Measuring and evaluating public relations.

Measurement and evaluation is an essential part of any public relations campaign. Marketing and PR is an ongoing process, and if you don't take the time to work out what worked (or didn't work) this time, you'll have no way of knowing what to do next.

Historically the most common way of evaluating a PR campaign has been to measure the media coverage generated, work out what it would have cost to advertise on the same scale (equivalent advertising value, EAV, or AVE), and then announce: "Our PR campaign generated publicity worth xx thousands".

Many PR agencies take this a step further and multiply the EAV by a factor of anywhere between 1.5 and 6 times, using the argument that a third party editorial endorsement is worth 1.5-6 times more than an advertisement. And of course, they can now announce to their clients that: "Our campaign generated publicity worth xx thousands ... times 3".

That's rubbish, of course. You simply cannot argue that something as subjective as a piece of editorial is always worth the same or many times more than than the same sized advert in the same publication. A strong endorsement might be, but whatever anyone says, not all publicity is good publicity (see Gerald Ratner).

The situation is further complicated by the fact that reading editorial may be just one of several factors involved in the consumer's decision to buy, and PR is usually just one of a number of different and simultaneous marketing activities. And where an advertiser can dictate a measurable call to action within an advert or direct mail piece, a PR practitioner has no such luxury. That doesn't make PR any less valuable than advertising, just less easy to measure.

The problem isn't restricted to measuring the value of media coverage. How, for instance, do you put a value on changing a key opinion leader's mind about something? In some cases, it could transform sales. In others, it'll make little difference.

So how can you measure a public relations campaign effectively? Here are consulttheguru.com's recommendations:

In most cases, the real value of PR is measured in terms of its impact on sales. But this may be difficult (if not impossible) when PR is only one of a number of simultaneous marketing initiatives.

For this reason, try and ensure that your PR campaign always includes a unique, measurable 'ask' ('ring this number', 'send a stamped addressed envelope', 'visit this webpage', etc.). As often as not, it'll get edited out by the media. But even if the call to action only appears in one publication, the response can provide an indication of how the broader story is being received elsewhere. It will also set a benchmark against which you can compare the response to future campaigns.

A good PR campaign will often generate a spontaneous reaction from a wide cross-section of different people: members of the public, journalists, the salesforce, customers, even the CEO. Record any and all reaction to your media coverage, wherever it comes from. Once again, this will provide a benchmark against which to compare future campaigns.

Don't make media coverage the sole objective of a public relations tactic. Aside from the inherent risk in banking on someone else's editorial judgement, you should always include some aspect of the project which can be measured more accurately. For example, if you're doing a stunt to generate coverage, don't do it on the top of a mountain in the Hebrides. Do it in a busy shopping mall, and measure how many people saw it first hand. That way, if Tony Blair is photographed pole-dancing in a nightclub in Slough that day, and you don't get any media coverage, you'll still have quantifiable footfall to show for your efforts.

Remember, you can use consulttheguru.com to get a creative marketing tactic for your business that you'll be able to measure in more ways than one.

Calculating the raw equivalent advertising value (i.e. unmultiplied) is a useful measure, provided you accept the limitations. In other words, it does not provide a real value of media coverage achieved through PR, just a comparison of what it would have cost to buy the same physical exposure in the newspaper as you have achieved through editorial, which the bean counters will probably like.

What it will NOT do is tell you anything about how effectively your message has been communicated. Nor does it recognise the benefit of preventing negative media coverage.

Given these limitations, it is simply not worth spending huge amounts of time and effort using complex media analysis software to work out the financial value of coverage achieved. So far, we have yet to find a piece of media analysis software that doesn't make the job more time-consuming than doing it by hand. And since software relies on the same subjective human inputs, the results it produces are no more accurate. In short, don't waste your money.

Ultimately, the most accurate way to quantify the effectiveness of public relations, irrespective of the platform used to communicate a message, is to survey the target audience. Ideally before and after a public relations campaign. However, this is expensive, and thus most commonly used to measure the combined effect of various different marketing initiatives over a given period.

In summary, valuing media coverage will likely remain the most widely used measure of the effectiveness of PR for some time. It's imperfect, so don't waste too much time on it. More importantly, always try and include other ways of measuring the value of your campaign, such as a response to a specific call to action. And record all reaction to the campaign, not just the media coverage.

Last updated January 2007

Related public relations idea guides and resources:

• What is public relations?
• When and how to use public relations
• Choosing a PR agency
• Targeting press releases
• Sending press releases
• Ringing journalists
• Consultheguru for a PR idea for your business