February 27, 2015
Polling is boring. Data is for geeks.
Au contraire!
Understanding people’s thoughts and attitudes helps shape public policy. It helps companies develop new products or services. It helps drive how, where, and when messaging is delivered to your computer, your television, or your smart phone. It helps non-profits decide if they’re on the correct course or if they need to focus energy in other areas for the future.
Data isn’t for geeks. Data is king.
We collect data for our clients. Whether it’s in public, private, or non-profit sectors, data helps us establish benchmarks early in a project, measure the progress of our activities, and measure our success at the end of a project. It also helps establish client goals and objectives and how those goals and objectives are met.
Data doesn’t always have to be serious, though. Sometimes it can just be fun to look at and still provide interesting insights.
Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling recently reached in to South Carolina to test attitudes on one of the state’s most important issues. Who do ya like, Clemson or Carolina?
Released this week, PPP’s poll found that USC beats Clemson in the field of public opinion.
43% of South Carolina voters admitted to being Carolina fans as opposed to Clemson’s 32%, and it’s a place where Gamecock support stretches across party lines with Democrats approving at 46% and Republicans approving at 42%.
There’s good news for both teams’ coaching staffs, too.
Tiger Nation is (almost) all-in with Dabo at 78% while the Head Ball Coach gets 76% of love from the Gamecock faithful.
Of course it’s not football season, so in spite of lingering winter weather, college baseball season is underway, and the Gamecocks are backing Chad Holbrook at 53%. Meanwhile, Jack Leggett has 42% approval.
Adding a couple of side notes:
- The Palmetto State is Braves Country topping other major league teams with 48%, and
- The Carolina Panthers lead all other NFL with 25% of South Carolina voters giving their allegiance to the cats in Charlotte.
If you’re curious about how scientific this poll was, “PPP surveyed 868 registered South Carolina voters from February 12th to 15th. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.3%. 80% of interviews for the poll were conducted over the phone with 20% interviewed over the internet to reach respondents who don’t have landline telephones.” If you want to see the complete poll results, PPP has them available HERE.
Information is one of the most commodities of the 21st century, and those who don’t understand its value or gather as much relevant intelligence as possible are ultimately setting themselves up for failure because someone else will understand data’s value and use it to tailor a product, service, message, or campaign in a way that will better speak to and resonate with audiences. We believe in the importance of data and strategic planning for the work we do on our clients’ behalf. If you want a data-driven competitive advantage, let us know.
