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Forget It Its Too Hard to Measure

Written by: Bob Kelly

Article Overview: How can you measure the results of an activity more accurately than when you clearly achieve the goal you set at the beginning of that activity?

Forget It Its Too Hard to Measure

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Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Forget it! It’s Too Hard To Measure

Oh, I don’t know. I feel pretty good about the way some of us
measure public relations results. I mean how can you measure
the results of an activity more accurately than when you clearly
achieve the goal you set at the beginning of that activity?

In my opinion, you can’t. It’s pure success when you meet
that goal.

The same goes double for public relations. The client/employer
wants our help in altering negative perceptions among
key audiences which almost always change behaviors in a
way that helps him or her get to where they want to be.

Are we qualified to do that job?

Yes, because everything we do is based on the realities that people
act on their perception of the facts and that we can do
something about those perceptions. When public relations
activity successfully creates, changes or reinforces that
opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action
those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the
public relations effort is a success.

But before we follow that client/employer on his or her
way to that kind of successful public relations end game, a
few words about the measurement challenge itself.

Unfortunately, measurement is a large challenge and one
that stands between us and development of that conclusive
indicator showing that a public relations investment has
been applied wisely.

Unfortunately, the usual public relations performance
measurement methods are subjective and open to wide
interpretation because we do not have widely accepted
public relations measurement standards.

Instead, in evaluating public relations performance now,
we must use highly subjective, very limited, borderline-
invalid and only partially applicable performance
judgements. Among them, inquiry generation, story content
analysis, gross impressions, and even equivalent advertising
value.

It’s incredible when you think about it.

Here we are, part and parcel of America’s multi-trillion
dollar industrial, educational and organizational colossus
and, yet, we cannot demonstrate conclusively – that’s
CONCLUSIVELY – that we achieved our public relations
program’s behavioral goal.

Why? Because, as of today, it costs WAY too much public
opinion survey money to demonstrate – again, conclusively –
that we achieved the public relations perception and behavioral
goal set at the beginning of the program. In many cases, the
opinion research costs more than the entire underlying public
relations program. Thus, it’s almost always set aside in favor
of “winging it.”

What are we to do?

This article highlights what many professionals already know.
We need this final step in the public relations problem solving
sequence, and we need it badly.

What can be done? I like NASA’s traditional approach. When
money is especially short, these dedicated people repeatedly
find another way around the problem using an amazing mix of
technology innovation, operational creativity and raw
determination.

So here, in the year 2006 , why cannot the best minds in the
fields of public relations, sociology, psychology and
opinion gathering attack the challenge of PROVING
CONCLUSIVELY that a given public relations campaign has
– or has not – changed target audience behaviors precisely
as planned at the beginning of the program, and do so without
bankrupting its participants?

Until an answer to that question presents itself, we have little
choice but to track perceptions among key audiences the best
way we can; monitor follow-on behaviors; then create, change
or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to
-desired-action those people whose behaviors effect the
organization.

The missing ingredient will continue to be affordable public
opinion research.

end

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about the fundamental
premise of public relations. He has authored 245 articles on the
subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author,
click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR,
Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News
Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S.
Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary,
The White House.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com

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