• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Information Links
  • Skip to Site Search
  • Skip to Footer
  • Skip to Accessibility Information
  • Home Page

Information Links

Haymarket Marketing Communications:

  • PRWeek
  • Campaign US
  • MM+M
  • 30-Day Trial
  • Register
  • Sign in
  • Search
  • Menu
  • US|
  • UK|
  • Middle East|
  • Asia

PR Week Global

  • Menu
  • Search

Main Navigation

Menu

Main Navigation

  • US|
  • UK|
  • Middle East|
  • Asia
  • News
      News
    • Agency
    • Breakfast Briefing
    • Consumer
    • Corporate
    • Healthcare
    • Media
    • Public Affairs
    • Technology
    Show
  • In-depth
      In-depth
    • Agency Business Report
    • Power List
    • Crisis Corner
    • Newsmakers
    • Women of Distinction
    • Bellwether Survey 2022
    • Hall of Fame
    • 40 Under 40
    • Salary Survey
    • Health Influencer 30
    • Best Places to Work
    • Career Guide
    Show
  • People in PR
      People in PR
    • Hall of Fame archive
    • Opinion
    • Newsmakers
    • Steve Barrett on PR
    • Don Spetner
    • Dashboard 25
    • Around the office
    • Pride in PR
    • CEO Focus
    • CMO Focus
    • Femme Forward
    • Pets in PR
    Show
  • Resources
      Resources
    • Ebooks
    • Digital Editions
    • Agency Business Report
    • Salary Survey
    • Campaign Case Studies
    • Bellwether Survey 2022
    • Cannes 2022
    • Dashboard
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
    • Places to Be 2022
    • Contact Directory
    • Jobs
    • Renew
    • Subscribe
    Show
  • Events
      Events
    • Crisis Comms Conference
    • PRWeek US Awards
    • PRWeek 40 Under 40
    • Women of Distinction
    • PRDecoded
    • PRWeek Global Awards
    • PRWeek Purpose Awards
    • Healthcare Conference + Awards
    • Hall of Fame
    • Brand Entertainment Awards
    • Webinars
    Show
  • Jobs
  • Directory
  • Agency
  • Breakfast Briefing
  • Consumer
  • Corporate
  • Healthcare
  • Media
  • Public Affairs
  • Technology

  • Trending :
  • Crisis Comms Conference
  • Best Places to Work
  • PRWeek Awards
  • Healthcare Conference + Awards
  • Women of Distinction

Partner content

In partnership with

Ketchum

What is the key to mastering PR Measurement?

by Karl Wright December 07, 2021

  • Share article on Twitter
  • Share article on Facebook
  • Share article on LinkedIn

“We lost 40% of our ability to fundraise in daytime [when lockdown hit],” explained Andy Johnson-Creek, Head of PR for the UK veterans’ organisation Help for Heroes. “Drive time used to be a big winner for us. But with people working from home, it just doesn’t deliver what it used to. We’ve had to really re-frame what our audiences are doing. That’s been really difficult.”

Johnson-Creek was speaking at the Measurement Conference, as part of a panel entitled ‘What is the key to mastering PR Measurement?’. Organised by PRWeek and sponsored by Ketchum, the session brought together leaders from the global PR industry to talk about the challenges and opportunities presented by the ways we measure and judge the effectiveness of PR. 

Alongside Johnson-Creek, the panel members were Mary Elizabeth Germaine, managing director, global research and analytics at Ketchum; David Child, head of communications at the travel agency Thomas Cook; Peter Allen, executive director corporate affairs and communications at National Highways; and Richard Bagnall, the CEO of media-monitoring specialist CARMA. 

“Everyone is fighting for budget right now. Everyone is fighting for dollars. There’s a finite amount of money for organisations to spend. In order for PR, communications and marketing to get their fair share of the pie, we need to show how we’re impacting the business,” said Germaine. “It doesn’t mean that everything has to drive sales. Some of that measurable business impact can be reputation based or brand-building based. But what we measure must go beyond looking at outputs. It’s about actually tying those together and doing direct attribution to things that the c-suite cares about.”

Be emotive rather than shocking
The theme of change – particularly changing expectations – and effectively responding to change, is one that came up repeatedly throughout the session. Ketchum’s Mary Elizabeth Germaine said: “The companies that are data-driven and understand they need to answer the 'so what' in the numbers will win in the marketplace. It’s critical to understand how to use data to target the right audience at the right time with the right message AND to showcase how that targeting created meaningful change for the business.”

Peter Allen, of National Highways, highlighted the need for PR measurement not just to keep up with the changing needs of the business, but also to respond to changes in consumer behaviour. “Years ago, we used to try and shock people into changing their behaviour. And there was some success from that. Think about, for instance, the seat belt campaigns of the 1980s. But now those kinds of shock tactics are less effective. People switch off. People are more influenced by people like themselves. But people also respond to more emotive campaigns. When you join the road, you join a community. You have a responsibility to other drivers. If everyone behaves in the same way, we all benefit. We get there quicker, with fewer accidents.”

Judge your outcomes
“I don’t think many PR people have had their products made illegal,” quipped David Child, head of comms for travel agent Thomas Cook, “but we did, for most of last year. We relied heavily on PR to keep our name in the press, because PR is free. To spearhead the revival of Thomas Cook, I used really soft measurement. Does speaking on the BBC make a measurable difference to the traffic levels? Has it sparked social conversation? I’ve been able to track that well, because it’s simple. As we grow our business and look for more paid campaigns, it’s going to be trickier. My next challenge is to show what is distinctive about the PR activity I deliver versus, say, the TV advertising we might do?”

“How do we prove value, rather than simply show we have done some activity,” asked Richard Bagnall of CARMA. “Activity without value is just a cost. In the current climate, anyone who is a cost centre is going to have a red pen put through their name. The problem with what we call output, the content-analysis metrics, it doesn’t really mean anything. How do we move to outtakes — what people think after seeing our output — and outcomes, what have people now done and how can we link them together?”

Observe real-world behaviours
As communicators, I think the big challenge we have is that we’re very good at putting numbers into words”, said Peter Allen of National Highways. “If we’re given the annual report, we can write a press release around those figures. What’s more difficult for us, is putting words into numbers. We can talk about better relationships or greater influence. But to actually translate that into a measurable outcome is quite a challenge for us.”

“What the industry needs to do now,” said Germaine, “is help business leaders see the connection between the work we do as PR experts and a measurable outcome that the c-suite cares about." She explained that Ketchum recently launched their approach integrating omniearnedID, a proprietary, industry-first platform dedicated to helping PR and business leaders understand the impact of earned media on brand sales. "The platform gives businesses the ability to see what works in PR and what doesn’t, and to optimise accordingly. And it gives PR leaders the evidence they need to get their fair share of the pie.”

Speaking toward the end of the session, Richard Bagnall — a PR veteran of 26 years — had some direct advice. “If you want to know what people think, ask them. Do the research. And tie that research into the activity, to see if there’s a cause and effect. If you want to know what people have done, you need to observe behaviours. That might mean observing digital analytics. Or it could mean observing people’s behaviour in the real world, such as whether they drive better. What we don’t want to do is throw the baby out with the bathwater. Everyone’s talking about tools such as AI. But we have to understand that those things have limitations. They look mostly at outputs. To understand outtakes and outcomes, we need to blend in other research, then apply critical thinking.”

To read more, vist ketchum.com/analytics/


More...

  • CSR to be the leading PR trend of 2023, ahead of AI & technology

  • Fast-moving fintech PR in the spotlight: shape your own career at Chatsworth

  • Three key steps to becoming a strategic internal communicator

  • Why Jaguar Land Rover has swapped reach for the right audience

  • How to turn live data into actions

Have you registered with us yet?

Register now to enjoy more articles and free email bulletins

Register
Already registered?
Sign in

Resources

  • Dashboard 25

  • Crisis Comms Conference

  • Best Places to Work

  • PRWeek Awards US

  • Hall of Fame

  • Women of Distinction

  • Salary Survey

  • Health Influencer 30

  • Healthcare Conference + Awards

  • Purpose Awards

  • PRDecoded

  • Bellwether Survey

  • Changemakers

  • 40 Under 40

  • The Power List

  • Pride in PR

  • Brand Film Awards

  • Agency Business Report

  • Webinars

  • Find a Job

  • Podcasts

  • Subscribe to PRWeek

Resources

Up next:

Southwest canceled thousands of flights over the holiday season. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

Southwest Airlines outlines how it’s trying to prevent another operational crisis

Around the office with Heineken’s Stacey Tank

Around the office with Heineken’s Stacey Tank

The Cincinnati Bengals are one of four teams still in the running for Super Bowl LVII. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

The Super Bowl rapid response war room is back, with a virtual twist

Heinz wants Roman numerals dropped from Super Bowl titles

Heinz wants Roman numerals dropped from Super Bowl titles

Brat TV offers brands a unique in with Gen Z

Brat TV offers brands a unique in with Gen Z

5 PR firms join The Change Agencies network

5 PR firms join The Change Agencies network

A key to a successful hybrid workplace is understanding that every individual can’t be grouped into a demographic class. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

We found a hybrid work solution. Don’t do what we did

Consumers often share information about their shopping experiences on Snapchat. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

Emplifi adds Snapchat analytics and measurement

Jami Eidsvold is CEO of Smarty.

Crowe PR inks strategic partnership with Smarty Social Media

Snapchat has more than 360 million DAUs. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

FBI probes Snapchat over role in fentanyl overdose deaths: report


JOIN, SHARE, LIKE, FOLLOW US ON:

  • f
  • t
  • I
  • l
  • yt
About PRWeek
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Advertise
Subscribe
  • Subscribe to PRWeek
  • Newsletters
  • FAQ
Global
  • PRWeek UK
  • Campaign Asia
Haymarket © Haymarket Media Group Ltd. | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Notice | Privacy Notice | Cookie Settings
IPSO