Versta Research will be presenting with Wells Fargo at the upcoming 2015 Corporate Researchers Conference (CRC) sponsored by the Marketing Research Association (MRA) in St. Louis. The session, entitled Finding Stories: How Wells Fargo Built a PR Research Platform to Quadruple Its Earned Media will feature a 40-minute talk by Joseph Hopper, president of Versta Research, along with Roxanne Gray, vice president and market research manager at Wells Fargo.

“I’m really happy to be presenting at the Corporate Researchers Conference, in particular because I’ve learned so much from corporate-side researchers at this annual conference in previous years,” said Hopper. “It has truly helped us evolve our work. I hope our research team and collaboration with Wells Fargo can give back to the CRC as much as I have gained.”

In the months leading up to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, Wells Fargo worked with Versta Research on a national survey of LGBT Americans. The goal was to understand how changes in marriage laws were affecting their decisions about money and marriage, parallel to the work that Wells Fargo did with Versta Research in 2014.

The presentation will highlight three key takeaways from the success of the research:

(1) Change means opportunity. The research documented a real and compelling need for guidance, which is an ideal opportunity for Wells Fargo to reinforce its offerings and position itself as the leading financial voice to the LBGT community.

(2) Timing is everything, with the research storylines capturing intense media and public interest because the findings were released to coincide with an historic Supreme Court decision.

(3) The story matters most. A story-building methodology was used to create a compelling narrative that formed the backbone for business deliverables: story-rich press releases and fact sheets, infographics for social media, and detailed presentation decks for business units.

The presentation is scheduled for Monday, October 5 from 4:00pm to 4:40pm. Additional information about the survey findings are available from Wells Fargo.