How to Make Your Next Report Newsworthy

Publishing original data is one of the most effective ways to build thought leadership. When your company becomes a trusted source of industry insights, people start to reference your findings and look to you for trends, perspective and solutions.

That credibility grows even stronger when your data is cited by the media. And in the era of AI Search, data reports and media mentions have a sizable impact on your brand’s discoverability.

Brands pour time and resources into market research, uncovering valuable insights on consumer behavior, industry shifts and emerging trends. Yet, interesting data doesn’t always equate to news coverage.

Over the years, Belle’s strategists have pinpointed exactly what data stands out to journalists.

Let’s break down what makes data headline-worthy, so you can strategize future research topics and survey questions to deliver findings primed for news coverage.

Data-driven PR Best Practices + 7 Examples of Newsworthy Reports

Point blank, for your data to be newsworthy, it must be credible and have a compelling story. It must spark conversation and highlight impact. It needs to be either timely, unique or bold and should be tied to a larger initiative.

Data-driven PR SHOULD be timely.

Ensure you can answer “Why now?” Your data must give media urgency to share the information.

Does your research tie into impacts or sentiment around recent or looming legislation? Does it relate to an emerging industry trend? If your data can “newsjack” and provide insight into something the media is actively interested in, you are more likely to catch their attention.

Additionally, tap into thrive-able calendar moments. Release your data alongside topics or holidays that are typically covered at a certain time of year, giving reporters insights to fuel their pre-planned coverage.

Example #1: As AI Search habits picked up speed and confusion grew, Semrush saw an opportunity to release data that provided the digital marketing industry with insights and guidance. It quickly conducted a study to find out how AI Search could impact SEO industry traffic and revenue over the coming years. As marketers at large sought to gain an understanding of what was next, Semrush’s data was reported on heavily in trade and national media outlets like MarTech, Business Insider and Exploding Topics.

Data-driven PR SHOULD be unique.

Journalists get pitched a lot of data. Unfortunately, those findings are often over-reported, recycled or surface-level. There is now an emphasis on uncovering the “magic number”—a unique data point that crystallizes a story and sets it apart from routine coverage

Adweek shares that, “As more companies embrace trend reports as a marketing tool, the competition for people’s time and attention increases. The importance of producing unique and interesting thought leadership packaged in a compelling manner, therefore, also grows. The problem is that many companies aren’t doing that. The result is a sea of sameness. An ocean of overlap.”

Be sure what you’re spending time on to uncover hasn’t already been reported. Does your data shine a light on an underrepresented consumer segment? Can it offer a fresh angle on a well-worn topic? Can you talk about a known issue in a new way? Be brutally honest about its originality.

Example #2: San Francisco’s Transportation Authority studied Uber and Lyft data to illustrate the story behind supply and demand issues for wheelchair-accessible vehicles. The previously underreported issue was highlighted across local news and national outlets like NPR, even fueling further conversation on platforms like Reddit.

Data-driven PR SHOULD be bold, quirky or controversial.

If your insights feel too safe, they probably won’t make headlines. Journalists are looking for stories with teeth—data that sparks debate, flips the narrative, or uncovers the unexpected. The best data doesn’t just validate what we already know; it makes people raise an eyebrow, lean in, and say, “Wait, really?”

Media thrives on tension. Editors aren’t just curating information; they’re curating intrigue. Press-worthy insights create a moment of cognitive friction. They unsettle assumptions, reveal blind spots or put a surprising twist on a familiar topic. This is where your data becomes more than a statistic, but a story.

Go beyond the obvious. What hot take can your data credibly support? Is there a quirky, under-reported trend that bucks the industry norm? Can you expose a disconnect between what consumers say and what they actually do?

Don’t be afraid to push the envelope as long as it’s grounded in truth and doesn’t pose a reputational risk. Bold data doesn’t mean sensationalism. It means digging deep enough to uncover something real, nuanced and compelling enough to command attention.

Example #3: GrubHub examined the aggregate ordering patterns of customers across nearly 200 congressional districts and found that Democrats and Republicans eat differently. The unique story sparked discussion in outlets like Time and Forbes about dishes with the strongest political affinities, inserting the food ordering platform into unexpected headlines.

Data-driven PR SHOULD be multidimensional.

Don’t rely on just one finding or a general report release. While a single announcement around report availability may result in some news coverage, hand-picking storylines that dive into specific findings and delivering those to the best-fit reporters can result in more meaningful hits.

Get longevity from your research by doing the extra work to package up what will be most interesting to specific outlets. Don’t just pitch the report title or rely on your press release to get picked up.

Example #4: When Belle’s client Rubix Foods released its NEXT Flavor Report, it earned headlines across outlets, diving into multiple angles, like new flower/floral flavors, the rise of “swalty” and Gen Z fast food preferences. Packed full of interesting findings, we pulled out the data and hand-delivered it so no story went unheard. See the case study here.

Data-driven PR SHOULD be presented in a compelling way.

Data reports—particularly trend reports—should be exciting. Yet, these marketing pieces often look and feel like everything else on the Internet.

When Codeword examined 150 future-forecasting research papers, it found heaps of monotony. 66 percent of trend reports were available as PDFs, another 24 percent appeared on static webpages, only 10 percent reached readers through an interactive webpage, and just 8 percent included motion or video.

Codeword reports that trend reports tend to be lengthy, averaging 29 pages and almost 7,000 words. For some perspective, that’s the equivalent of reading the entire U.S. Constitution and the first 21 amendments. You can’t expect audiences to consume that, even if it’s highly interesting.

Instead, make the information snackable. Get creative with things like infographics, highly visual social images, short-form video or interactive sites. Similar to identifying multiple stories in your data, find multiple ways to present information and make it shareable.

Example #5: When Talker Research and Tabasco released data about how America spices up its pizza, they not only provided widespread trends, but also state-specific data. This made for a compelling infographic that highlighted regional preferences for popular pizza toppings and provided media like NYPost and Newsweek with shareable assets.

Bonus tip: Package up your data in a linkable (and trackable) asset for easier sharing with the media, rather than sending an attached PDF or image.

Data-driven PR SHOULDN’T be overly focused on your brand.

Your brand can be the source, but it shouldn’t be the story. If your insights only serve your brand, they won’t serve the media. When brands pitch hyper-specific stats that only apply to their own customer base or product ecosystem, the result often reads as self-promotion, not storytelling.

Instead, aim for trends that transcend your brand. Ask yourself: Would this insight still be interesting if our name weren’t attached to it? Does it speak to a larger cultural, consumer or category trend? Can it inform thinking across the broader industry, not just within our business?

If you’re pulling data from your own company—whether that’s user behavior, purchasing trends or social listening—context is everything. Don’t just say what your customers are doing. Frame the insight in a way that reveals emerging industry preferences, generational shifts or market gaps.

For example, instead of, “75% of our users prefer X,” reframe it as: “New data shows a sharp rise in X among [generation or region] consumers—hinting at a broader shift in values around [industry topic].” That’s the kind of hook that editors can work with and readers can see themselves in.

Example #6: The payment processor Toast dug into its user data to uncover tipping levels by state. Its findings were included in national news outlets like Axios, Marketplace, CBS News and The Independent to inform national conversations about wage laws and cultural influences. The findings transcended Toast itself to hit on larger tipping culture debates and legislation.

BONUS: Data SHOULD be tied to more than just PR.

Aim to pull your data across your entire paid, earned, shared and owned (PESO) marketing mix. Does your data relate to a larger marketing initiative, like a product launch or limited-time offer? Can it help sales teams jump-start conversations and prove credibility or pain points?

Example #7: If you are a bakery supplier and your sales data shows a 47% YoY increase in mini artisan loaf orders from hospital systems and senior living kitchens, strategize how that data point can fuel a full campaign.

Develop a report about “The Rise of Portion-Smart Comfort Foods in Healthcare Foodservice”
Go further with the data in your report, such as breaking down sales by state, flavor or facility type
Include supportive third-party data, such as insights into trends related to demand for comfort food, portion control and senior health
Release your report alongside a new line of individually packaged artisan breads
Even better, partner with an influential chef or dietitian to develop and release the new products
Pursue earned media interviews and bylines about the new product and the trends driving a change in preferences
Run a promotion, like free samples for your mini product line
Publish multiple blogs that expand on the operational impacts this shift in orders will have on your customers, providing actionable advice
Launch targeted LinkedIn ads to healthcare FSDs, linking to a hub with downloadable sample kit offers, the report, testimonials, media coverage and content assets
Provide sales teams with a report recap that includes conversation starters for the main findings and impacts
Provide employees with pre-drafted copy and images they can use to share the report, content and promotions on their own channels

Maximize relevance. It’s not about data for data’s sake, it’s about making insights actionable, relatable and shareable. Data not only earns media attention, but findings can sustain momentum across the entire business.

Newsworthy Data, Trend Reports + Thought Leadership

Data can be your brand’s most powerful storytelling tool, but only if it’s boldly crafted with intention, relevance and resonance. In today’s saturated media environment, interesting isn’t enough. Your data needs to be newsworthy.

That means thinking beyond the numbers, asking the right questions and framing your findings around tension, timing and truth. It means packaging insights in a way that’s digestible and distinctive—and always keeping your audience (and the editor) in mind.