PR Pays Off

By Lois Smith, HFES Communications Director

     How would you like to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show and talk about your human factors/ergonomics research in front of an audience numbering in the tens of millions? If that seems far-fetched, it's not. Just ask University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer, who appeared on January 18 to talk about the numerous articles he and colleagues (including Frank Drews, see below) have published on the dangers of distracted driving.

     Equally widely visible is the work of another University of Utah Psychology Department researcher, Frank Drews, whose recent Human Factors paper on texting while driving (with Strayer as well as Hina Yazdani, Celeste Godfrey, and Joel Cooper) made news around the world. Within minutes of the distribution of the Society's December 21, 2009, press release via EurekAlert.org - and with the help of the university's communications whiz, Lee Siegel - dozens of online and print news media had picked up the story. The list includes, to mention just a few, Reuters, MSNBC, USA Today, NPR, PCWorld, and China Daily. Blog posts helped spread the news even more broadly. There's even a Wikipedia entry for "Texting while driving."

     Not every HF/E professional can expect to appear on Oprah's show, but if your work has implications for safety, health, technology, and similar topics of interest to the general public, you might someday find yourself being interviewed on local or national TV or radio. However, that can't happen unless you are actively promoting the value of your work. Below are a few suggestions for spreading the word and examples of their effectiveness.

PR Tools

     As noted in previous Bulletin articles (see References), you can inform the public and the media about your HF/E work through many vehicles, including press releases, opinion articles, letters to the editor, and stories and notices in company and institutional publications. And don't forget that HFES is an excellent vehicle for your stories. We can help you achieve broad recognition through our press releases posted on the HFES Web site and at EurekAlert.org, and especially through our partnership in the American Institute of Physics' Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science program. A DBIS impact report in 2008 indicated that depending on the topic and the region, DBIS's 90-second HF/E science news stories had reached between 3 and 14 million households via local TV network affiliates.

     When you have newsworthy content, let us know. Contact me at lois@hfes.org or 310/394-1811.

Working With PR Pros

     If you're based at a company or institution with a PR or communications department, be proactive about asking PR staff to promote your media-worthy projects.

     Many universities produce magazines and reports highlighting the work of their faculty, such as Research Horizons from Georgia Tech. That publication is distributed three times a year to 18,000 individuals and organizations, which includes about 2,000 media contacts. Research news is posted on a regular basis.

     Lee Siegel - who was a science reporter for 25 years before joining the University of Utah's public relations office - says the most effective way to gain media attention for a university is by publicizing research done by faculty members. Faculty should contact their campus PR office well before a potentially newsworthy study is published or presented at a meeting. Siegel prefers to receive such studies when they are submitted and no later than when they are accepted. The science media are much less likely to write about research if they receive a news release after the study is published.

     Siegel says studies that are newsworthy tend to have relevance to readers' health and other aspects of their lives, and to society and modern problems, or simply inspire laypeople to think, "Gee whiz!"

     During the past decade, Siegel has written a half-dozen news releases on research by Strayer and Drews on driver distraction caused by cell phones. Because the subject is relevant to so many people, no other area of research on campus has generated so much ongoing publicity in recent years, he says.

     "Researchers must be ready and available for media interviews if a news release is issued on their work," Siegel notes. "Many reporters work on tight deadlines. If you are not available when they try to reach you, they may move on to something else."

     David Strayer reports that his Oprah experience was positive. "I'll admit that I'm not a regular viewer of The Oprah Winfrey Show. But when they contacted me, I was impressed by the professionalism of their staff. They had already read several of our papers. Later on, I worked with the staff to develop simple graphics to illustrate the general principles from our research. It took a fair bit of time and effort, but the result was an effective way to disseminate our research to the general public. Best of all, I didn't have to wear any makeup."

     Frank Drews notes, "The initial response to the [texting while driving] paper was overwhelming. I was on the phone and in the driving simulator for the TV teams for about two days, ten hours a day. The most impressive part of this experience was the level of interest and excitement that was expressed for human factors. I think that by being available for the media, by explaining in clear and plain language what we are doing and how this applies to people's lives, we can make a significant impact. And changing things for the better is what our work is about."

Piggyback on Other News

     As the saying goes, "timing is everything," especially in the news world. Incidents regarding safety and health that get media attention often have HF/E implications, which opens opportunities to talk and write about your work. For example, HFES member Najm Meshkati has been quoted in numerous newpaper and magazine articles about incidents at rail crossings and on airport runways. He has also published opinion pieces on the subject. Member Alan Hedge is frequently consulted by reporters about office ergonomics and related topics. Among his other credits, he has appeared on NBC's Today Show and the CBS News program The Early Show.

     Hedge, one of the most-often-quoted professors at Cornell University, is contacted by several journalists almost every week. "Talking to the media takes time away from other activities," he says, "so decide how much you want to do this at the outset." He offers the following suggestions for dealing with the media:

• "Choose interesting topics and be prepared to summarize your research in a brief and simple 'elevator pitch' or 'sound bite' statements.
• Be enthusiastic about your research, and be sure to communicate the importance of your work. Enthusiasm increases the chance that a journalist will begin to rely on you as a future resource.
• If you have put out a press release on your research, or if you find that you are getting asked the same questions by many journalists and it takes a long time to give full answers, set up a Web page that summarizes everything you want to say, with links to materials reporters will find of interest.
• Be prepared to explain your research in simple, everyday language, because most journalists do not have any training in our discipline.
• Contrary to our academic training, be prepared to take a clear position on your research (even if you have doubts) rather than qualifying this with 'possibilities' or 'maybes.'"

     The launch of a new gadget is another great launchpad for promoting HF/E work. For example, the release of the iPhone generated plenty of news, including comments about its usability. User Centric, some of whose staff are HFES members, performed a usability study about the device and posted it on the company's Web site. PCWorld published an article based on that study, "Apple's Phones Prompt iTypos," which was picked up by ABC News. (The researchers later published a paper on their work in the 2008 HFES Annual Meeting Proceedings: Allen et al., 2008.)

     Numerous scientific organizations promote their fields via observances held at various times of the year, and they encourage scientists and other practitioners to participate in activities tied to the theme. Such topically focused activities may present opportunities to generate news about media-worthy HF/E work. Examples of science-based observances include HFES's National Ergonomics Month, which occurs each October; the International Ergonomics Association's Global Ergonomics Month (October); the Usability Professionals Association's World Usability Day (November); and the National Academy of Engineering's National Engineers Week (February).

     In addition, March 7-13, 2010, is Patient Safey Awareness Week. Given the growing impact of HF/E work in this area, PSAW can be an effective news vehicle for highlighting research and applications at the local level. The U.S. government lists many other national observances related to health.

Gauge Your Impact

     Google can help you track your impact in the news and on the Web for free. Using keywords that apply to your work and/or your organization, simply set up e-mail alerts for hits on the Web in general and at news.google.com for hits in news articles and press releases. Alerts can be set up to arrive daily or less frequently.

     Fee-based services can also help you distribute your PR message and report on its impact. Distribution sites include EurekAlert.org and Newswise, whose postings are often picked up by smaller distributors targeting specialized audiences.

Benefits Abound

     The PR payoff for HF/E research perhaps has not been more strongly evident in recent years than in Oprah's No Phone Zone campaign. It's reasonable to argue that an abundance of research, including that of HF/E professionals, fueled this campaign and legislation intended to protect drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

     When you proactively promote the value of your HF/E work, you benefit not only yourself and your institution but also the field, HFES, and society in general.

Acknowledgments

     Many thanks to David Strayer, Frank Drews, Alan Hedge, and especially Lee Siegel for their contributions to this article.

References

Allen, Jennifer M., McFarlin, Leslie A., & Green, Thomas. (2008). An in-depth look into the text entry user experience on the iPhone. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 52nd Annual Meeting (pp. 508-512). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Beith, Barry H. (2003, April). Thoughts on HF/E public relations and branding. HFES Bulletin, pp. 1, 7.

Kolasinski, Eugenia. (2006, May). Guidance, young grasshopper, for your mission as an HF/E evangelist. HFES Bulletin, pp. 1-2.

Rogers, Wendy A. (2001, May). Getting the word out. HFES Bulletin, pp. 2-3.

Smith, Lois. (2001, May). Dealing with the media. HFES Bulletin, p. 3.

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