1. I N T E R N A T I O N A L M A R K E T I N G T H A T C O M M U N I C A T E S
Hot desk – trade secrets for great
marketing communications research

2. In the hot seat –
getting the information
The research process can be a significant
undertaking developing the necessary data
from scratch is a labour-intensive process.
It’s for this reason that the collection and
collation of pre-existing information –
commonly referred to as ‘desk-based’
research – is often the most attractive
option for a marketer.
When carried out effectively, desk-based
research provides a wealth of rich information
to inform and shape a communications
strategy, at relatively low cost and within
a short timeframe. And the internet has
almost completely revolutionised the process,
placing thousands of relevant and reliable
information sources just a mouse click away.
However, with so much potential information
available, desk-based research can seem
a daunting task, and interpreting the data to
form a coherent analysis is a task that must
be carried out with a great deal of care and
competency. Unsurprisingly, many marketers
look at the process with trepidation.
However, there’s no need to!
BDB | www.bdb.co.uk | beinspired@bdb.co.uk | +44 (0)161 925 4700
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Top tip: When carried out effectively, desk-based
research provides a wealth of rich information
to inform and shape a communications strategy.
Contents
In the hot seat – getting the information 3
Think PEST and SWOT 4
What are we looking for? 4
Overriding themes
The building blocks of good research 5
1: Find out what you already have
2: Make the most of official statistics
3: Online data sources
4: Get to grips with the media 6
5: Don’t ignore social media
Making sense of it all 7
Useful research sources 7
Introduction
Few marketing professionals would disagree that a communications
campaign needs to be underpinned by a clear and well-defined strategy,
if it is to successfully meet and exceed its objectives. However, while
a ‘strategic approach’ is held up as industry best practice, a lack of
awareness of what truly makes a plan strategic means that campaigns can
all too often fall short of the standards required to truly meet the mark.
A strategic campaign is best defined as one in which a rigorous initial
research process has been engaged in, and the resulting insights used to
form the foundation for all ensuing activity. These insights allow for
an evidence-based prioritisation of the issues that should be engaged,
and the relationships that should be developed, over the course of
the campaign. They also enable the identification of any threats and
opportunities that will impact upon an organisation and its stakeholders.
Without this initial intelligence, it will be extremely difficult for an
organisation to engage meaningfully with key decision-makers on the
issues that matter. This is particularly true in b2b markets, where
upcoming issues are often complex, multi-faceted and transnational.
This guide provides an overview of some simple steps to ensure your
campaigns are firmly grounded in strong evidence-based foundations
– and ultimately deliver better results.

3. As a first step, connect with relevant
contacts in other departments. Let them
know what types of data you are looking
for and why. You may be surprised at
what they provide.
2: Make the most of official statistics
and data
Official data sources are a fantastic
resource when searching out those key
‘meta-trends’. In the UK, for example, the
Office for National Statistics houses a vast
database of social and economic information,
which can be tracked over a number of
years, while the Europa website contains
many statistical reports covering the EU.
Government departments’ websites can
also be useful for gaining deeper insights
into key issues and getting to grips with
upcoming hot topics.The UK Government
website provides links to all its departments
– as well as their various executive and
arm’s length bodies – making it a very
useful resource for any researcher.All UK
departments are also required to establish
and regularly update a four-year ‘business
plan’; a great way to plan ahead for
impending initiatives and agendas, these
can all be found on the official website
of the Prime Minister’s office.
What are we looking for?
Overriding themes
The main areas that need to be considered
in a research project are far reaching, but can
largely be broken down into the following
broad categories:
• ‘big picture’ issues – understanding the
external factors that are, or will soon be,
impacting on an organisation and its publics
• stakeholders – identifying the key
audiences an organisation should prioritise
its communications with, and the best ways
to reach them
• the competition – analysing the ways
in which industry peers are positioning
themselves and the activities they are
undertaking
It shouldn’t be forgotten, however, that a
thorough marketing strategy should also
involve a rigorous internal analysis.After all,
the best thought-leadership positioning will
ultimately fail if an organisation’s actual actions,
culture and values do not align with the
outward perception it is trying to create.
BDB | www.bdb.co.uk | beinspired@bdb.co.uk | +44 (0)161 925 4700 BDB | www.bdb.co.uk | beinspired@bdb.co.uk | +44 (0)161 925 4700
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The building blocks of
good research
With the scope of a research project defined
and analytical tools at the ready, the next step
is to start collecting the data.To get your
market research off to the best possible start,
follow these five key tips:
1: Find out what you already have
A potential easy win and handy starting
point for the research journey, all desk-
based research should kick off with an
assessment of existing internal information.
It’s often the case that, over years of doing
business, an organisation has amassed
a rich array of market insights, competitor
knowledge, and expertise in key industry
issues. However, a great deal of information
may not have been collected or created
for marketing purposes. So while an
organisation may have existing intelligence
which could be used to position it as an
industry thought leader, it may be hidden
away in, say, internal NPD folders.
Top tip: Make the most of existing information.
Get all departments involved.
Top tip: Begin by identifying and categorising
all key external trends and issues with PEST and
SWOT analysis.
Think PEST and SWOT
Strategic planning should usually begin with
the identification of the key external trends
and issues which will ultimately shape the
campaign. As well as preparing an organisation
for any future communications activities it may
need to undertake to maintain and protect its
reputation, issue identification also allows for
the development of pertinent thought-
leadership activities. However, attempting
to identify all ‘big picture’ external factors
is a tricky task, which is why analytical tools
can be helpful in guiding this research.
PEST analysis is a strategy borrowed from
business literature, and sets out four areas that
can affect an organisation: Political, Economic,
Social and Technological. By separating out
external factors in this way, it becomes easier
to start searching for the most important
factors in each area that is likely to impact
an organisation and its stakeholders over
the next few years.
Placing an organisation within the context of
these issues can likewise be a complex task.
Fortunately SWOT analysis is another useful
tool that can demarcate and simplify these
considerations.The first two elements of this
analysis, Strengths and Weaknesses, are largely
based on internal factors, and are helpful in
considering whether an organisation’s
communications objectives align with its actual
actions, cultures and values.The second two
considerations, Opportunities and Weaknesses,
are usually externally driven and linked to the
issues uncovered during the PEST analysis.
While PEST is used to identify the key issues,
SWOT provides a framework for considering
how an organisation can react to these factors.

4. Making sense of it all
Once the information is collected, it may not
jump out with any immediate answers. It’s likely
that the data will be spread across a multitude
of Word documents, Excel spreadsheets
and weblinks.
The task is to unite all this disparate
information, analyse it, and package it up as
a coherent report which offers a roadmap
for the campaign delivery.
It’s useful to pull the information together
using PowerPoint.With fewer opportunities
for lengthy descriptions and a focus on the
visual, PowerPoint forces you to distil the
information into an easy-to-digest format,
simultaneously helping to pull out the overall
key learnings and recommendations.
Where possible, use striking statistics to back
up assertions; pick out trends that can be
tangibly demonstrated; and provide visual
examples. Reams of data on Excel may seem
boring, but graphs and charts can bring it to
life and help identify trends and correlations.
Need inspiration? Have a look at
Information is Beautiful.
BDB | www.bdb.co.uk | beinspired@bdb.co.uk | +44 (0)161 925 4700 BDB | www.bdb.co.uk | beinspired@bdb.co.uk | +44 (0)161 925 4700
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As an international business-to-business
marketing communications agency,
active in over 25 countries, it’s the high
level of service we achieve through
our streamlined global approach that
retains business.
Whether we’re working with a winner
of the Queen’s Award for International
Trade or a company that’s making its
first forays into Europe or the USA, we’ve
found that our insight and experience
really helps build our clients’ brands.
And importantly, client sales teams,
whether in-house or distributors, gets
the local language support they need to
open dialogues with prospects and
win business.
5: Don’t ignore social media
There’s a whole world of knowledge
available to be gleaned from expert
commentators on social networks.Twitter
is frequently the place where hot-off-the-
press news first breaks, while experienced
trade pros and even journalists are usually
more than willing to share their insights
on Linkedin and SlideShare.
Don’t be passive when using social media
for research – put your head above the
parapet and actively seek out information.
People turn to social media to be social
– they want to share, interact and discuss.
Savvy researchers can gather a great deal
of unique, first-hand intelligence by joining
relevant Linkedin groups and asking topical
questions, or by putting out informal
survey questions onTwitter to gather
targets audiences’ real feelings on issues.
3: Online data sources
There’s a wide range of highly respected
non-governmental organisations which
provide statistical data on key trends.
Many of them collect information of
much greater relevance to commercial
organisations than the data gathered for
official reporting purposes.While some
– such as Ipso Mori – provide many
reports free of charge, specialist market
analysis often comes at a price. Good
paid-for sources include Euromonitor
International, Mintel and Datamonitor,
and there are also some useful paid-for
report aggregators, such as Report Linker.
These resources allow users to search for
reports from a wide range of sources.
4: Get to grips with the media
As well as providing an understanding
of the opportunities to contribute to top
tier media titles, analysis of the trade press
is also one of the most effective ways to
understand what the key issues are and how
industry players are engaging with them.
A detailed review of the top tier media
titles over a period of several months is
also critical to carrying out accurate
competitor analysis. It enables marketers
to assess exactly how key industry players
are positioning themselves, the ways in
which they are contributing to current
debates, and, crucially, areas in which
they are not taking ownership.
Top tip:There is a vast amount of great information
out there – make it work for you. Both government
sources and research organisations create vast arrays
of free-to-use data.
Towards the finish line
If you’ve taken all these tips on board you
should be well on your way to building a
thorough framework for an authoritative
and influential marketing campaign.

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