And yes, you can find data in a survey to support any argument you want, but research and their findings are also great cannon fodder for the world of public relations.

As a PR practitioner (and cynic), every time I read or hear the words, “An independent survey released today says…” I’m always looking beyond the so called remarkable stat to find out who actually commissioned the work.

One of the more recent interesting ones was a story that ran about how many billions of dollars Australian women spend on handbags each year. In our fashion conscious world this information made interesting copy and did the rounds of tabloids, breakfast TV and fashion mags. But who funded the research? Panadol. Because its one of the items a woman is likely to fit in her handbag. So much for a bex and a good lay down.

So I agree, never trust a survey as its backers may have other motives, but as for ammunition to craft a good media release to fire off to unsuspecting news editors, they’re gold.

Just ask ol’ Eddie Bernays, he started commissioning research for this very purpose in the 1920s.