• 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
    • Newsmakers
    • Women of Distinction
    • Bellwether Survey 2021
    • Hall of Fame
    • 40 Under 40
    • Salary Survey
    • Health Influencer 30
    • Best Places to Work
    • Career Guide
    Show
  • People in PR
      People in PR
    • 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
    • PRWeek US Awards
    • PRWeek 40 Under 40
    • Women of Distinction
    • PRDecoded
    • PRWeek Global Awards
    • PRWeek Purpose Awards
    • Healthcare & Pharma Comms Awards
    • Hall of Fame
    • Brand Film Awards
    • Webcasts
    Show
  • Jobs
  • Directory
  • Agency
  • Breakfast Briefing
  • Consumer
  • Corporate
  • Healthcare
  • Media
  • Public Affairs
  • Technology

  • Trending :
  • 40 Under 40
  • Power List
  • Best Places to Work
  • PRWeek Awards 2023
  • Agency Business Report

Partner content

In partnership with

Cision

How Amnesty International UK used unique KPIs to run a truly impactful campaign

Working with Cision's Insights team helped the human rights charity find an intelligent way to focus its PR activity

25 November 2021

  • Share article on Twitter
  • Share article on Facebook
  • Share article on LinkedIn
Six diverse hands up in the air

“At Amnesty International UK, we have this tiny mission, which is basically to change the world,” explained Niall Couper, head of PR at Amnesty International UK. “We have a great PR team. But we need to prove we’re actually worth it. It’s about making sure we’re making a difference. Have we turned a dial? Have we made people care about human rights?”

Couper was speaking at the PRWeek Measurement Conference, an online and in-person event dedicated to the discussion of PR metrics and their effectiveness. Co-presenting with him was Megan Barron, insights director at Cision. Together, the pair explained, the charity and Cision’s Insights team developed a unique set of metrics that help them rise above the everyday chatter that fills much of our lives, to make a real impact.

Balancing metrics with the mission
At the start of the process, the Amnesty International UK team was tracking metrics such as the pull of its key messages, the uptake of press releases, the organisation’s reach — and so on. But the team wasn't able to present them to non-PR stakeholders, in a way that truly demonstrated value. The aim of Cision was to develop a new, meaningful PR metric designed around Amnesty International UK’s unique mission. 

“Cision helped us look at what we were reporting and what we wanted to achieve,” said Couper. Together, the two organisations looked at the quality of the metrics, what each metric told its users about the effectiveness of Amnesty International UK’s PR, and what it helped the charity achieve. 

For each human rights issue raised by Amnesty International UK, Cision looked at things such as how many press releases were published, how many quotes the charity provided and what volume of articles were generated. By combining metrics in a single dashboard on an issue-by-issue basis, Amnesty International UK began to get a more rounded picture of its activity and its impact. This has enabled an integrated analysis of media intelligence, as a means to target and optimise future PR strategies. 

“It’s not just looking at volume,” said Cision’s Megan Barron. “We use a combination of metrics such as reach, message prominence and things like that. Then we put them together in an impact score. This means that, in one example, the subject of Afghanistan got just 45 articles [fewer than the other issues listed in the report] but it had the highest total impact score. This shows that the quality and reach of the coverage was greater than that of other issues.”

Predicting future success
“Unfortunately for us,” said Couper, “there are human rights abuses everywhere.” With a finite budget and resources, the charity needs an intelligent way to target its campaigns so that they make the biggest possible impact. “When you have a rounded opinion, you can ask if you’re putting the right amount of work in, and if it is worthwhile. That’s what the metrics that Cision developed allowed us to do: to know in advance not just what would work, but also what wouldn’t, so we could best use our limited resources.”

“Measurement should be bespoke to every client,” said Barron. “Impact scores only work when everyone is on board with them. You can then use them to communicate to the wider organisation. It’s a tidy way of looking at an issue quite quickly.”

The two colleagues ended by talking about “sportswashing” – a concept created by Amnesty International UK to describe the phenomenon of regimes which abuse human rights using the sponsorship of sports to launder their reputations. “Sportswashing is our number-one-performing issue,” said Couper. By creating a new category and targeting a demographic, sports fans, who were not previously seen as natural Amnesty International UK supporters, the PR team was able to demonstrate the success of well-targeted campaigns that reached out beyond the traditional Amnesty International UK audience. “This made it possible for us to justify using sports-related communications to effectively highlight human rights abuses across the world.” 

To find out how your PR strategies can rise above the everyday chatter to make a real impact, speak to Cision’s Insights team today.


More...

  • The best advice in times of strife

  • The future of influencer marketing? The clue’s in the name

  • How to bridge the say-do gap in ESG and communications

  • Crisis communications: A practitioner’s perspective

  • How should pharma communicators adapt to the new normal?

Have you registered with us yet?

Register now to enjoy more articles and free email bulletins

Register
Already registered?
Sign in

Resources

  • 40 Under 40

  • Best Places to Work

  • PRWeek Awards US

  • The Power List

  • Pride in PR

  • Brand Film Awards

  • Healthcare & Pharma Communications Awards

  • Agency Business Report

  • Bellwether Survey

  • Women of Distinction

  • Salary Survey

  • Dashboard 25

  • Hall of Fame

  • Health Influencer 30

  • Purpose Awards

  • PRDecoded

  • Webinars

  • Find a Job

  • Podcasts

  • Subscribe to PRWeek

Resources

Up next:

Richard Edelman put the firm through an energy client review that concluded early this year. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

Edelman splits with Standard Bank Group

PR pros' biggest pain point is getting reporters to answer. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

Prowly survey: PR pros not taking advantage of technology

Influencers can use the tool to streamline administrative work. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

Influencer management platform Cloutdesk rolls out tech stack

The two-time NBA MVP is also an investor in Antidote.

Greek Freak looks to make accessible healthcare a layup

Dentsu continues strong growth trajectory in Q2

Dentsu continues strong growth trajectory in Q2

Do brands have a place on a social platform that tries to stay out of your life?

Do brands have a place on a social platform that tries to stay out of your life?

Breakfast Briefing: 5 things for PR pros to know on Friday morning

Breakfast Briefing: 5 things for PR pros to know on Friday morning

Hotwire owner exceeds FY earnings expectations

Hotwire owner exceeds FY earnings expectations

(Photo credit: Getty Images).

Signal AI acquires reputation analysis company Kelp

Wallake said he was not expecting this much blowback.

HyperSocial’s CEO is sorry for how ‘crying’ LinkedIn post was perceived, but isn’t deleting it


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
IPSO