieving a 600% growth in turnover between 2010 and 2012, Pretorius was appointed to the position of CEO in October 2012. The success of Columinate can be attributed to Pretorius’ constant drive for innovation and his desire to challenge the status quo of traditional market research.  

The specialist agency has worked with leading clients across a variety of industries including blue-chip clients in the FMCG sector (SAB), the financial sector (Nedbank), media and advertising sectors (Supersport), the telecommunications industry (Vodacom), and various academic institutions.

As a prominent marketing researcher and research psychologist, Pretorius’ expertise includes quantitative and qualitative methodologies, statistical analysis and online research approaches. Pretorius is known for his pioneering work in the online marketing research field. 

His qualifications include a B.A. in Psychology and English (Cum Laude), Honours in Psychology (Cum Laude) and a Master’s Degree in Research Psychology. He is currently a PhD candidate in Psychology at the University of Cape Town and has also completed a research internship at Harvard University. In addition, Pretorius is a registered research psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and a full member of the South African Marketing Research Association (SAMRA).

Pretorius’ most notable career achievements and contributions to his profession include:

Serving on the board of directors of the Brand Council of South Africa (current)

Implementing the first Market Research Online Community (MROC) in South Africa

Winning the ‘Best First Time Speaker’ and ‘Best Overall Paper’ awards at the SAMRA conference in 2009

Lecturing at a number of Universities at postgraduate level and supervising postgraduate research dissertations and internships