Every successful reactive PR campaign starts with data. Not opinions. Not corporate messaging. Data that tells a story journalists want to write about.
In This Article
- 1. Google Trends
- 2. Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- 3. Statista (Free Tier)
- 4. Reddit and Online Forums
- 5. Companies House
- 6. Google Scholar + Academic Papers
- 7. Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests
- 8. Social Media APIs and Analytics
- 9. Price Comparison and Review Sites
- 10. Your Own Data
- How to Turn Raw Data Into a Pitchable Story
Key Takeaway
You do not need expensive tools or proprietary datasets to run data-driven PR campaigns. Government databases, Google Trends, and free survey platforms give you everything you need to create original stories that journalists want to cover.
The good news? You do not need a research budget. Some of the best campaigns we have run used completely free, publicly available datasets. You just need to know where to look and how to find the angle.
Here are 10 sources we use regularly. All free. All capable of producing placement-worthy stories.
1. Google Trends
URL: trends.google.com
The single most underrated PR tool. Google Trends shows you what people are searching for, when interest spikes, and how search behavior differs by region.
PR angle examples:
- “Searches for [product category] have increased 300% since [event]”
- “UK vs US: completely different search behavior around [topic]”
- Seasonal trends that reveal cultural differences or emerging consumer behavior
Pro tip: Use the “Related queries” tab. The “Breakout” queries (showing 5,000%+ growth) are where the stories hide. These are topics exploding in search volume that most journalists have not noticed yet.
2. Office for National Statistics (ONS)
URL: ons.gov.uk
The UK government publishes an extraordinary amount of data. Consumer spending, employment, housing, cost of living, health, crime. All free, all regularly updated, all credible enough for any publication.
PR angle examples:
- Analyzing spending patterns across UK regions to find surprising outliers
- Year-over-year comparisons that reveal hidden trends
- Cross-referencing two datasets to find correlations nobody has published
US equivalent: data.gov and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)
3. Statista (Free Tier)
Further Reading
URL: statista.com
Statista aggregates statistics from thousands of sources. The free tier gives you access to basic charts and reference statistics. You cannot download the full datasets, but you can use the numbers as starting points for your own analysis.
How we use it: Find a compelling statistic, then go to the original source for the full dataset. Statista is the index. The original source is where the story lives.
4. Reddit and Online Forums
Not a traditional “data source,” but hear me out.
Reddit threads and niche forums are real-time indicators of what consumers care about. A thread with 5,000 upvotes complaining about a specific problem is a data point. Subreddit growth rates, post frequency on specific topics, sentiment analysis of comment threads — all of this is quantifiable.
PR angle examples:
- “We analyzed 10,000 Reddit posts about [topic]. Here is what consumers actually think”
- “The top complaints in r/[subreddit] reveal a problem brands are ignoring”
This works particularly well for consumer-facing stories. Journalists love data that reflects real consumer sentiment, not corporate surveys.
5. Companies House
Every UK company files annual accounts publicly. You can analyze revenue trends, company formation rates by sector, director demographics, regional business density, and more.
PR angle examples:
- “New company registrations in [sector] have doubled since 2023”
- “The UK regions where businesses are growing fastest (and slowest)”
- Gender diversity in boardrooms: tracking progress by industry
US equivalent: SEC EDGAR filings (sec.gov/edgar)
6. Google Scholar + Academic Papers
URL: scholar.google.com
Academic research is a goldmine that most PR teams ignore. Researchers publish findings that are often newsworthy but never get media coverage because academics are not pitching journalists.
How to use it:
- Search for recent papers on a topic relevant to your industry
- Find the key statistic or finding that has a clear consumer angle
- Package it as a story with plain-language explanation
- Credit the researchers (they appreciate the coverage and may become repeat sources)
Some of the best PR stories are academic findings that nobody translated into language normal people can understand. Be the translator.
7. Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests
This one requires patience (responses take up to 20 working days in the UK), but it produces exclusive data that no one else has. That exclusivity is catnip for journalists.
You can submit FOI requests to any UK public body: NHS trusts, police forces, councils, government departments.
PR angle examples:
- “FOI data reveals NHS spending on [specific item] has increased X% in 5 years”
- “Council data shows the most and least common parking fine locations in every UK city”
Pro tip: Check WhatDoTheyKnow.com first. Someone may have already filed the same request, and the response is publicly visible.
8. Social Media APIs and Analytics
X (Twitter), TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube all have data you can analyze without paid tools:
- Hashtag volume and trends (free via platform search)
- Engagement rates on trending topics
- Follower growth patterns for brands or public figures
- Comment sentiment on viral posts
PR angle example: “We tracked every viral TikTok about [topic] in the last 6 months. Here is what they have in common.” Journalists covering social media trends eat this up.
9. Price Comparison and Review Sites
Sites like Trustpilot, Google Reviews, Glassdoor, and various price comparison tools contain massive amounts of structured data.
PR angle examples:
- “We analyzed 50,000 Trustpilot reviews in [industry]. The number one complaint might surprise you”
- “The most and least affordable cities for [product/service] based on 10,000 listings”
- “Glassdoor data reveals the industries with the happiest (and unhappiest) employees”
This type of consumer-centric data performs exceptionally well with lifestyle and business journalists.
10. Your Own Data
This is the most overlooked source of all. Your business generates data every day.
Ecommerce brands have:
- Sales data by product, region, and season
- Customer behavior patterns
- Search query data from your site
- Return rates and reasons
- Customer service inquiry patterns
Anonymize it, find the insight, and pitch it. “Our data from 50,000 orders shows that X” is incredibly powerful because nobody else has this data.
We worked with an ecommerce brand whose internal measurement data revealed surprising consumer preferences by country. That single dataset generated over 40 media placements across 6 countries.
How to Turn Raw Data Into a Pitchable Story
Having data is step one. Making it pitchable is where most people get stuck. Here is the framework:
- Find the surprise. What in this data contradicts common assumptions? That is your headline.
- Make it specific. “Housing costs are rising” is not a story. “This specific city saw a 47% rent increase in 18 months” is.
- Add a human element. Data tells you what. Add the why. Why does this matter to real people?
- Create a ranking or comparison. “Best and worst” lists, city rankings, and year-over-year comparisons are irresistible to journalists.
- Visualize it. A simple chart or table makes your data 10 times easier for a journalist to include in their article.
Need help turning data into placements? That is literally what we do. Send us your idea and we will tell you if it has legs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What data sources do PR agencies use for campaigns?
The best PR campaigns use publicly available data from government statistics offices (ONS, BLS, Eurostat), Google Trends for search interest data, freedom of information requests, and original surveys via free tools like Google Forms or Typeform. The key is finding an angle that makes existing data newsworthy.
Do I need to buy data for a digital PR campaign?
No. Most successful reactive PR campaigns use free, publicly available data. Government databases, academic research, Google Trends, social media analytics, and simple original surveys are more than enough to create compelling data-driven stories.
How do you turn raw data into a PR story?
Find a surprising or counterintuitive trend in the data. Tie it to a current news topic or seasonal trend. Present it in a format journalists can easily reference: a clear finding with supporting numbers, a quote from an expert, and visual assets if possible.
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About the Author
Salvador Jovells
Founder of Presslei. 12+ years in ecommerce SEO across international markets. After a decade of link buying for Hockerty and Sumissura, I reverse-engineered 5,272 earned media placements and founded a reactive PR agency that builds authority through data-driven stories journalists actually want to publish. Based in Zurich.
