Seventy percent of PR pros think their previous efforts would have been more effective if they had had access to richer competitive intelligence. The vast majority of
communicators participating in a study released by Fleishman-Hillard and Fuld & Co. (a competitive intelligence provider) strongly agree that they need competitive
intelligence in order to be effective. The nagging question - how to find the information. The study shows most large companies have some sort of CI function (many have in-house
resources). But many PR execs say they still experience difficulties obtaining the information they need for more effective campaigns. Hurdles include:
- Assessing a competitor's goals
- Analyzing market factors
- Predicting how rivals may react to an intended public announcement
- Determining critical issues driving a firm's value
CI providers like Fleishman-Hillard and Fuld & Co. are more than happy to fill in the gap with services like product launch timeline analyses, industry overviews, studies
of delivery mechanisms and other factors affecting communications programs. (Ron Penoyer, SVP CI, Fleishman-Hillard, 314/982-9176)