Which of the following is an effective statistic?
1) Some of my friends are 21 and like to gamble.
2) 7 out of 10 of my friends that are 21 like to gamble.
Number 2 is correct!
A statistic is a single measure of some attribute of a sample that many experts in the PR field use when presenting to a client to prove credibility and knowledge. “Clients love data,” head of Burson-Marstellar Southwest operations, Mike Lake told my CCPA class this past Wednesday. Mr. Lake, a frequent guest speaker in the CCPA department, visited our class to explore strategies of a project he has been working on with a high-profile client that I will refer to as “A Poker & Gambling Company” or “PGC” for short. He presented an Online Poker Legalization Strategy that dealt with the PGC’s plan to legalize online poker in the US. Mr. Lake’s presentation took us step-by-step through the process of making a PR strategy that is not only effective, but credible.
Credibility is essential when creating and presenting public relations strategies. Mr. Lake introduced his messaging approach with a three step process. First step, change the current conversation. Step two, define a current status and bring it into the narrative. Step three, create a framework for changes. Amidst these three steps, you must identify targets and create an understanding of the role each plays in the strategy and why. Then comes the fun part… using statistics! Mr. Lake’s presentation was perfectly sprinkled with statistics that dealt with credible voices for online poker. “Clients are willing to spend extra $money$ up front if they know it is proven to work,” Mr. Lake noted, which is a correlation for the appropriate use of statistics. Statistics can be surprisingly persuading, especially when you use them to your advantage.
You must be careful though; the use of statistics must be done appropriately to be effective. You can’t just throw out random numbers and data… you need to make sure they are pertinent and supportive to proving and persuading your audience. In the strategy Mr. Lake presented, he honed in on the key statistical evidence that not only supported the message but created a foundation of reliability, confidence and excitement for his client.
Mr. Lake and his team at Burson-Marstellar believe that the evidence based approach is the way to go because it is more cost effective- “hard data is the most beneficial when we are putting this (strategy) together.” Now remember this, Mr. Lakes client is PGC… poker and gambling… these people are all about numbers and statistics- it’s basically how they make money. Winning over a company like PGC through the use of statistics is like being able to sell a car to a car salesman... in other words, if you can impress and persuade them at their own game, you are golden!
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