Running Business Like a Political Campaign
Since my last entry, I've been collecting information from colleagues to determine whether they ever have used "Opposition Research" or heard of its use in their work. Some of these folks think my topic really is competitive research. I agree, except I would say "opposition research" is a refined kind of competitive research. As Rick Murray, president, Edelman Digital wrote:Bottom line, if you run your brand, business or initiative like a political campaign, it’s a lot easier to identify and activate your allies, and identify and develop counter-strategies for your detractors [if you use an "Opposition Research" approach].
Game Theory
A number of colleagues also noted the link between opposition research and game theory. One area of business practice that employs a great deal of gamesmanship is mergers and acquisitions. Kirk Brewer, CEO, Core Communications Partners, has worked extensively in this area. According to Kirk:
Opposition research is done all the time in hostile (and even some friendly) merger and acquisition situations, as well as proxy fights and other challenges to board authority. It's been a part of those "control campaigns" for 40 years or more.
The purposes, Kirk noted, include trying to get the share price up (for the acquisition candidate) or down (for the acquirer).
In another case Kirk cited, potential acquirer "A" was competing with potential acquirer "B" for the same target. "A" used opposition research to find information about "B" demonstrating "B" was not as appealing as an acquisition partner. "A" shared with target shareholders information, in the form of full-page newspaper advertisements, about missteps "B" had made. Meanwhile the target took advantage of the rivalry between "A" and "B" to push the target share price up.
Assumptions and Secondary Research
One preconception I brought to the "Opposition Research" discussion was that it was, for the most part, secondary research -- looking at web sites, analyst reports, news reports, executive speeches, online discussions, etc. These definitely are the first places to look for information. As Matt Heinz, principal & chief marketer at Heinz Marketing, said:
Don't assume that something sitting on a competitor's Web site has already been read, consumed and/or analyzed by your client or business. More often than not, your discovery and unique analysis of what you've found (as well as the opportunity for your business) will be fresh and welcome.
My own experience has shown this time and time again. Some of the most obvious and simple research projects can yield tremendous benefits in the eyes of your client.
Primary Research
However, secondary research should not necessarily be the whole story. David Geddes, SVP and Partner at Fleishman Hillard, and a member of IPR's Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation* noted that he sees primary research as important, too. He says F-H does "target audience awareness, attitude, and perception research. We use surveys in this case."
The Bottom Line: Insight
To me the real bottom line is still the insight that we can pull from the data. This requires not only finding information about competitors, but making sense of it. Taking that information and projecting what the competing company is likely to do as a result. Going further and putting that in the context of your client's business goals and objectives.
Mark Heisten, senior business leader, head of commercial product marketing at Visa Inc. recalled working at a company with a dedicated competitive intelligence function:
[The competitive intelligence] team did a fantastic job not only researching, but acting like internal experts [on] the competitive offerings. As a result, they knew their relative strengths and weaknesses. Sales benefited from it; ... they were able to counter the competitive sales pitches. Product benefited from it; ... they better understood how the competitive products worked. Marketing and communications benefited; ... they understood how to message our solutions appropriately.
Knowledge as the Key to Influence
Mark's example demonstrates well done research going well beyond communications to support and drive better business decisions for the entire organization. One of the nice things about research is that frequently it is commissioned by communications people. But, when designed and used correctly, it can give these communications folks organizational knowledge and influence that reaches to the C-suite.
# # #
Thanks very much for reading. If you have questions you'd like me to address, or other topics you'd like me to write about, please let me know. And if you know anyone who might be interested, please pass this e-Letter along.
# # #
If you'd like updates on developing messages, strengthening relationships and other communications topics once a month, please subscribe to this e-Zine. You can do so here:
http://www.forrestwanderson.com/free.htm
# # #
If you would like to make any comments regarding this e-Letter, please visit my blog at http://forrestwanderson.blogspot.com/ and comment there. I'd love to hear from you.
# # #
I work with organizations going through a change in strategic direction (merger, acquisition, building program, new product launch, change program, etc.) and that are concerned about what will happen with their relationships with key stakeholders (customers, employees, investors) if they send out the wrong, or confusing, messages. After working with me, my clients have a clear understanding of what their messages should be. I also provide them recommendations on other actions they can take to enhance their relationships with stakeholders.
# # #
*The Institute for Public Relations, (IPR) is dedicated to the "science beneath the art" of PR. It focuses on PR research and education. If you are interested in the topics I write about, you will almost certainly be interested in IPR. You can find it at http://www.instituteforpr.org/. While you're there, check out the Essential Knowledge Project at http://www.instituteforpr.org/essential_knowledge/.
Best wishes,
Forrest
Forrest W. Anderson
Founding Member
Institute for Public Relations
Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation
Opposition Research
Wiki defines opposition research as follows:The term used to classify and describe efforts of supporters or paid consultants of a political candidate to legally investigate the biographical, legal or criminal, medical, educational, financial, public and private administrative and or voting records of the opposing candidate, as well as prior media coverage. The research is usually conducted in the time period between announcement of intent to run and the actual election.... (Stephanie Mencimer, "Dirty Politics," Center for Public Integrity, May 30, 2008.) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_research#cite_note-0)
Opposition Research and Competitive Research
When I was at Applied Communications, one of my colleagues, who had been in political opposition research, applied this approach to work for Applied's high-tech business-to-business clients. Each client would select some number of competitors whose activities they wanted monitored. Using the Internet almost exclusively, my colleague would review news and analyst reports pertaining to the competitors the client wanted to monitor. Then he would make judgments regarding what activity he believed the competitors were pursuing and when they were likely to make some kind of competitive move based on that action. He would assign "certainty" ratings based on how good the information was: if he heard about something for the first time, it might receive a "1" (hearsay) rating. If a competitor had finally scheduled a press conference to announce a product my colleague had been monitoring for some time, he might give it a "9" or "10" for near certainty.
An Example
To give you an example, let's say our client W wanted my colleague to monitor and report on X, Y and Z's activities. Every day, he would review internet news, company websites, analyst reports, and other public and subscription sources for bits of information pertaining to X, Y and Z. If the information suggested strategic or communications initiatives in the long- or short-term, he’d list these in his weekly report as potentially being on the horizon. Then, if he saw another reference to an event or activity mentioned in an executive speech, he’d note that as well and increase the "certainty" rating of this coming to pass. Then he might see a scheduled product announcement from the division that would be responsible for such an initiative. Putting two and two together he’d then note that the product announcement probably would have to do with this initiative. W, if it had its own communications functioning correctly, could get this information to its product people at the first announcement and keep it coming so the product folks could either start their own initiative or tweak something they were working on. Then W might have something to announce at the same time and be able to ride X, Y or Z’s coat-tails. If the product folks didn’t do anything, W could at least develop messaging and have a spokesperson ready to comment on X, Y or Z’s announcement, etc.
Is It Illegal?
Opposition research has a reputation for being something akin to illegal industrial espionage. However, my colleague collected his information almost exclusively from the Internet. He was able to find plenty of material without resorting to anything illegal.
What's Important About All This
My colleague did do one thing that set his work apart from that of most competitive researchers. He took the all-important plunge from information to insight. Instead of simply reporting what he saw in the news and analyst reports, he stopped to think about and integrate the information. He kept himself informed about the business goals and objectives of his clients and their competitors. So, when he saw information pointing toward some action that was consistent with a competitor's goals, he was able to project with extraordinary accuracy what that competitor was actually planning to do and when the competitor would announce it. Assuming the client was nimble enough to act on this information, it was extraordinarily valuable for both product strategy and communications strategy.
More on Opposition Research
I've been gathering more information about opposition research from some of my Linked-In and other acquainances, and I will write more about it in the future.
New Blog/e-Zine Plans
As many of you know, I write a blog and an e-Zine. They are one and the same. I created the blog so you, my friends and colleagues who read the e-Zine, could make comments and discuss the ideas and issues I raise in the e-Zine. I'm going to try a different approach for a while. I will still send the e-Zine out about once a month, but I will start publishing blog entries more often. The e-Zine probably will summarize some of the blog material, but not all.
Thanks very much for reading. If you have questions you'd like me to address, or other topics you'd like me to write about, please let me know. And if you know anyone who might be interested, please pass this e-Letter along.
# # #
If you'd like updates on developing messages, strengthening relationships and other communications topics once a month, please subscribe to this e-Zine. You can do so here:
http://www.forrestwanderson.com/free.htm
# # #
If you would like to make any comments regarding this e-Letter, please visit my blog at http://forrestwanderson.blogspot.com/ and comment there. I'd love to hear from you.
# # #
I work with organizations going through a change in strategic direction (merger, acquisition, building program, new product launch, change program, etc.) and that are concerned about what will happen with their relationships with key stakeholders (customers, employees, investors) if they send out the wrong, or confusing, messages. After working with me, my clients have a clear understanding of what their messages should be. I also provide them recommendations on other actions they can take to enhance their relationships with stakeholders.
# # #
The Institute for Public Relations, (IPR) is dedicated to the "science beneath the art" of PR. It focuses on PR research and education. If you are interested in the topics I write about, you will almost certainly be interested in IPR. You can find it at http://www.instituteforpr.org/. While you're there, check out the Essential Knowledge Project at http://www.instituteforpr.org/essential_knowledge/.
Best wishes,
Forrest
Forrest W. Anderson
Founding Member
Institute for Public Relations
Commission on PR Measurement and Evaluation
