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Survey Data for PR: How Cherry Data Signals Helped AMFM Earn Media Coverage

Original research gives journalists something new to report—and brands a reason to be part of the story.

By Cherry Data Signals · October 13, 2026 · Coverage snapshot: October 13, 2026

Editorial illustration of men in separate everyday settings, reflecting the study’s theme of loneliness.

Client: AMFM Mental Health Treatment
Research: Survey of 3,004 men across America
Status: Ongoing

A good digital PR campaign needs something worth reporting. For many brands, that means finding out something about their audience that nobody has published before.

That is where survey data for PR comes in. A well-planned survey can turn an everyday experience, a question or an overlooked problem into original research that journalists can use. It also gives the business commissioning it a source of statistics for its website, content marketing and expert commentary.

Our work with AMFM Mental Health Treatment is an example. Cherry Data Signals surveyed 3,004 men across America about loneliness, their support networks and the conversations they find difficult to have. AMFM published the research on its website, and the findings have since appeared in regional news reports and opinion coverage.

The campaign is ongoing. The coverage below is a snapshot as of October 13, 2026.

What is survey data for PR?

Survey data for PR is original research collected to support a newsworthy story. Instead of building a campaign around statistics that other organizations have already published, a brand commissions questions relevant to its audience and uses the findings to contribute something new.

For PR agencies, that might mean exploring consumer attitudes for a client campaign. For an in-house marketing team, it could mean gathering evidence around a problem their customers face. For an SEO team, it can provide the foundation for a research page that other websites have a reason to reference.

The questions matter as much as the topic. Useful digital PR surveys explore something people can answer from experience and produce findings that can be explained clearly. They should leave room for an unexpected result, rather than steering respondents toward a predetermined headline.

The AMFM study: original research about men’s loneliness

AMFM’s America’s Loneliest Men study explored connection in everyday life: who men could talk to, what made them hesitate to seek support and how work fit into the picture.

The published findings included:

20%said they had nobody to confide in about a personal problem.
41%said they had stayed at work longer than necessary because they did not want to return to an empty home.
20%said not wanting to burden someone would make them hesitate to talk about loneliness.

These findings give a familiar subject a more specific starting point. A journalist can write about the person who stays late at work or struggles to ask for help, with new research to support the story.

For AMFM, the subject is closely connected to its expertise. The study also includes commentary from Anand Mehta, LMFT, Executive Director at AMFM Mental Health Treatment, giving the client an opportunity to explain the findings.

How digital PR surveys create local news angles

Geographic findings can help a national survey become relevant to local publications. In this study, the top five states for reported regular loneliness among male respondents were:

Rank	State	Percentage
1	Louisiana	83%
2	Oklahoma	79%
3	Oregon	73%
4	Wisconsin	71%
5	Michigan	70%

These results were reported in the LongIsland.com coverage.

The local angle gives different newsrooms their own reason to cover the research. KOTA focused on South Dakota, MyNorthwest covered Washington, LongIsland.com addressed New York and NottinghamMD reported on Maryland.

This is one reason to plan the intended breakdowns before commissioning a survey. If local coverage is part of the brief, the research needs to collect the relevant location information and support the comparisons being made.

Media coverage from the AMFM survey campaign

The campaign’s coverage list includes:

Coverage as of October 13, 2026, including republished and syndicated appearances.

The range of coverage illustrates how one research project can support several editorial angles, from a local news report to a wider discussion of the issue.

Editorial illustration connecting survey conversations, research and local news.

Why commission original research for digital PR and SEO?

Give journalists a reason to cite your business

Journalists need information their readers will find useful or interesting. Original survey findings give them something they cannot get simply by reading another brand’s advice page.

When your business commissions and publishes that research, it becomes a source. In AMFM’s case, the brand is named in coverage of a subject directly related to its work, giving readers a relevant introduction to the organization.

Build a research page that can earn editorial links

A published study gives journalists somewhere to send readers who want the full findings. Both MyNorthwest’s news report and NottinghamMD’s article link to AMFM’s research.

That is a practical reason to include survey research in a digital PR and SEO strategy: it creates material other websites can reference. Links can also provide a route for interested readers to discover the business behind the study. Any effect on rankings, traffic or inquiries should be measured separately.

Put your experts into the conversation

Survey findings often raise questions that need interpretation. A spokesperson can explain what the results mean, where the limits are and why the subject matters.

MyNorthwest’s reporting includes commentary from AMFM’s Anand Mehta. For a mental health provider, this creates an opportunity to share relevant expertise within a story readers have chosen to engage with.

Create more material for content marketing

A survey can supply more than a press release. The findings can inform blog posts, newsletters, social content, presentations and expert Q&As.

For marketing teams, this makes original research for content marketing a useful investment in material they can return to. For a long-form example, see our AMFM white paper case study. Different findings can support different pieces of content while linking back to the same source study.

Survey research for PR agencies and marketing teams

Cherry Data Signals provides original survey data and research content for brands, PR agencies and marketing teams. You can commission research to support a campaign you are already developing, or discuss a subject you want to explore before deciding what to ask.

For a survey brief, useful starting points include:

The audience: whose opinions or experiences would make the findings relevant?
The subject: what would your customers, readers or target publications want to understand?
The breakdowns: do you need comparisons by location, age or another relevant characteristic?
The output: will the research support media outreach, a website study, content marketing or several of these?

The AMFM campaign shows what this can look like in practice: original survey research, a published client resource and media coverage built around the findings.

Looking for survey data for your next PR campaign?

Whether you need original statistics for a press release or a more substantial research article for your website, Cherry Data Signals can help you develop the research behind it.

Tell us who you want to reach and what you want to find out, and we can help shape a practical research brief.

Discuss a survey idea