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Limitless Public Relations

Data decisions in public relations

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

In public relations professional circles, a debate is raging. Okay, not raging. Simmering coquettishly, maybe? Anyway, the question is whether is it better to describe oneself as data-driven or data-informed?

Decision-making with a digital edge

But, what does data-driven (or data-informed) communications actually mean? 

Put simply, it means to make informed decisions based on data and research. “How else have we been making decisions?”, you may well ask. 

Well, the difference is that, while (good) PR and communications practitioners have always made decisions based on a mixture of experience, intuition, and available information, the real world of PR is getting more and more digital, meaning some decisions that would have been made purely by humans in the past can now be made by computers, based on raw data. 

A good example of this in action is when you use Google’s automatic settings to set up a Google Ads campaign. You basically input some of your own data to Google about your products, services and geography, and then Google uses its own data about the regularity of search entries related to your products and services, suggests key search terms and then basically runs the ad campaign on your behalf.

Data differences

The difference between being data-driven and data-informed, it is argued, is that the former refers to decisions made based purely on the data, while being data-informed involves taking the raw data and applying some human input (the aforementioned experience and intuition) before making a decision. 

The logic in this will be apparent to anyone who has suffered data-driven remarketing across their social feed. You know the feeling: “I already bought those shoes, thanks!” or “I just booked a holiday. It doesn’t mean I immediately want to book another!” or “Okay, I know I’m a male over 45 but…” Okay, let’s not go there. 

Basically, computers are very clever, yes. But they do get things wrong. Sometimes very wrong. And when it comes to reputation management, a simple “oops”, no matter how heartfelt, will never really cut it.

Human-centred first

So good public relations is not quite ready (yet) to become the domain of the robots, but a human-driven profession, with some robotic help. 

Used well, digital data can help PR professionals not only identify trending topics and inspire creative engagement, it can also help us monitor what content is chiming with our audiences and what isn’t. So, while making decisions based on information is not exactly a new idea, it does make a nice new shiny buzzword. Hurrah. 

Limitless Public Relations continues expansion with new Preston office 

Posted on by Claire Stephenson

Limitless PR has continued its expansion plans by opening an additional office in Lancashire. 

The strategic communications consultancy already has a base in Blackburn, but its decision to open a site in Preston is part of its longer-term strategy of increasing its presence across the North and then the UK with regional offices.  

Limitless Director Michael Gregory said:  

“Our longer-term aim is to build our presence across the North, the UK, and then continue to build networks overseas. However, our much more immediate focus is to open offices where there is a strong demand for our services.  

“Our client base in West Lancashire has grown over the last twelve months, and Preston was the logical place to open our second office. In the next two years, our plan is to open two more sites in the North West before looking at Yorkshire and the North East.” 

Limitless has recently been appointed to work with Preston-based clients, including AG Built Environment Consultancy, Bako Group Ltd, Preston City Council, Redmoor Health, Plumbs and the Santé Group. 

The growing agency has also been working with the University of Central Lancashire and Preston City Council on their partnership with the Rugby League World Cup 2021.