Full Guide to Measurement

ABOUT THIS GUIDE


Our aim is to encourage more PR professionals, working in consultancy and in-house, to regard PR measurement as an everyday part of what they do. This Guide is an everyday practical desktop reference source for PR professionals to demonstrate the value and importance of measurement.

AMEC is the fast-growing global trade body and professional institute for agencies and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research.

Find out more at amecorg.com

PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams, PR freelancers and individuals. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations.

Find out more at prca.org.uk

PRCA MENA

PRCA MENA is the professional body that represents PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and individuals across Middle East and North Africa. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations.

Find out more at prca.mena.global

ICCO is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations, agencies and networks in 55 countries across the globe.

Find out more at iccopr.com

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Chapter 1


Measurement is the final ingredient to help PR realise its potential


Francis Ingham and Richard Bagnall

Chapter1

The PR and Communications industry stands at a pivotal point. For more than a decade, it has grown every year, and grown in every region of the world. It is now an integral part of every organisation’s operation. And it has ridden the wave of marketing integration with great success.

For it to achieve its absolutely full potential, the industry needs to add just one more ingredient -it needs robustly and constantly to prove its value. Nobody serious any longer doubts the importance of evaluation. But sometimes it’s an afterthought. And sometimes it’s considered too complicated.

Francis Ingham TweetThis third version of the AMEC, ICCO and PRCA PR Practitioner’s Guide to Measurement takes away any last excuses for NOT putting evaluation at the heart of every piece of work. It’s practical, not theoretical. It’s accessible. And crucially, it’s highly international.

This publication draws on the enormous strength of the decade-old partnership between AMEC, ICCO, and the PRCA. Collaboration between the world’s largest media intelligence and insights professional organisation; the world’s largest body of PR agencies; and the largest professional body for PR and communications practitioners in EMENA gives us breadth, depth, and clout.

Measurement and evaluation is an imperative that transcends borders and specialisms. By addressing it internationally as we do here, we can help set common standards and expectations across the roughly hundred countries in which we operate.

Our thanks to all the contributors whose work is profiled here. And our even deeper thanks to those who have worked so tirelessly over the years to drive forward our shared agenda of modernisation and professionalism.

Every article and piece of advice here deserves attention. Each different perspective makes its own contribution to our shared store of evaluation and measurement knowledge. So -enjoy the publication. And -in the spirit that lies behind this whole area of work- do let us know what you think of our output!

Francis and Richard’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Start with the end in mind! When planning your campaign activity set measurable goals, targets and KPI metrics.
  2. Measure holistically across the PESO channels. AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework is a free to use resource in 17 languages makes this easy. Use it!
  3. PR and communications measurement must move beyond purely content analysis. Demonstrate outtakes and outcomes as well as the organisational impact of your work.

Francis Ingham

Francis Ingham

PRCA Director General and ICCO Chief Executive

TWITTER: @PRCAIngham

Richard Bagnall

AMEC Chair and Global Strategy Consultant, Prime Research

TWITTER: @richardbagnall

Chapter 2


Why measurement matters and how it underscores the value of what you do


Elise Mitchell, APR, Fellow PRSA

Chapter2

“What gets measured, gets done.”

Peter Drucker’s well known quote underscores the importance of metrics. More than just tracking something, measurement is an essential part of the overall communication process. In fact, I can’t imagine how a public relations initiative today can succeed without measurement — if for no other reason than if you don’t measure it, you can’t truly know it was successful.

Thanks to the impact of technology, greater access to data, and an increasingly digitally-centric world, the practice of public relations continues to evolve dramatically. Measurement has evolved as well, and there are many new tools and techniques that allow us to be more innovative when evaluating our work.

Yet some professionals still do not adequately measure their work, or they rely upon outdated measurement practices. Certainly there are obstacles that can make measurement challenging such as cost, lack of time, and confusion about what to measure.

But there are far more compelling reasons for why measurement must be an integral part of your work and, importantly, how it can underscore the value of what you do. Measurement can:

Increase your chances of success

Measurement done well begins with the end in mind. Regardless of budget or scope, you must identify from the start what you’re trying to achieve. Know what a win looks like for your client or your organization.

Whether it’s driving sales, improving customer service scores or increasing engagement, start there and work backwards to set your measurement objectives. In this way, measurement can help shape the campaign, guide the creative, and increase your chances of success.

Underscore your value

Not only can it shape what you do, but measurement can underscore the value of public relations in ways even the most creative of strategies cannot.

Just a few years ago, I served on the Cannes Lions PR Jury. Despite being a global group (21 jury members from 20 countries) with wildly diverse perspectives, there was quick and unanimous agreement from the get-go that no entry, no matter how creative, would even be considered as a contender for a Lion without solid metrics.

Nothing can compare with results. It’s up to you to ensure you have the tools and practices in place that can measure the things that matter most and show your impact on the business.

Bolster the agency/client relationship

Agency professionals understand they have to demonstrate results. Clients need to know what their return on investment is for individual campaigns as well as for the overall agency/client relationship. With procurement playing a greater role in selecting and evaluating agencies, measurement continues to be a crucial part of the equation.

A solid approach to metrics undoubtedly bolsters the agency/client relationship. You can make measurement a priority in agency/client conversations, especially when budgeting. Ensure both parties agree on what should be measured and how often. Then establish regular progress reports to track campaign success.

Leverage data

More and better data is available all the time to paint a clearer picture of tactics effectiveness. For example, using Bitly links in your content allows you to track click-through rates (CTR) to a website. In this way you can see what messages resonate with certain audiences, or what distribution channels drive more traffic.

Enable more integrated work

Many of the campaigns designed and implemented by public relations firms today utilize a variety of channels and platforms and include the full spectrum of earned, owned, shared and paid media.

The breadth of measurement tools and techniques available supports fully integrated campaigns. I particularly like AMEC’s new integrated measurement framework to measure a broad range of outputs, out-takes, outcomes and impact.

Drive collaboration

As public relations expands its offerings, its impact on the communications mix has broadened, too. Collaboration is critical for sharing learnings and understanding how consumers are engaging with a brand. Particularly agency partners working on behalf of a client must get behind the strategies that are working. Measurement drives that conversation.

Empower you to try new things

Measurement offers continuous learning opportunities, allowing you to try new things and clarify which strategies are working and which aren’t. For example, if you want to reach Gen Z and have never tried Spotify, you can design a pilot and see what works. As you test and learn, you can push where you find traction and scale from there.

Enable the business to evolve

As the marketplace changes, your work and your measurement practices must change, too. You need to prepare yourself to use and evaluate new technology such as artificial intelligence and immersive experiences such as VR/AR. These are becoming increasingly popular in sectors such as retail, where e-commerce continues to grow.

Similarly, mobile offers many opportunities to innovate. Mobile continues to dominate consumers’ digital time. Whether it’s researching, networking, price-checking or planning a trip, consumers are turning to mobile devices and apps to enhance and manage their lives. You need a portfolio of measurement practices to support emerging technology and digital-first tactics.

You must also commit to investing in specialized hires that can sell in measurement up front and drive analytical use and benefit on the back end. Many agencies are creating positions for data scientists to deliver this expertise to clients today and create new data-driven products and services for the future.

Capture insights about engagement

With the growth of digital, the days of evaluating a campaign’s success only on “exposure” are past. Engagement matters significantly now, among many other outtakes and outcomes. It’s important to use measurement to more fully understand how consumers are engaging with your content. You can go far deeper with the right metrics to clarify things like:

  • cost per engagement
  • how much of your site users are accessing
  • type of content that is accessed the most
  • conversion and/or abandonment
  • emotional response to content delivered
  • how often they are lingering on different pages
  • whether certain channels and platforms are delivering the level of engagement you had planned.

Support the long view

We all know truly strategic communication is a marathon, not a sprint. A three-week campaign doesn’t solve a real business problem. But sometimes you need to convince a client or another decision-maker of the value of a sustained investment.

Good measurement supports the long view. By capturing meaningful metrics such as year-over-year sales or perception change, you can show how the right messages delivered to the right consumers at the right time can make a business impact.

There are many compelling reasons for why measurement must be an integral part of your work. Commit to developing a strong portfolio of consistent and credible measurement practices. Not only will these help you tell your measurement story, but they will underscore the value of what you do.

Elise’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Measurement is evolving. There are many new tools and techniques driving innovation in public relations.
  2. Nothing can compare with results. Show your impact on the business by measuring what matters most.
  3. Consistent and credible measurement practices underscore your value and enable you to tell your measurement story.

Elise Mitchell

President, ICCO. APR, Fellow PRSA. CEO, Mitchell. CEO, Dentsu Aegis Public Relations Network.

Chapter 3


Getting started! How to create a measurement culture in your company


Giles Peddy

Chapter2

“We are getting great results, coverage has increased, more social engagement. All good!” says the manager.

“Yup, but management have pulled the budget,” is the blunt response from the director.

“I don’t understand, the results are so good?”

“They could not see a tangible business outcome from it. No awareness, advocacy, adoption or demand metrics to show what we actually had achieved.”

This conversation happens all too often, and why great measurement really matters. Unless you can show real, tangible business outcomes, linked to clear objectives, the results lack meaning or value. Whether agency or in-house, being unable to demonstrate the impact always puts the budget in jeopardy.

Changing landscape

When I started my career, it was all about press clippings and Advertising Equivalent (AVE) was a staple of client reports and metrics. Ensuring there was a thud factor from the clippings book landing on the coffee table was the cornerstone of the account executives job.

The rise of social media, mobile, new technology and changing social dynamics has seen the measures of success change. This is probably highlighted by the fact I don’t see as many press clipping books on reception coffee tables as I used too. I see more show reels on reception TVs, and mini iPads with dashboards showing visually appealing media coverage, social content, video and gamification tools.

There is no doubt that to justify marketing and comms budgets, being ‘data smart’ is now an imperative. This means ‘breaking bad measurement’ practices, including no longer accepting AVEs. It means a shift in approach, mindset and culture.

The four forces driving the measurement agenda

To drive a measurement culture, we must recognize the four forces at play.

  • Myth busting. Ask your team if they think measurement is boring and the majority will say yes. Ask them whether through their work increasing sales demand, share of voice, brand advocacy, or reputation is boring, and they will say no. We must end the idea that measurement is boring. It’s the opposite. It’s why we do what we do. It’s why we get out of bed. Sure, creativity is great, but as David Ogilvy said, ‘We sell or else’.
  • Integrated marketing but… The second change is that while everyone is talking about integrated marketing, illustrated by the PESO model, it lacks a fundamental core, and that is measurement. Surely if we are delivering integrated work it’s for a measurable objective. So why don’t these models include it?
  • Evaluation is not measurement. Most comms professionals use a traditional approach of strategy, creative, tactics, report and evaluate. In doing so they conflate evaluation with measurement. However, measurement is about what you want to achieve, and what your business and communication objectives are. Evaluation should be the analysis of whether you achieved these objectives. It’s important to recognize the difference and put measurement front and center. Doing so reframes the strategy and solution being presented to the client. It changes how you plan a campaign, as well as improve the way you manage it. This is why the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework (IEF) is so good – it enables you to better plan, manage and measure.
  • Top table. If comms wants to sit at the top table it must be focused on measuring business outcomes. If it’s still showing vanity metrics such as AVE then it does not deserve a seat. If it’s demonstrating reputational change, policy influence, shifts in brand awareness and demand generation, then the conversations are strategic and merit a place in the boardroom.

The art of storytelling for measurement

Journalists around the world will know ‘Six Honest Serving Men’ by Rudyard Kipling. It is a poem about the art of storytelling. Indeed, the first paragraph is ‘I had six honest serving men. They taught me all I knew. Their names were: where, what when, why, how and who.”

If we think about it then ‘Six Honest Serving Men’ also applies to measurement. What are we trying to do and why? To whom? When? Where? And how? These are the fundamentals of measurement and when using the AMEC IEF, it becomes clear.

Embedding measurement into the culture

If we recognize its value, and understand it can underpin the way you plan and manage campaigns, then its importance is immediately elevated. But I also believe that embedding measurement into a culture starts with being able to answer a very simple question.

“What impact will the communications programme have on my organization?”

I am asked regularly by MDs, CEOs and CMOs this very question. Ultimately if I cannot show value and tangible impact, our work lacks meaning, and the conversation I started this chapter with becomes a reality.

To embed measurement fully, it must sit at the heart of what you do. It needs supporting through training, evangelists and a measurement mindset. It needs a clear framework to anchor it such as the AMEC IEF. And it will need either access or investment in tools from social intelligence and web analytics, to CRM and media monitoring.

Measurement is fun, insightful and incredibly valuable. It is not reporting vanity metrics. It’s strategic. It sets the agenda, and guides you to success.

Make the change now in your approach and appreciation of measurement, it will be worth it.

Giles’ Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Measurement is not Evaluation – put measurement at the start of your thinking to drive the plan, strategy and tactics, then evaluate your success.
  2. Mindset shift – recognise that measuring business impact is what CEOs, CMOs want to know. Not how big is the clippings book.
  3. Data smart – for true measurement, you must embrace a data smart approach.

Giles Peddy

SVP EMEA Operations and UK MD, Lewis

Chapter 4


How using relevant data makes you a winner


Jon Hughes

Chapter 4

It’s a common misconception that the greatest campaigns succeed solely because of creative intuition. Creativity is an essential ingredient but without sound intelligence, the most imaginative ideas will fall flat.

What is truly disruptive is that the science of data has now become far easier to access. No longer the realm of nerds, the world of insight has become available to all. For too long, I fear that we have over-indexed on creativity and that we need to bring to the front the value of data-driven intelligence. When art is combined with science and decisions based based on instinct are rejected, then we will create winning programmes.

The leaders in the industry concur. This year at Cannes everyone was talking about data. It is clear that a winning formula has to take insight just as strongly as creativity.

It may not be glamourous, but data is the new currency. If we were to look back 10 years from now and identify the biggest disruptor to business then it’s not going to be bitcoin. It’s data. Lots of it.

The term big data has been thrown around so much that people are avoiding saying it. Speech writers have mined every synonym for the term as they don’t want to be associated with a phrase that has not lived up to the hype. However, if you look at what all the big players in communications are doing – there is one consistent truth. Data is now a strategic pillar as important as any other central tenet and using it well is critical to winning.

According to an ExchangeWire and Weborama study, more than two-thirds of European brands, agencies and publishers now use a data management platform (DMP) to look after their data, and this is set to increase to 92% in 2018. Gartner believe that 90% of large organisations will have a Chief Data Officer role by 2019.

Technology has finally caught up and can enable us to provide the intelligence that counts. Rocket science is now available to the masses but without knowing what to do with it, it can be an expensive mess. Data without relevance is as useful as a chocolate teapot. Context is critical as without it, accurate analysis cannot be datstarted and the wrong decisions will be made costing brands vast amounts.

There are six key reasons why a compelling relevant data strategy will provide winning results.

Understand the most profitable customers and their journey
How much time and money is wasted focussing campaigns on the wrong people or at the wrong time? Accurately understanding the wealth of customer data helps brands understand who to target now and in the future, what to say and when to say it and critically develop bespoke strategies to make them loyal.

If brands don’t listen to their customers, then it will hurt them where it counts – the bottom line
It is easy for customers to provide feedback to brands on their experience. Whether it’s ranting on Facebook, commenting on TripAdvisor or reviewing on Amazon – the feedback loop is direct and customers now expect the brands they purchase from to listen, understand and react quickly.

For example, if an airline sees on Twitter that there is a flight delay and they offer to help with a free drink, it shows that they are listening and they care. Failing to respond has made our fickle consumers move on but fortunately, adherence has made them more loyal than ever, directly impacting sales.

Real time is clichéd, too slow and expensive – value is being predictive
Using data to react to an issue is great but costly. The approach should be identifying the crisis before it happens and averting it, or being aware of the story to newsjack before it goes viral. Value comes from predicting the relevant issues and stories in advance of the mainstream and acting upon it.

Business transformation is not thinking in terms of ‘mobile’ but being data-driven
Mobility is expected. Devices are ubiquitous. Brands instead should think about the different scenarios in which people operate and tailor their interactions via data insights to complement it.

Customers don’t care how difficult it is to be data-driven, they just want relevant information fed to them
Getting and acting on data isn’t as simple as it sounds. Those companies using cloud-based software are able to get much richer data and understanding of customers than their larger counterparts whose legacy systems may not talk to each other. Consumers don’t care; they don’t want to know about the planned IT overhaul in the siloed systems that can’t communicate with each other – they simply expect brands to communicate directly to them in a way that is relevant.

Data brings agility in communications and makes people accountable
Data enables measurement to come to every stage of a brands campaign. Being data-driven will allow agility in communications and bring measurement to every stage of the process from goal setting, campaign adjustments to evaluation. Data forces teams to focus their approach on actions that will deliver a strong measureable impact.

The summary is simple. If you want to be competitive – invest in data and do it now.  And if this is something you’re keen to do, then here are my Three Top Recommendations to help you get started:

Jon’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Make data accessible and not limited to the analysts by investing in easy-to-use technology that is capable of providing immediate insight.
  2. Ensure data is an enabler, not an end in itself. Use it to measure, use it to identify the right targets, use it to determine what story to tell, and then marry this with creativity. The two must work together if you are to win.
  3. Work with a technology partner and do not try to build it yourself as your focus is on using the information. Otherwise you will forever be chasing technology instead of doing what you specialise in – which is brand communications.

Jon Hughes

CEO, GOLIN

Chapter 5


Measuring PR performance across borders


Antoine Harary

Chapter 5

Welcome to the “fix and flex” age of PR measurement: Overcoming the complexity of measurement across multiple markets, and avoiding the perils of overly standardized solutions.

PR executives and marketers have a dream: accurately demonstrating the value their work brings to their organization. The dream involves being able to base their requests for funding, resources, and license to decide and execute on hard, un-challengeable, rational metrics and data.

As the global leader of a consultancy that holds measurement of integrated communications and marketing as one of its core reasons for being, I have an obligation to help our clients reach this ideal.

It starts by listening to their needs. What would expand the impact they can have on their organization’s business and performance? What would truly make their job easier?

Each company is unique. Yet it is striking to see that the needs expressed by communication and PR leaders in terms of data and analytics ladder up to four macro questions:

  • How can you help me design and optimize my strategy based on proper insights and data?
  • How can you help me manage my teams and investment better and smarter?
  • How can you help me predict and anticipate the impact of my campaigns?
  • And the most important of all, how can you help me demonstrate the value I bring to my organization?

All these questions can be answered with the right combination of research, media analytics and data sciences, but there is one overarching element that is needed for the answers to cross borders of markets or business units: a genuine communications measurement framework.

What is a measurement framework? For us, it is a set of research, analytics and reporting protocols, allowing its users to showcase how PR is driving a change. The change must align with the strategic objectives from the organization in a rational, structured and dynamic way.

It is not a collection of measurement tools or initiatives. It is a systematic and conscious articulation of the data a company collects to manage its communication performance; continuously helping leaders allocate their resources, monitor progress, optimize campaigns, demonstrate impact and provide insights to do better the next time.

It’s nothing less than the Communication version of the classic Continuous Improvement or PDCA wheel of Deming, one of the fathers of quality management. Source: Deming, W.E., 1950. Elementary Principles of the Statistical Control of Quality, JUSE]

There are many ways to build this type of framework. Many of them are good, if they are engineered and maintained by qualified professionals. Nonetheless, it is fair to say that very few organizations manage to avoid the pitfalls of the exercise, especially when attempting to build a framework that would operate across borders.

We have developed clear convictions through our consulting for clients operating in a multi-market reality, often doubled in complexity by the multi-brand, multi-business unit nature of their operations.

1/ Don’t confuse abundance of data points with the quality of the decision they enable.

Data has never been as cheap to collect, abundant, fast growing and diverse as it is today. The abundance of data is not the problem. Yes, PR measurement frameworks should absolutely synthesize higher and higher volumes of big and smart data, but we must keep it actionable and operational. We need to be able to articulate the right metrics in a way that makes sense, and truly empower decision making.

2/ Don’t buy into the tech-only measurement promise: maintain a healthy level of skepticism. Automation and algorithms should augment the human critical thinking that only true expertise can bring.

Automation, technology (and increasingly artificial intelligence and machine learning) offer measurement professionals unprecedented opportunities to collect, compute and interpret data in a way that would have been unthinkable even a couple of years ago. In parallel with the development and democratization of these technologies many agencies and consultancies have developed offerings that offer the promise of a fully automated and technology powered measurement index, score, quotient or other mechanism. They claim that they can be adapted to most businesses and organizations willing to evaluate the impact of their communications.

In our experience, this is a dangerous promise. Firstly, because only the human mind can fully interpret the results gathered in how they apply to the context and objectives of a campaign or initiative. Secondly, because the mere idea of summarizing the contribution of a communication plan or campaign with an “off the shelf” score is often naïve. It should have the ability to deal with an incredible diversity of objectives. Finally, with the increasing amount of data we process and the more technology-enabled findings we can gather, the more you actually need human expertise and critical judgement to properly align them with what will genuinely resonate with your business. Automated sentiment analysis is a great example where human expertise is needed to refine, train, validate and deepen the information collected, and turn it into actionable insights.

Technology and artificial intelligence enhances what we do, but cannot replace the need of human expertise and critical thinking.

The value of scores and indexes is undeniable to enable an intuitive and fast understanding of progress in specific areas. However, we believe they cannot fully reflect the diversity of the contribution of PR and communication to the strategic objectives and license to operate as a company. We develop and own proprietary indexes, but we never treat them as a “black box” that we impose on our clients, independently of their priorities and specific context. Nor do we claim that they can replace taking a holistic approach to PR measurement, which is one of the specialties of our firm, leveraging multi-dimensional and multi-method research and analytics methodologies.

3/ Don’t over index on real-time, but make sure you do adapt the speed of data collection with today’s media and information ecosystem

There is no need to linger on the changes that have radically transformed the global media and information system over the last 10 years. Any communication and PR professional is acutely aware of the diffusion of influence and authority, the shift in power and influence between editorial media and social media, and the prominence (some would say dominance) of Facebook and Google in the way people consume, search, access and enjoy information. The acceleration of the speed of creation and consumption drives the increased possibility (and necessity) to monitor and analyze content in almost real time. This has transformed the way we measure and, most of all, optimize PR performance.

However, measurement frameworks also must enable us to take a step back. We need to articulate what changes fast and what changes slowly, map the ebb and flow, and understand the deep current of opinion affecting brand, reputation and trust. In our experience, deploying real time monitoring as well as deeper, slower paced measurement techniques is the way to support both immediate and long-term decisions. This is something that most the companies we work with value; particularly at a time where the latest tweet or google alert can (rightly or wrongly) drive major strategic shifts.

If the conversation around companies and brands can (and does) change over the course of a minute, the equity of a brand, the reputation and trust capital of a company takes much longer to evolve. We have supported companies facing some of the most daunting crisis situations possible, always observing that speed of insight delivery is critical to crisis management and recovery, and at the same time as being able to provide the long-term metrics on key attributes of the brand, relationship with key stakeholders and audiences. This was the best way to make the best decisions possible; staying focused as we navigated the storm.

4/ Do invest in the baseline. Then differentiate and adapt goals based on a clear understanding of the starting point.

Leading a global communication or PR function for a company comes with many challenges. Some executives don’t have enough resources or staff to deal with the high demands of a multi-market operation. Some have decent sized teams, but struggle to keep them aligned and keep on top of how their teams are performing. Some have managerial authorities over communications in a wide range of subsidiaries and geographies, and some do not. We’ve seen a trend towards measurement serving as a management tool for team leaders to set goals and targets, track progress and evaluate the performance of teams in each market and/ or business unit.

However, we often see organizations set targets without factoring the specifics and nuances of each geography or audience cluster. For instance, a global dairy brand leading in its home market might assume that a fair objective would be for its brand to be enjoying a share of voice of over 30% in each of the countries where it operates. This would be a big mistake to establish such target without investing in a thorough analysis of what the starting point is, when it comes to the brand, the culture and audience needs and opinions. If the brand has a 5% share of voice in the previous 6 months, getting to 10% SOV the following year would be an extraordinary achievement. Compare this to moving from 27% to 30% in a different market, which could be seen an average performance. To be relevant and fair in associating PR measurement with goals, a proper baseline exercise, often based on retroactive analysis (when possible) is a best practice that many neglect to observe. When retroactive analysis is not possible, our recommendation is often to collect a minimum of 6 to 12 months of data before establishing targets for countries or communication teams.

Targets should never be set without factoring in the allocated resources needed (staff, budget etc.) and the level of control that local teams have over their strategy and decision making. If a company doesn’t give a license to local teams to customize the PR strategy and tactics, they would have a legitimate case to challenge the principle of being measured against globally defined targets. Yet this is something much more common than one would expect. Global clients involving their team (and indeed, other agencies working on the business) in the design and engineering of the framework, and the setting of the goals and objectives is key to success. We have run this approach with many clients, including a large consumer goods multi-national, and this approach to change management and incentive setting has proved extremely effective. The measurement framework becomes a true rallying and energizing exercise for teams around the globe.

5/ Create a hierarchy of metrics, where specific metrics and goals align with companywide metrics and goals. Don’t forbid the use of market specific metrics, but demand some alignment between local and global.

Global communication and PR leaders are increasingly focused on performance measurement, and are eager to demonstrate the contribution from PR and comms to the company strategic objectives. This is a sign of maturity and seniority of the communication function and overarchingly positive.

However, it also leads many to expect that metrics established at global level can accurately reflect the reality of the communication effort in very different context locally. The way we work with global organizations to satisfy both the need to report on a limited number of metrics, and the need to recognize local and cultural specificities is to create a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) matrix differentiating:

  • Global KPIs (consistent across markets)
  • Local KPIs (laddering up to a global objective, but may well be different depending on the market)

The matrix should also incorporate the notion explored in point 4 about goal and objectives setting, to create a 2×2 matrix:

These broad principles are not by any means the only rules to observe, or pitfalls to watch out for but they can help communications professionals increase the efficacy of their effort to build and maintain a smart measurement framework.

In our experience of building global, multi-cultural, multi-market measurement frameworks, they require PR and analytics professionals to adopt what we call a ‘fix and flex’ approach. The solution deployed needs to combine a comprehensive, comparative approach that cuts across all countries, and, at the same time, be able to highlight the nuances of specific markets.

This approach demands strong collaboration with the clients we serve, yet it delivers superior results and long-term value. This approach also enables adoption of a broader definition of PR, integrating metrics traditionally associated with paid marketing, influencer marketing, owned media and public affairs. Most of all this approach combines structural fundamental and non-negotiable elements, with localized, customized, bespoke metrics.

This is the guarantee that our relationship with clients is always based on a deep understanding of their business goals, their communications goals and the resources allocated to each.

The battle for defining and articulating clear objectives is, after all, the mother of all battles for PR measurement. It is shockingly far from being won, and there is no magic wand to solve it, but I am deeply convinced that approaching measurement in the most strategic, transparent and concerted way with our clients is the only way to go.

Antoine’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Over index on design. Making your measurement report beautiful and heavily visual is not a luxury but a condition for success. Interactivity is a plus but looking great is a must.
  2. Be holistic. Don’t measure things in isolation. There are no marketing swim lanes anymore and consumers appreciate information about a brand or a company as a whole. We should be measuring the experience consumers and stakeholders have across as many touch points as possible.
  3. “Study the past if you would divine the future”. Investing in retroactive analysis is the base of any predictive modeling.

Antoine Harary

Global Managing Director, Edelman Intelligence

Chapter 6


Measurement is not optional – not for the UK Government – not for your organisation


Alex Aiken

Chapter 6

To not measure communications is lazy and shows a lack of pride in the work being done. It is the equivalent of your doctor shrugging their shoulders and dishing out any old pills and potions for whatever complaint you have, and caring not if they cure or kill you.

The fact that you are reading this PR Guide suggests you already know this. The quack doctors of the communications world are likely to avoid AMEC and best practice. They dismiss measurement of communications as too hard or not relevant to their work. This damages all of us true communication professionals.

I want to set out for you the way in which we can cure the world of this quackery by showing that measurement is not an option for the UK government or your organisation. Next time someone says it can’t be done remind them that if the UK government can measure it, with the complexity of what it is trying to do, then everyone should rise to the challenge of proving the value of their work.

Governments across the world spend public money on communications. If it wasn’t spent on communications then it could be spent directly on other priorities, such as housing, education or healthcare services. Our evaluation therefore not only has to show an impact from communications but also that it stacks up to being at least as beneficial to society as spending directly on other priorities. We use a rigorous campaign model for all our work that ensures we avoid uncoordinated, sporadic communications activity. This sets out transparently what we are doing but also helps us focus clearly on our objective and the impact we are looking to achieve with each audience.

Our Evaluation Council was set up in 2013 to support government’s continuing commitment to the development, understanding and implementation of evaluation best practice across all government communication activity. The Council brings together expertise from the commercial sector, NGOs, academia, local government and central government. The members meet every two months to act as a sounding board for new GCS evaluation thinking, to review evaluation plans and outputs from government communicators, and to consider evaluation-related developments. Their advice helps GCS improve evaluation practice and to optimise campaigns.

The UK government’s communications is a power for good, from our work on road safety to blood donation, driving beneficial behaviour changes and saving money for taxpayers. For example:

  • The GREAT Britain campaign aims to increase the levels of trade, investment and tourism, and high quality students coming to the UK. GREAT unifies the international growth promotion efforts of 17 government departments and organisations under a single, high-quality and powerful brand. It has led to measurable economic impact of at least £1 billion over three to five years and the creation of over 10,000 direct jobs for the UK economy. https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/guidance/campaigns/case-studies/
  • The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) ‘Missing Type’ campaign almost doubled the number of people registering to donate blood in the campaign period and increased donations amongst a specific target group, those from Indian and Black Caribbean communities, even more. https://amecorg.com/case-studies/NHS-Blood-and-Transplant/
  • Public Health England Change4Life Sugar Smart campaign reduces sugar intake amongst children. It showed a decrease in sales of sugary cereals and drinks during and after the campaign period. Three in ten of all mums of children aged 5-11 said the campaign made them reduce their child’s sugar intake. https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/platinum-award-winner-phe-sugar-smart/

Evaluation is woven deep into our campaigns focusing on what we will achieve and how. There has to be enough evidence to convince others that there is a chance of success. It may be a near certainty the plan will work, based on strong previous evidence, or there might be more risk as we have developed new ideas. By being transparent and setting out our evidence we can make an informed decision to proceed. Measurement helps us make bolder decisions, take more risks and be more confident of success.

A lack of communications measurement is lazy as there is so much guidance out there to help. The AMEC evaluation model follows established best practice in communications and the social policy and academic world. The approach is known as a logic model, or a theory of change, and is the basis of how the trickiest problems in the world are approached and dealt with. I’m not saying communications evaluation is easy but it is never impossible. An evaluation model is there to help drive out uncertainty. It brings together the best evidence you have to evaluate whether your activity is making an impact. The model should be continually improved as you work harder to understand what is going on and respond accordingly.

I often suspect that those who don’t measure communications are also a bit lost over their career development. A true communication professional knows how they will make a difference each and every day. Others are simply hoping no one notices that they don’t critically assess their work, and cross their fingers that the communications will work. How can you handle appraisals or job interviews if you don’t know what difference you have made? Indeed, who employs or hires anyone that can’t show they make a difference?

Pride in your work comes from wanting to continually improve and challenge yourself, as well as those working around you and across your profession. In UK Government communications, everyone, including myself, has a set of clear personal work objectives and a career development plan. Measurement of communications includes measurement of yourself and doing things better.

The more we can challenge those who don’t measure communications properly the more we can ensure that our profession is ethical, dynamic and a source of great pride. Most importantly we can be assured that we make a difference and increase trust. Communications can genuinely help address some of the most complex issues our societies face, as well as drive the economy and support businesses and their employees.

The early pioneers of modern medicine set in train a period of learning and evaluation that means we can now treat illnesses they never imagined we could. We are on the same path as we discover more each day by properly measuring communications to reveals to us the power of the work we do across the private and public sectors.

Alex’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Set out transparently what you are doing and focus clearly on your objective and the impact you are looking to achieve.
  2. Follow best practice and use the measurement tools that are out there.
  3. Take pride in your work by continually improving and challenging yourself, as well as those working around you and across your profession.

Alex Aiken

Executive Director of UK Government Communications

Chapter 7


Why we are saying “No to AVEs”


Richard Bagnall

Chapter 7

You might wonder why AVEs are still even a subject of discussion. For at least the last 20 years their merits (tip: there really aren’t any) and issues have been widely debated in the industry.

In 2010 the global PR and communications industry came together to condemn them. Over 200 PR and evaluation professionals from 33 countries and industry leading organisations including ICCO / PRCA, IPR, PRSA and Global Alliance met at AMEC’s Global Summit on Measurement to declare the Barcelona Principles. Perhaps the most famous of these 7 principles was the fifth which states very simply “AVEs are not the value of communication”.

In the ensuing years, real progress has been made. In 2010, AMEC’s global survey of its members showed that about 80% of global clients were still demanding AVEs as a metric as part of their evaluation programmes. Since then, that number has been in steep decline such that by this year, the same survey showed that demand had fallen to just 18%. But hang on! There lies the problem – that’s still almost one in five organisations demanding that an invalid metric be provided as a part of their measurement.

This has real ramifications. For as long as their remains a demand in the industry for AVE, there will still be companies willing to supply it. And while AVEs exist as a metric, we will continue to see some parts of the media and our marketing cousins focus on the wrong things when looking to demonstrate the value of communication and PR. Witness this recent headline in Bloomberg reporting on the ‘Fearless Girl’ campaign – which went on to win the Grand Prix Cannes PR Lions Award: “The Fearless Girl Is Worth $7.4 Million in Free Publicity for State Street”

Why this declining latent demand lingers on like a bad smell is one of the great mysteries of our time. There are literally no thought leaders, articles or credible research advocating their use. To the contrary, there are many explaining why they are invalid, including an article as part of AMEC’s campaign which clearly lists 22 reasons not to use them.

The answer perhaps lies in a number of places:

  1. Because AVEs have a £/$ sign in front of them, they are confused as an ROI metric on communications;
  2. AVEs are easy number to produce and use and require no thought;
  3. They almost always generate big numbers, certainly a lot bigger than the cost of a campaign;
  4. The global PR market is evolving at different speeds – demand from the emerging markets is far greater than in the more mature markets like the USA and Europe;
  5. There is a reasonably high churn rate of professionals in the PR and communications industry;
  6. And most new entrants into PR and communications do not have a relevant vocational further education qualification. Those that do tend to have received very little education on planning, research and evaluation as part of their course.

Which all might explain why renowned industry commentator Stephen Waddington of Ketchum believes it will take a generation to see real change.

AMEC has greater ambitions than this however, and seeks to accelerate the end of AVE’s. That’s why we are investing so heavily into our education programme to do all that we can to ensure that all constituents in the communications sector understand why they are a flawed metric and that better options are available.

As part of this, AMEC has invested heavily into launching the Integrated Evaluation Framework (IEF) and its accompanying evaluation resource centre. The IEF is a free-to-use, interactive, online tool that takes users on a step-by-step process through the whole planning, implementation and evaluation journey. The resource centre has all of the information and support that anyone could wish for looking to learn more about communications measurement and evaluation.

The IEF allows users to create their own account and build their communications plan, aligning communications objectives to those of the organisation, setting targets, establishing key audiences, defining KPIs and identifying what success would look like. It then walks the user through measuring the outputs, outtakes, outcomes and, crucially, the organisational impact of your work.

At each step of the process the framework provides additional information and suggests potential approaches and metrics that might be appropriate to consider.

Once completed, the measurement plan can be saved and downloaded and used to tell the measurement story in a clear and credible manner.

The IEF has received widespread support and is acknowledged as best practice. It is available in 17 different languages and is in use all around the world. This includes being taught on academic courses, at leading PR agencies and within inhouse departments as well.

For AMEC’s campaign for better measurement to be successful, we need your help. AVEs will only disappear completely when all parts of the industry work together and speak with a consistent voice. Educators, academics, in-house practitioners, PR agencies, communications trade associations and the monitoring and analytics vendors all need to work together with unified messaging to make sure that this latent demand dwindles and finally dies.

  • If you’re a PR practitioner who agrees, please share and link this e-paper to help us spread the message.
  • If you’re a communications professional who is being asked by your line manager or your finance director for an AVE, we hope that the information in this e-paper and at AMEC’s IEF resource centre will help you to explain why it is not a good idea.
  • If you’re a student learning about PR and communication evaluation, please share this e-paper and AMEC’s IEF online resource centre with your course director and fellow students.
  • If you work at a PR agency and are under pressure from your client to provide an AVE, we hope these resources will help you explain to the client why it makes no sense.
  • If you represent a communications trade association, please get behind AMEC’s Say No to AVEs campaign and link, share and help promote our work.

By all of us working together, in the same way that the PRCA, ICCO and AMEC already do, we can help professionalise the industry and the ways in which it is measured and evaluated for the better.

Richard’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. AVEs are invalid and meaningless. If you’re still under pressure to provide them this list of reasons not to will help you say no.
  2. There are much better ways to measure the value of your work. AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework and resource centre will guide you through the entire process, simply and easily. Please use it!
  3. It is critical for the communications industry to speak with one clear voice on best practice measurement & evaluation. Please help AMEC: join our campaign, reject lazy metrics, and promote the framework within your organisation and market.

Richard Bagnall

AMEC Chair and Global Strategy Consultant, Prime Research

Chapter 8


How PR professionals can move from data to insights


Kalli Sakkas

Chapter 8

Data and insights are an increasingly important aspect of public relations and communications. While there seems to be more and more data available, gaining value and strategic insight from it remains a key challenge for many organisations. This chapter is designed to provide communication professionals with practical steps to help with the move from data to insights.

1. Not everything that can be counted counts

The availability of so much data means that communication professionals often use analytics that are easy to gather rather than the most appropriate and targeted measures. This has been particularly prevalent due to the volume of data from owned media assets and the ease of access to cost-effective social media analytics. It is important to distinguish between analytics and insight here. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably in the industry, but they serve very different purposes. In fact, the use of analytics can often be a barrier in the move from data to insights if the data is not linked to SMART objectives and does not help to prove business value and improve performance.

Quality should be the ultimate goal when starting any measurement and evaluation program. Starting out can be daunting and confusing. However, if you focus on quality rather than quantity, your projects will be far more manageable and rewarding. This applies to the types of data you include as well as the PR activities you set out to measure and evaluate. It is far more important (and useful) to use clean, timely and relevant data, link your activity to organisational goals and measure end-to-end rather than to superficially assess a wide range of PR activities. Obviously, the most important part of an “end-to-end” approach is to measure the outcomes of PR activity rather than just outputs (ie. the results that really count to your organisation).

A commitment to quality is equally important to effective measurement programs. Challenging the status quo and the data already in use within an organisation can often lead to better evaluation and more insightful and useful reports. Having the courage to question the way things have always been done can help to break away from counting and move towards more thoughtful and useful reporting.

2. Silo busting unlocks potential

Firstly, it is important to make sure you are using the data and tools that already exist within your organisation. The data you need to measure effectively and gain strategic insight will not always be gathered and held by the PR function. An integrated approach to insights and research makes sound business sense because it avoids duplication of supplier contracts, makes the most of the synergies between different business units and it also provides all teams with access to far richer datasets.

Breaking down long-established silos and forging new ways of working together can be a very challenging task, especially if your organisation does not have culture of knowledge sharing or collaboration. However, PR professionals are in one of the best positions to manage this process and bring all the key stakeholders together.

The most obvious area where silo busting can unlock insights is with social media data. Quite often, social media is “owned” by a business function and this means social media data isn’t widely analysed to benefit other business units. Public relations teams are frequently tasked with managing reputational risks on social media channels while marketing teams manage and promote the brand. An integrated approach to social data gathering and measurement brings cost savings as well as a strong base to glean business insights.

“If every American business would investigate and act on the data it has right now, using only common-sense planning and the techniques covered in a college Statistics 101 class, our economy would boom” (Meta S. Brown, (2016) 4 Reasons Why You Don’t Need A Big Data Strategy, Forbes, 30 August 2016)

3. Use action and budget-reallocation as your ultimate tests

One of the easiest and most definitive ways to assess how well your organisation is using data and insights is to ask some very simple questions:

  1. Has our measurement program provided concrete ways we can reallocate our budget?
  2. Have our insights been actionable?
  3. Have our insights been presented in a way that provides clarity and the confidence to make decisions and implement change?
  4. Have our measurement and evaluation protected our budget?
  5. How much engagement do we receive from our clients (external and internal)?

If you can’t answer these questions positively, it is worth reassessing the way you are using data with the view to measure what matters. Organisations are using data and insights to successfully change the way they do business. Whether it be moving spend from paid to owned or changing the way they recruit and resource their teams, the golden rule of any measurement is that it should provide you with the confidence to reallocate your budget and make smarter decisions that lead to smarter actions.

There may be a perception that measurement and research is out of reach for many due to time and or cost constraints, but measurement can and should save you money and increase the effectiveness of your communications. A good example of this type of measurement can be seen in the work completed for the White Ribbon campaign in New Zealand. Their use of different data sets and actionable insights helped them win a gold AMEC Award for the best measurement in the not-for-profit sector. The case study is available on the AMEC website.

Khali’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Make the most of the free resources available from PR organisations and industry associations.
  2. Look at measurement and data holistically in your organisation.
  3. Challenge the status quo and always focus on quality.

Khali Sakkas

Managing Director, Insights, Isentia and AMEC Board Director.

Chapter 9


Be patient. We’re learning.


Fritz Quinn

Chapter 9

As the father of two boys, I often thought it would be easier if I could teach them to walk, talk and read in a matter of days. I’m sure anyone learning a new skill could relate, not just parents; why can’t I just know this? Of course if that were possible, my sons would never learn anything for themselves and I wouldn’t get to watch them cultivate their own unique capabilities built from their shared experiences.

The use of effective measurement in the public relations and communications field is in its toddler stage, and like toddlers, communications professionals or agencies shouldn’t be expected to know everything overnight.

Communications functions add tangible value to our businesses; we wouldn’t exist if we didn’t. For a long time however, as a profession we’ve measured ourselves against marketing organizations, trying to demonstrate that a dollar invested in PR is just as effective as a dollar put towards marketing.

As a result we’ve thought about the measurement tools available to us, now and in the future, in a comparative fashion to what marketers are able to provide more easily.

If we approach measurement in that way, then ultimately how are we providing differentiated value from marketing colleagues? Marketing and public relations ought to complement each other, rather than view each other as combatants in a dog-fight for every available scrap of funding.

Unquestionably, communications activities support business objectives. With a more diverse and flexible set of digital media channels, tracking links and audience targeting, we can show a causal link between the stories we tell about our companies and ultimate customer behavior. But we don’t do it in the same way as marketers do, even when we’re using those exact same tools.

The key difference is “stories.” Communicators show external stakeholders how our products and services fit into their lives through more emotional and often less direct methods. Primarily we can influence what we want customers to feel about us rather than direct what we want them to do. We are getting better at proving how we at doing that, but we’re still learning.

Like any learning experience we’re getting incrementally better, and the progress we are making is tangible. As an industry, we’re being honest with ourselves and ferreting out the methods of quantifying our work that are either hocus pocus (AVEs…ahem), or less relevant in a digital media environment (e.g. clip counts).

With progress comes set-backs; some things aren’t working necessarily as we expected. For example, in my company we have tested several hypotheses about how digital PR can be a more economical means of acquiring new customers. In some instances we were successful, but when compared directly against our traditional acquisition activities our PR efforts don’t always prove superior.

These baby steps in testing and learning didn’t lead us to the goal we expected. However the findings uncovered valuable new insights in other areas. We found that a large portion of prospective card members were abandoning card applications. With this discovery, we can now help our business improve its online application processes and have a direct effect on the number of customers we’re bringing into our organization.

Beyond the stumbling stage, I believe that we can now demonstrate our PR activity is doing a more effective job of reaching our most valuable prospects and customers; improving their perception of our brand and inducing them to be more engaged with and loyal to our company over a longer period of time.

We’re not ready to run. We haven’t yet proved that in a way that I’m totally satisfied with, but there’s enough promise there to continue to refine our methods in targeting outcomes to provide that more sustainable, tangible benefits to our business.

We’d all like to be the hero, but no one is going to figure the trick of perfect PR measurement alone. As a profession, we will have to rely on the successes and mistakes of others to further refine our methods. We have to get comfortable experimenting with new measurement techniques, and our business clients need to get used to us talking in those terms.

The dashboard below is an example of where our baby steps have taken us so far. Yes, there are some more “traditional” metrics still in here; we’re still in ‘toddlerhood’. In addition, most people aren’t used to seeing something like this come from their PR team.

Sample:

One of the best resources we have in developing this work and refining our methods are the PR agencies we work with. Agencies get a more in-depth view across a range of campaigns and industries; they can provide us with the clearest advice on what’s working for others and how we might improve our own efforts. Most importantly, they can include “measurement” as a budget line in any project or campaign, providing a clear emphasis on the importance of that activity.

More effective measurement is only going to help communicators better-demonstrate the true results of our activities and improve the performance of our businesses. As a profession, I believe we’re only scratching the surface of how we do that more efficiently.

We’re getting more comfortable after our first wobbly steps. The more we test the limits, experiment and rely on the experience of others, the sooner we’ll gain coordination and find a steady rhythm.

Fritz’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Testing and learning rarely ever produces the results you expect; be open to what the data tells you in order to uncover valuable new insights in other areas. Search for the unknown along the way.
  2. No one is going to figure the trick of perfect PR measurement alone. Lean on the successes and mistakes of other organisations to speed up the process. Industry events like the AMEC Global Summit are the perfect sort of forum to do that.
  3. Rely on agency partners along the journey. They have a more in-depth view across a range of campaigns and industries to guide us with the clearest advice on what’ s working for others and how we might improve our own efforts.

Fritz Quinn

Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, Asia, American Express

Chapter 10


En(In)suring your reputation through smart PR measurement


Mandy Kojetin and Lauren Volmink

Chapter 10

In an increasingly complex, competitive and fast-paced world, risk management is evolving and companies need to be able to assess both risks and opportunities in a more dynamic way. Non-financial risks – including regulatory, conduct, compliance, systems and particularly reputation risk – have grown in importance.

Similarly, with the rise of digital there has been dramatic change in marketing and communications. Technology has increased the speed of communication, disciplines have become more closely integrated, there are more channels and data than ever before and more direct interaction with customers and consumers.

For one of South Africa’s leading short-term insurance companies, these shifts not only impacted how they measure and mitigate risks on behalf of clients but also how to aggregate and analyse their ‘own risks’, including brand reputation and how it contributes to business leads.

Over the past three years the measurement and evaluation of how public relations contributes to their business objectives has evolved to be more transparent, valid and replicable.

Measuring what matters:

In 2014, the PR agency Atmosphere developed a tool called the Atmosphere Media Index (AMI) to begin the shift away from the flawed metric AVE. The AMI measures media coverage on a broad spectrum of quantitative (media impressions, clippings) and qualitative (top tier media, key message penetration, spokesperson mention, prominence and type of mention) metrics. The weighted scoring system is designed to assess coverage results on criteria tailored to the client and the agreed communications objectives.

Two years later, there was a need to collaborate with other marketing disciplines around common measurement metrics that are meaningful across channels. We worked with the client to adapt the AMI specifically for their business, drawing a fuller link back to the contribution PR plays across four dimensions namely awareness, affinity, engagement and lead conversion.

Through this reporting framework the client has a holistic view of the full impact and combined success of efforts of all integrated marketing and communications activity.

How it works:

We applied the Barcelona Principles in our thinking:

  • Followed input, output and outcomes approach and linked the PR strategy and objectives to the business and brand objectives. See Fig 1.
  • Initially tracked each piece of activity to get a baseline score.
  • Thereafter measured the activity against a jointly agreed target with the client.
  • Packaged the information into a monthly dashboard. See Fig 2.
  • Use the information monthly to guide future short-term activity while on an annual basis it informs Atmosphere’s scope of work and the role that PR plays overall in driving the client’s brand reputation.

Lessons learnt:

  • We made the shift one step at a time to implement valid measures that more accurately assess the value of PR to the business – as part of the integrated mix of marketing communications efforts.
  • There is no one-size-fits-all measurement framework and working with the client we applied best practice thinking in a way that makes sense to their business.
  • By measuring and tracking key dimensions over time we assess what is working and adapt our short-term implementation activity quickly on a month-to-month basis. However, the greater value has come from the insight the findings give us to feed into the strategic planning process for the long-term. We are now not only measuring our effectiveness but also evaluating the impact.

Going forward:

Never before have insurers and communicators had such vast amounts of data available to aggregate, analyse and influence their actions. As a PR agency, we continue to look at ways to make this simpler, better and faster. Some of the innovations we are investigating and testing include working with media monitoring companies to analyse the data based on tailored criteria per client and to how to use technologies such as AI to gather and assess large data sets to more quickly inform our communications programmes.

Mandy and Lauren’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. We made the shift one step at a time to implement valid measures that more accurately assess the value of PR to the business – as part of the integrated mix of marketing communications efforts.
  2. There is no one-size-fits-all measurement framework and working with the client we applied best practice thinking in a way that makes sense to their business.
  3. By measuring and tracking key dimensions over time we assess what is working and adapt our short-term implementation activity quickly on a month-to-month basis. However, the greater value has come from the insight the findings give us to feed into the strategic planning process for the long-term. We are now not only measuring our effectiveness but also evaluating the impact.

Mandy Kojetin

Senior Consultant, Atmosphere Communications

Lauren Volmink

Director, Atmosphere Communications

Chapter 11


Evolution of measurement in India: From numbers to business impact


Nitin Mantri

Chapter 11

A decade back, if I was asked to write a chapter on how public relations firms in India were measuring their work, it would have been a tough one. Back then, it was always about the numbers and never about the influence. About output and never outcome. About quantity and never quality. About width and never depth. As a result, the PR industry was seen as a bunch of order-takers at the end of the value-chain, while strategy and creative programming was led by advertising and other marketing functions.

From the fringes to the boardroom

The advent of digital media changed all that. The simple world of communication suddenly became complex and tricky. Reputation became a fragile commodity and accountability the biggest ask. Clients no longer wanted PR firms to just communicate to their audiences what they had done. They wanted their consultancies to sit with them at the high table and help them manage their business environment.

Firms were required to understand the dynamics of the market and customers through data and analytics, craft campaigns that broke through the content clutter and deliver impact through creative storytelling, while being fully prepared to handle any crisis.

The traditional role of PR firms was being shaken to its core.

But all that hard work – the beautiful strategies/the seamless execution of innovative ideas/the creative campaigns – would come to nothing if firms failed to show the impact of their work on the clients’ businesses.

So, how do you show impact? Coverage? Nah!

The truth is the only time you can honestly know you’ve delivered your message is when you hear it back from the audience. Your audience has understood what you have to say and made it a part of their own thinking. That is successful communication.

Seeing the light of measurement

American author, entrepreneur and marketer Seth Godin once wrote in his blog, “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.” While I agree with what he says, I understand the predicament before communicators. While goods and services are easily quantified, how do you assess the impact of building relationships, or, how well your stories have been received? Is it really possible to measure “magic”?

Evaluating our work is difficult, and more so in a complex market like India, which has a varied audience and a cumbersome legal system. Sample this: India has a population of over 1.3 billion people, more than two thousand ethnic groups, every major religion represented, and 22 major languages. Further complexity is lent by the variation that occurs across this population on social parameters such as income and education. Add to that the 29 states and seven union territories, which are governed by both central and state laws. Executing a successful PR campaign here is no mean task. Hence for years, measurement has been a dreaded word for us.

But change is the only constant and if the change is for the good, it should always be welcomed. And that’s what communicators in India did – they embraced business-driven measurement and the future never looked brighter.

Today, firms are increasingly taking the help of both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the true impact of their work, build a narrative about their hard work and provide insights for future strategies. It is heartening to see communicators use data/analytics and research for message development, selection of channels and tools, audience selection and campaign management, among others.

There’s no one-stop solution
However, with each passing year, understanding what matters and what does not, and how to measure it in a meaningful manner is getting more and more complex. Firms have to deal with Alexa scores, impressions, reach, followers and number of visitors, and, adopt the use of paid, earned, shared, owned media to deliver the results.

Much as we would like it there is no one stop solution to measure integrated communications. Therefore, different disciplines tend to follow different metrics and measurements depending on what is to be achieved (see graphic)

Seamless integration
When we execute an integrated campaign, we use all the above measurables to evaluate the impact of our work. For example, recently when two of the world’s largest breweries had merged to become the undisputed leader of the alcohol industry, they wanted to create a better world by shaping the future of industry.

We helped the company achieve this goal by executing an integrated campaign, which included training 200+ employees in two plants in India in responsible manufacturing, bringing about a change in the mindset of industry practitioners towards serving alcohol responsibly and narrating the story of the merger with care to avoid negative escalation in the media. PR, CSR, Content, PA and Digital teams worked seamlessly to achieve all the objectives.

The success of the campaign was measured based on the behavioural changes it brought in employees, industry practitioners and the positive it created amongst key stakeholders for the company in advance of the merger.

In summary
PR firms in India have come a long way from the days of obsessing over media clippings to finally understanding the need to provide market intelligence and link results to business impact. However, there is still much to be done as this is happening in pockets. Clients also need to understand that investment in good measurement will actually lead to increased budgets as they can now show business impact.

As PR gains importance in the growth strategy of key businesses, its impact on business will be scrutinized more. PR firms will, therefore, need to focus on tying the appropriate metrics against the client’s goals and objectives, and control how they can grow the brand audience, thus increasing revenue creation or top line growth. This is the only way to grow the industry and ensure that clients value the work we do.

Nitin’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Keep a pulse on your brands’ needs: Just as no two people are the same, no two brands are similar either. Thus, it is important to know what is unique to your brand and the need to keep up on how its evolving.
  2. Link results to your goal: It does not matter how many great results are achieved, but the one that links to your goal must not be missed. That is when you show impact.
  3. Quality over quantity: If there is no quality then even large numbers cannot make the desired impact.

Nitin Mantri

CEO, Avian Media and President, PRCAI and ICCO Regional President – Asia Pacific

Chapter 12


What we mean! Definitions and terms


Neil Wholey

Chapter 12

Every fast changing industry has its jargon. The lexicon emerges to aid efficient communication, but that efficiency is only achieved when everyone knows what the words and phrases really mean, and uses them consistently. This glossary aims to help secure that consistency sooner than otherwise.

Feedback is welcome of course via the comments section at the end, and we’ll update based on relevant feedback.

All hyperlinks are cross-references. Links to external webpages are indicated by an arrow at the end of the respective entry.

A

  • Advocacy – An individual or organisation that is engaged with an agenda, an individual or an organisation and speaks highly of it to others. The act of seeking third-party support through persuasion
  • Algorithm – a step-by-step problem solving procedure; an established, recursive computational procedure for solving a problem in a finite number of steps.
  • AMEC – The International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication is the global trade body and professional institute for agencies and practitioners who provide media measurement, evaluation and communication research. https://amecorg.com/
  • AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework – This guides you through the process from aligning objectives to establishing a plan, setting targets and then measuring the outputs, outtakes, outcomes and impact of your work. The website contains a number of resources including an interactive element to take you through the process. https://amecorg.com/amecframework/
  • Audience / target audience – a specified group within a defined public targeted for influence.
  • AVE – Advertising Value Equivalents; a discredited approach to gauging the value of public relations (or media relations more precisely). See Barcelona Principles.

B

  • Barcelona Principles (2.0) – A series of statements to guide best practice in PR measurement that were endorsed after a vote of global delegates at the AMEC European Measurement Summit in 2010 (version 1.0) and 2015 (version 2.0). https://amecorg.com/barcelona-principles-2-0/
  • Blog/Blogger – a blog is series of content, typically text or image, published by a blogger online in sequential date order focused on a subject or issue and encouraging interaction. (Also see vlog/vlogger)
  • Bot – a software application that runs automated tasks over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and structurally repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone.
  • Bounce rate – A ‘bounce’ is when a visitor to a website only views a single page before leaving. Bounce rate is the percentage of visits to a webpage where this occurs. A high bounce rate indicates a lack of engagement.
  • BPM – Business Performance Management; the disciplined approach to management encompassing metric selection, measurement and organizational learning. The Balanced Scorecard is reportedly the dominant BPM framework amongst the Global 2000.
  • Bubble – To only listen to people and media sources that have similar views to your own. This can influence the news or social media sources you choose to have access to. Over time being in such a bubble can also be reinforced by online algorithms. These choose the advertisements and content you see based on your previous online behaviour. (see social capital)

C

  • Click – each instance when a visitor follows a hyperlink from one page to another, or expects some other action.
  • Clickbate – online content designed to encourage visitors to click on a link to increase the number of hits recorded. This type of content is often used to increase revenue for those selling advertising space.
  • Cutting – the piece of written material containing messages about the client or its products or an extract from a paper or magazine regarding a particular account. Also commonly referred to as clipping
  • Communication- the credible, honest and timely two-way flow of information that fosters common understanding and trust.
  • Copy – the text produced by a consultancy for a press release or article. Journalists also refer to their news stories or features as copy.
  • CPRS – Canadian Public Relations Society. cprs.ca

D

  • Download – a copy of a document or other digital file is pulled from a web server to the user’s Internet connected device. When a user accesses a web page, it’s actually downloaded from a web server to the user’s browser, but this isn’t usually what’s meant when the word is invoked.

E

  • Earned media – third-party media coverage secured through a relationship or news worthy event, rather than paid-for advertising or other means of securing media. Includes on- and off-line media. Often used synonymously with public relations, but public relations is not defined by media.
  • Engage – occupy or attract someone’s interest or attention; involve someone in a conversation or discussion.
  • Evaluation – the assessing of the impact and value of a series of actions in achieving desired outcomes from start to finish. The recording of the actions themselves, such as the amount, potential value and frequency is only part of the evaluation process.
  • Eyeballs – the aggregated published or acknowledged readership numbers for all content in which a brand or organisation receive published content. (See impressions, and opportunities to see.)

F

  • Fake news – News that is presented as true but has no basis in fact. By calling something “Fake news” the author is accused of wilfully lying or being blinded to the truth by their personal bias.
  • Forum – an online site hosted by a community to discuss and interact about its area of interest.
  • Frequency – the amount of times that an event occurs. Often used in conjunction with reach (see Reach and Frequency).

G

  • Government Communications Service (GCS) – The professional body for people working in communications roles across government in the UK. They have a number of free resources on their website including an evaluation framework. https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/

H

  • Hits – the logged request for a file on a webpage and images and other digital assets on that page made by a browser, a search engine or a webcrawler. Commonly confused as a count of the number of times that the page has been viewed in its entirety. Also, see media hits.

I

  • ICCO – International Communications Consultancy Organisation. www.iccopr.com
  • Impact – commonly used when analysing how much visual presence and ‘wow factor’ a piece of content carries. Is often measured in a number of different ways by different companies and commonly results in the use of a scoring system. Component impact measures might include size of headline, font, article, presence of imagery, position in publication etc.
  • Impressions – the aggregated published or acknowledged readership numbers for all content in which a brand or organisation receives earned content (see eyeballs and opportunities to see). For web content, an impression is counted as each time some content is loaded into a browser.
  • Influence – You have influence when you persuade others to think or do something they wouldn’t otherwise have done. Metrics often presented as measuring influence instead measure the propensity for an individual’s social media contributions to be shared, and the reach of that sharing. Influence needs to be measured on a case-by-case basis to help develop our understanding of how people are influenced and fine tune generalised approaches.
  • IPR – the Institute for Public Relations, a US based independent non-profit foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations. www.instituteforpr.org
  • Issue – a matter, typically in dispute, between two or more interested parties.

K

  • KPIs – Key performance indicator(s); define a set of values against which to measure success. KPIs must be defined to reflect objectives and strategy, and will be sufficiently robust for the measurement to be repeatable. Quantitative KPIs can be presented as a number, ratio or percentage. KPI’s tend to be:
    – Quantitative indicators which can be presented as a number
    – Practical indicators that interface with existing company processes
    – Directional indicators specifying whether organisational performance is improving or not
    – Actionable indicators sufficiently in an organisation’s control to effect change
    – Financial indicators used in performance measurement and when looking at an operating index.

L

  • Like – allows users of some social networks to recommend websites and other things online.
  • Lurker – someone who reads social media content but doesn’t actively participate in debate and communication.

M

  • Machined media – content that is automatically discovered, presented and published by machines for humans. May be considered alongside paid, owned and earned media.
  • Market Research – a collection of disciplines designed to understand the attitudes and behaviours of individuals and organisations towards other individuals and organisations. These disciplines are often categorised as either primarily qualitative or quantitative research. The topic areas can include both market orientated commercial research to more societal social research.
  • Measurement – the action of measuring something; ascertaining the size, amount, or degree of something by using an instrument or device; assessing the importance, effect, or value of something.
  • Measurement Month – An annual AMEC event each September that consists of a series of international events focusing on measurement.
  • Media hits – an item or piece of content to be counted or measured. Not to be confused with hits.
  • Media relations – a component of public relations focused on journalists and bloggers as intermediaries to the audience you wish to reach.
  • Meme – usually a humorous image shared by social media that takes on a cultural significance. It is shared by people as shorthand for how they feel about something, and can often consist of variations on a theme. More generally a meme is an aspect of culture or behaviour that people start to copy and embed in their culture and personal behaviour.
  • Message board – a script on a website with a submission form that allows visitors to post messages (called “threads” or “posts”) on your website for others to read. These messages are usually sorted within discussion categories, or topics, chosen by the host, or possibly the visitor. A messageboard is also called a web board or a forum.
  • Metric – a system or standard of measurement; (in business) a set of figures or statistics that measure results.
  • Microblogs – online short form communication services that facilitate the public exchange of text, video and image links. Popular microblogs include Plurk, Twitter, Tumblr and Yammer. China tends to have its own popular microblogging sites that include Sina Weibo and Tencent Wiebo.
  • Mission – a statement of why an organisation exists; often described alongside the organisation’s vision and values.
  • Motivation – reason(s) for acting or behaving in a particular way.
  • MRC – The Media Rating Council is a USA based industry-funded organisation established in the early 1960s at the behest of the US Congress after the Harris Hearings on Broadcast Ratings with the remit to review and accredit audience rating services. www.mediaratingcouncil.org

N

  • Net Promoter Score (NPS) – an approach to quantifying customer loyalty and advocacy based on customers’ answers to the question along the lines of: ‘Would you feel comfortable recommending us to others?’

O

  • Objective – a specific aim of an organisation.
  • OTS – opportunities to see. The aggregated published or acknowledged readership numbers for all content in which a brand or organisation receives earned content. See also eyeballs and impressions.)
  • Outcome – Something that has happened as the result of a campaign. In public relations this would typically be defined as a measurable change in awareness, knowledge, attitude, opinion, behaviour or reputation metrics.
  • Output – in PR terms, the material and activity that the PR professional generates such as a press release, email, events etc. as well as the ensuing media coverage that is generated. Outputs will also include proactive communication by an organisation on its owned media channels and properties.
  • Out-take – what an audience now understands having been exposed to content about an organisation or a brand. Out-take occurs before an outcome, although some pundits ignore out-take and just discuss outputs and outcomes.
  • Owned media – media channels that are owned by or in the control of an organisation or a brand. Typically these will include websites, company blogs, newsletters and brand accounts in social media.

P

  • Page views – A request for a file from a webserver whose type has been defined as a page in the log analysis of the web server. One page view may account for many web hits.
  • PageRank – According to Google: ‘PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.’
  • Paid media – content that has been generated as a result of a purchase such as an advert or an advertorial.
  • Podcast – an audio or video clip that is available for download online to listen to or watch at a time of the recipients choosing. Originally used to describe a series of content, the term is often now used to describe a single piece of content.
  • PR Council – formerly the CPRF (Council of Public Relations Firms) this is the trade association for public relations firms in the US. www.prcouncil.net
  • PRCA – The Public Relations and Communications Association is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams, PR freelancers and individuals. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations. www.prca.org.uk
  • PRCA MENA – PRCA MENA is the Public Relations and Communications Association that represents PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and individuals across the Middle East and North Africa. PRCA MENA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations. prca.mena.global
  • PRSA – The Public Relations Society of America is the world’s largest organisation of public relations professionals with more than 21,000 members across the United States. www.prsa.org
  • PRSSA – The Public Relations Student Society of America has 10,000 members at colleges and universities internationally. www.prssa.prsa.org
    Public relations – a management function that focuses on two-way communication and fostering of mutually beneficial relationships between an organisation and its publics. Public relations is often defined in terms of earned media, but all approaches to media are valid.

Q

  • Quantitative – Data that can be quantified and summarised with a numerical figure. Often used to describe quantitative research techniques such as public opinion surveys.
  • Qualitative – Data that is descriptive and non-numerical. Often used to describe qualitative research techniques such as focus groups. To confuse matters qualitatively gathered information can be quantified in some cases. Similarly in a quantitative survey there may be a box for verbatim qualitative comments. These in turn may be quantified by coding answers and counting how many comments occurred within each code. Finally some data techniques which require significant interpretation, such as identifying customer groups/segments/clusters, might be classed by some as qualitative techniques.

R

  • Randomised Controlled Trials – Selecting two random samples with similar characteristics and only carrying out an intervention in one; thus enabling any change that occurs to be attributed to the intervention.
  • Reach – a dis-aggregated number of people (or percentage of an audience) that have been exposed to content. ‘Reach’ differs from impressions, opportunities to see and eyeballs in that it counts the actual number of people exposed to coverage rather than the number of ‘opportunities’ to see the coverage. It is a widely mis-used term in the industry and should only be used when readership data has been dis-aggregated to take account of cross readership patterns.
  • Reach and Frequency – a common metric quantifying campaign success predominantly used and accepted in advertising. It couples the reach metric with frequency which is the average number of times that each person has been reached, or exposed, to the content.
  • Reblog – when a bloger effectively endorses another blogger’s post by posting it facsimile to their own.
  • Relationship – the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected.
  • Relevance – closely connected or appropriate to the matter in hand.
  • Representative random sample – a randomly selected subset of the total data pool (universe) that accurately reflects the profile of the whole data pool. Defined mathematically but often not as pure in practice as can be impacted on by not all the data pool being accessible. For example, a random sample could be drawn of news clippings publically available online but would necessarily exclude those on paid sites (such as the Times in the UK). This could be misrepresented as a sample of all newspapers. In market research not all those randomly selected to take part in a survey do take part and initially representative samples can be skewed to those more likely to take part.
  • Reputation – the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. Research – the process of investigating to answer a question.
  • Resonance – the power to evoke enduring images, memories, and emotions.
  • Return on investment (ROI) – a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. To calculate ROI, the benefit (return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment; the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio. For the avoidance of doubt, there is no such thing as ‘non-financial ROI’. If this phrase is invoked it may be to convey the importance of non- financial metrics and their vital role in business performance management. (see Social Return on Investment)
  • RT – retweet; when a Twitter user endorses another Twitter users’ tweet by forwarding it to their network.

S

  • Semantic analysis – computationally trying to determine the meaning of language, of a corpus.
  • Sentiment – often used interchangeably with tone, but more precisely refers to the feelings the author is trying to convey.
  • Sentiment analysis – a subtopic of semantic analysis; computationally trying to determine the author’s emotional regard for or attitude towards something from the text alone; usually expressed on a 3- or 5-point ordinal scale (eg, very unfavourable, unfavourable, neutral, favourable, very favourable).
  • SEO – search engine optimization; the process of editing a webpage to help maximize its PageRank and similar quantifications of its relevance to particular search terms.
  • Significance – the quality of being worthy of attention; importance.
  • Social aggregation sites – websites that collect content from multiple sources and represents it in one location.
  • Social analytics – the application of search, indexing, semantic analysis and business intelligence technologies to the task of identifying, tracking, listening to and participating in the distributed conversations about a particular brand, product or issue, with emphasis on quantifying the trend in each conversation’s sentiment and influence.
  • Social bookmarking sites – websites and services that allow users to store, manage, organise and share links of content from across the web. Examples include Delicious, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Digg, Pinterest.
  • Social capital – A phrase popularised by Robert Putnam following his 1995 essay and subsequent book “Bowling Alone”. He identified the need to ensure people have regular social contact with people outside their own community. This helps to build social capital and trust in others. Social capital is sometimes incorrectly used to describe the frequency with which a source’s social media contributions are shared, and the reach of that sharing. Not every social share is accretive to social capital.
  • Social capital is destroyed when stuff is shared in disagreement, disgust or mockery for example. (see bubble)
  • Social media – media that isn’t traditional / ‘industrial’ / ‘mass’ media; media that is interactive.
  • Social media spam – can be either content or user accounts (for example on Twitter and Facebook). The content is often auto-generated and designed solely to promote a sale, a fraud or often to promote porn. The content is mass distributed and has no element of a conversation to it.
  • Social Return on Investment (SROI) – This measures the extra financial value from expenditure on activity. It is usually restricted to measurable environment and social benefits resulting from public expenditure. An example is that if a public body spends money on communications activity locally then this supports local jobs and the economy. It is not the primary purpose of the activity but is a social benefit. An SROI methodology requires a high standard of evaluation.
  • Social Web – consists of social media, applications, services and the network of devices. Splog – a ‘spam blog’ is a blog used to promote affiliate websites with the intention of increasing search engine ranking or to sell products or adverts.
  • Stakeholder – a person or organisation with an interest or concern in our organisation or something our organisation is involved in. (Whilst this definition includes competitors, they’re not normally classified as stakeholders.)
  • Strategy – Michael Porter defines strategy to be about selecting the set of activities in which an organisation will excel to create a sustainable difference in the marketplace, and thereby creating sustained value for its shareholders (or sustainable value in the case of non-profits)

T

  • The Coalition – a group of PR trade bodies working together to lead the profession towards measuring social media in a meaningful and credible manner. The coalition includes AMEC, CPRF and the IPR.
  • The Conclave – a loose body of interested parties looking to extend the work of The Coalition to include other marketing disciplines which social media also touches.
  • Tone – often used interchangeably with sentiment, but more accurately refers to the general character and attitude the words convey.
  • Transparency – open to public scrutiny.
  • Troll – a person that lurks on message boards and social media properties making inflammatory comments.
  • Trust – firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.

V

  • Values – describes what’s important to an organisation; often described alongside the organisation’s mission and vision.
  • Viral Campaign – a communications campaign which is designed to exploit the potential of the internet to spread messages rapidly. The audience is encouraged to pass a message on to all their email contacts.
  • Vision – describes what an organisation wants to be; often described alongside the organisation’s mission and values.
  • Visits per session – a series of web page requests from the same uniquely identified client (eg, laptop or smartphone) with a time limit of 30 minutes between each page request.
  • Vlog/vlogger – a blog created using video content by a vlogger typically focussed on a cause or special interest. (see blog/blogger)

W

  • Wiki – a website facilitating collaborative editing. The best known wiki is Wikipedia.
  • WOMMA – the Word of Mouth Marketing Association is a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing and advocating the discipline of credible word of mouth marketing. http://womma.org/

Neil Wholey

Head of Evaluation and Performance, Westminster City Council

TOP MEASUREMENT TIPS


Tips from our authors

Top Tips

We asked all our international authors to for their top 3 measurement tips.
Here is a summary of what they said. It makes for a great measurement check-list.

Francis and Richard’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Start with the end in mind! When planning your campaign activity set measurable goals, targets and KPI metrics.
  2. Measure holistically across the PESO channels. AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework is a free to use resource in 17 languages makes this easy. Use it!
  3. PR and communications measurement must move beyond purely content analysis. Demonstrate outtakes and outcomes as well as the organisational impact of your work.

Elise’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Measurement is evolving. There are many new tools and techniques driving innovation in public relations.
  2. Nothing can compare with results. Show your impact on the business by measuring what matters most.
  3. Consistent and credible measurement practices underscore your value and enable you to tell your measurement story.

Giles’ Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Measurement is not Evaluation – put measurement at the start of your thinking to drive the plan, strategy and tactics, then evaluate your success.
  2. Mindset shift – recognise that measuring business impact is what CEOs, CMOs want to know. Not how big is the clippings book.
  3. Data smart – for true measurement, you must embrace a data smart approach.

Jon’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Make data accessible and not limited to the analysts by investing in easy-to-use technology that is capable of providing immediate insight.
  2. Ensure data is an enabler, not an end in itself. Use it to measure, use it to identify the right targets, use it to determine what story to tell, and then marry this with creativity. The two must work together if you are to win.
  3. Work with a technology partner and do not try to build it yourself as your focus is on using the information. Otherwise you will forever be chasing technology instead of doing what you specialise in – which is brand communications.

Antoine’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Over index on design. Making your measurement report beautiful and heavily visual is not a luxury but a condition for success. Interactivity is a plus but looking great is a must.
  2. Be holistic. Don’t measure things in isolation. There are no marketing swim lanes anymore and consumers appreciate information about a brand or a company as a whole. We should be measuring the experience consumers and stakeholders have across as many touch points as possible.
  3. “Study the past if you would divine the future”. Investing in retroactive analysis is the base of any predictive modeling.

Alex’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Set out transparently what you are doing and focus clearly on your objective and the impact you are looking to achieve.
  2. Follow best practice and use the measurement tools that are out there.
  3. Take pride in your work by continually improving and challenging yourself, as well as those working around you and across your profession.

Richard’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. AVEs are invalid and meaningless. If you’re still under pressure to provide them this list of reasons not to will help you say no.
  2. There are much better ways to measure the value of your work. AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework and resource centre will guide you through the entire process, simply and easily. Please use it!
  3. It is critical for the communications industry to speak with one clear voice on best practice measurement & evaluation. Please help AMEC: join our campaign, reject lazy metrics, and promote the framework within your organisation and market.

Khali’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Make the most of the free resources available from PR organisations and industry associations.
  2. Look at measurement and data holistically in your organisation.
  3. Challenge the status quo and always focus on quality.

Fritz’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Testing and learning rarely ever produces the results you expect; be open to what the data tells you in order to uncover valuable new insights in other areas. Search for the unknown along the way.
  2. No one is going to figure the trick of perfect PR measurement alone. Lean on the successes and mistakes of other organisations to speed up the process. Industry events like the AMEC Global Summit are the perfect sort of forum to do that.
  3. Rely on agency partners along the journey. They have a more in-depth view across a range of campaigns and industries to guide us with the clearest advice on what’ s working for others and how we might improve our own efforts.

Mandy and Lauren’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. We made the shift one step at a time to implement valid measures that more accurately assess the value of PR to the business – as part of the integrated mix of marketing communications efforts.
  2. There is no one-size-fits-all measurement framework and working with the client we applied best practice thinking in a way that makes sense to their business.
  3. By measuring and tracking key dimensions over time we assess what is working and adapt our short-term implementation activity quickly on a month-to-month basis. However, the greater value has come from the insight the findings give us to feed into the strategic planning process for the long-term. We are now not only measuring our effectiveness but also evaluating the impact.

Nitin’s Top 3 Measurement Tips


  1. Keep a pulse on your brands’ needs: Just as no two people are the same, no two brands are similar either. Thus, it is important to know what is unique to your brand and the need to keep up on how its evolving.
  2. Link results to your goal: It does not matter how many great results are achieved, but the one that links to your goal must not be missed. That is when you show impact.
  3. Quality over quantity: If there is no quality then even large numbers cannot make the desired impact.

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Chapter 1
Measurement is final ingredient to help PR Realise its potential
Francis Ingham and Richard Bagnall
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Chapter 2
Why Measurement Matters and How It Underscores the Value of What You Do
Elise Mitchell
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Chapter 3
Getting started! How to create a measurement culture in your company
Giles Peddy
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Chapter 4
How using relevant data makes you a winner
Jon Hughes
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Chapter 5
Measuring PR Performance across borders
Antoine Harary
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Chapter 6
Measurement is not optional– not for the UK Government – not for your organisation
Alex Aiken
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Chapter 7
Why we are saying “No to AVEs
Richard Bagnall
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Chapter 8
How PR professionals can move from data to insights Isentia
Khali Sakkas
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Chapter 9
Be patient. We’re learning.
Fritz Quinn
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Chapter 10
En(In)suring your reputation through smart PR measurement
Mandy Kojetin and Lauren Volmink
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Chapter 11
Evolution of measurement in India: From numbers to business impact
Nitin Mantri
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Chapter 12
What we mean! Definitions and terms
Neil Wholey
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