Measuring the value of PR

While the tools, technology, and techniques are now more sophisticated, at its heart measurement and evaluation is still all about performance – whether that be of a program, a campaign, a team, or an organisation.

Fraser defines seven comms areas we can measure:

1. A specific communication activity and associated messages
2. A project or campaign
3. Programs such as internal comms or issues management 
4. How PR helps the whole organisation achieve its business goals 
5. How organisations do in regards to the environment and society around it (CSR or reputation)
6. The performance of individual practitioners
7. The overall communication function and what value it has to an organisation.

For Fraser, engagement with measurement and evaluation goes hand in hand with the role communications plays in an organisation. Those professional communicators with a seat at the table, who are part of the strategic management process, will look at measurement and evaluation in a much more sophisticated way.

Fraser references a recent research piece involving 20 Chief Communication Officers, which highlighted senior practitioners never showed the management team traditional media metrics, social media measurements, or web hits for the simple reason this was backward looking intel. What they did was analyse this data to help inform insights for their management team – here’s what we’ve learnt, here’s what we know, here’s what we think is going to happen, here is how we should adjust our strategic plan. Transforming the data it into strategic insight to feed into the management decision-making.

Fraser says in recent years there has also been a more overt distinction between measurement (effectiveness) and evaluation (value).

Measurement is what we all do. We are using tools and technology to collect and analyse data. What this shows is the effectiveness of our communication efforts. Did we reach who we wanted to reach? What impact did it have? Did it change opinion or behaviour?

Evaluation is more the assessment of value or the merit or worth of the campaign / program / project. It answers questions such as was this valuable for us or not?

Where measurement is objective and quantitative and looks at effectiveness, evaluation is subjective and looks at value. This is how management tend to assess PR programs and departments.