What Henry V can teach us about persuading clients to abandon old-fashioned measurement models 

Earlier this year, the AMEC Agency Group launched ‘Common Ground’, an initiative to encourage dialogue within the PR and communications agency community, so that we might learn from each other and enhance the quality of measurement and evaluation throughout our profession.

Great. But as a former boss of mine used to say, “Working in a PR agency would be fine if it weren’t for the clients”. Or, as another grand dame of PR would have it (and it’s a phrase I have been known to repeat), “We can only be as good as our clients allow us to be”.

In terms of measurement, what means is that we can only apply the evaluation models with which our clients are comfortable, and in which they are happy to invest.

Even today, I hear clients ask why we don’t use AVEs anymore; or ask to see total reach numbers; or some other question that demonstrates a weddedness to old-fashioned or outmoded metrics.

I don’t propose re-hashing the argument against such metrics here, since my friend and colleague Jonny Bentwood of Golin laid it out so succinctly earlier this month – and AMEC chair, Richard Bagnall provided the definitive guide to why we should all say no to AVEs. And to complement this, another professional I admire, H+K’s Allison Spray suggested five behavioural nudges to drive culture change and embed better practices within an organization.

But let’s get down to brass tacks. The moment will come when you’re sitting across a table from a client whom you have to convince to do things differently. How do you do it?

The Five I’s

Let’s start by thinking about the barriers. Why would any client not want to find new and better ways of evaluating their work? Strange as it may seem, there are plenty of reasons, which I’ve summarized here as The Five I’s:

1. Inertia: Maybe your client doesn’t want to change, because it’s just too much trouble. They’ve been doing things in a certain way and don’t want to change – or if they do, are reluctant to follow through because they know how much work it could entail
2. Inability: Different from inertia, what we mean here is an inability to grasp the concept that there are better and different ways of measuring success
3. Incentives: It remains the case that some clients, particularly those who have been in post a long time, are actually incentivized by old-fashioned metrics; that is to say, their annual bonus is dependent on their department achieving a certain AVE, or number of media impressions
4. Impotence: These are clients who lack ‘clout’ within their organization, and who, even if they accept the premise that things need to change, would struggle to bring it about
5. Insufficient funding: Effective evaluation does not come cheap, and many clients are (understandably) reluctant to invest a chunk of their already limited budget in this area, when it could be going towards execution

These are all real barriers that we must find ways of overcoming. And some are certainly easier than others. I don’t profess to have all the answers, but for what it’s worth, I offer up a few tips here:

1. Figure out which type of client you have: Before you can start even to think about offering solutions, you need to understand the problem. And the problem we are talking about here is not ‘what and how should I evaluate?’(I’m assuming you can figure that out, with AMEC’s help); the question is: ‘What is stopping my client from abandoning old-fashioned models and metrics and embracing something better’? Chances are, it is one or more of The Five I’s, noted above. It might also be helpful to see if your client lines up with one of the six archetypes I identified in this year’s (free) Measurement Month e-book, from ‘The Prisoner of the Past’ to ‘The Well-Intentioned’. Once you have that figured out, it will help you…
2. Ask the right questions: Most PR consultants are familiar with the concept of ‘consultative selling’, even if we do not always practice it. Consultative selling requires asking the right questions, and actually listening to the answers (an area in which many PRs fall short!). Some questions you might ask include: How important is measurement to your organization? How is the PR function viewed by the C-suite? Does the way we measure our results compare favourably with the way other functions evaluate? What’s one thing we could do to improve the way we evaluate? What you are trying to achieve is to make your clients appreciate that (a) they are doing themselves a disservice by sticking to the old ways; and (b) that change can be brought about in increments – it does not necessarily require a ‘great leap forward’. We need top arm our clients with the arguments they need to make the case internally. And to do this you need to…
3. Have your clients imagine the outcomes: This is where Henry V comes in. In Shakespeare’s play, on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, which fell on St Crispin’s Day, Henry V rallies his vastly outnumbered troops by having them imagine what victory would feel like:

This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.”
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. 

OK, we are not going into battle, but the potential rewards for our clients of getting the question of measurement and evaluation right are also very real:

• Better, more effective campaigns: If we can figure out what works best and why, we can do more of that and less of the other stuff. Who doesn’t want their campaigns to be more effective?
• Bigger budgets: There is a saying that ‘what gets measured gets done’. Well it’s also true that ‘what gets measured gets budget’. If your client can prove their success, they will protect and may even grow their budget. Good for clients, good for agencies, too!
• Win more awards: I judge a lot of awards and let me tell you, I don’t care how creative your campaign is – if you can’t demonstrate that it worked, you’re not going to win
• Kudos and credibility: In-house it can be a jungle, and our clients need to survive in an environment where budgets are tight and scrutiny intense. A PR campaign that not only works but can be proven to do so is going to gain the admiration of colleagues from the CEO down

If you’re reading this post, it’s because you care about measurement and evaluation. And that’s great. We have the power to make a difference – “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers [and sisters]”.

No-one ever got fired for trying to make things better. So let’s start the conversation.

Jon Meakin is Grayling’s global head of strategic services, and chair of AMEC’s agency group.