PR measurement - looking at the wrong end of the horse

Written by Editor
Thursday, 15 November 2007

PR firms know that measurement is a good thing. Clients know that measurement is a good thing.

Despite having been founded with a communications analytics engine at the core of our practice model, we're always curious about what others are measuring, how they're measuring whatever it is they're measuring, and most important — why.

Agencies and clients receive regular lead generation calls and emails from a variety of measurement vendors. Here's the latest one received today (vendor name omitted):

Complimentary Webinar Tuesday, November 20th 4:00pm EST Register Now

Learn the basic steps of setting up a measurement program and getting it implemented despite budget constraints. Register now to:

• Help drive PR funding in your organization
• Gain insight to create the right evaluation system for your organization and your budget
• Learn about the array of measurement tools and technologies available today

This is a minutes-old example of the level of much of the current dialog around measurement. And a fairly typical example of the pitch and the point of the resulting webinar/seminar/salesinar -- justifying and driving higher budgets and CYA.

Neat. But focused on where you've been, rather than where to go next.

Sophisticated measurement is a strategic tool that can help agencies give better and more reliable advice to their clients. It's the analysis and the "what's next?" that makes all the difference.

Strategic use of measurement tees up (the often subtle) insights that can drive the explosive future strategies that dramatically grow positive regard, coverage and dialog - that increase sales, that drive stock prices higher. You can't get there with ad hoc planning, category expertise and relationships. You need aggregate data, good analysis and strong insights.

So flip the proposition — use measurement for strategy first. If you can create breakthroughs on a regular basis, the CYA factor goes away, and PR funding conversations are often easier.

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