The Principles of

PR Measurement
Presented by
Ketchum Global Research & Analytics
 CONTENTS

04 A Note from David Rockland, Partner/CEO, Global Research & Ketchum Pleon Change

05 Introduction

06 Principle 1: Setting Goals

07 Principles 2 and 3: PR is Measured on Three Levels

08 Principle 3: The Move Toward Analytics

09 -10 Principles 4 and 5: Measure Media Quantity and Quality, Not AVEs

11 Principle 6: Social Media Can and Should Be Measured

12 Principle 7: Transparency and Replicability are Paramount to Sound Measurement

13 The 10 Golden Rules of Measurement

14 Acknowledgements

2
NOTE FROM
David Rockland
Partner/CEO, Global Research and Ketchum Pleon Change

Public relations has evolved at an extremely rapid pace over the past decade, and with
that evolution must come a comprehensive and effective way of measuring its value.

In the past, the value of PR was often compared to advertising. Many organizations
measured their PR effort with Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs)—or didn’t measure it
at all. The PR industry has since done away with AVEs and moved toward sophisticated
and strategic measurement practices.

As we work to help drive change in our industry, we’ve put together this measurement
guidebook outlining the latest Principles of PR Measurement. These Principles have now
been adopted by hundreds of companies around the world. The Barcelona Principles,
summarized here, provide reasons behind the shift in measurement and evaluation, and
the recommended replacements to AVEs.

We appreciate your interest in proving the ROI of public relations and look forward to
maintaining a dialogue with you.

Best,
David

David B. Rockland, Ph.D. is partner/CEO and managing director for the research and
change communications businesses at Ketchum. He has held leadership positions in
corporate communications and research throughout his career, with extensive global
experience in both fields.

4
PRINCIPLE 1:
Setting Goals

Having a clear set of goals in place is key to understanding what you want to achieve and hence
measuring it. Ensure goals are specific and take into account:

Reach:
What portion of the target audience do you want to reach and with what messages?

Awareness:
What should the target see, hear or read that they haven’t before?

Comprehension:
What should the target understand that they didn’t before?

Attitude:
What should the target believe and feel?

Behavioral:
What should the target actually do as a result of communications?

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INTRODUCTION

Advertising value equivalents (AVEs) have traditionally ruled PR reporting across the globe.
Yet in 2010, PR practitioners from 33 countries gathered in Barcelona and agreed on seven
principles of measurement, including the abolishment of the use of AVEs.

Yet, AVEs are still used in PR reporting; the educational process, for both agencies and clients,
is a journey still being travelled. AVEs effectively “dumb down” measurement and give an
inaccurate value for PR that could be just as easily guessed. That is not to say that there is one
replacement for the AVE; PR is a complex field, used for many purposes and audiences. It is not
surprising that internal communications, reputation building, brand marketing, and other forms
of PR require different metrics. Therefore, different metrics and measurement will be required
depending on what is to be achieved.

SO WHAT ARE THE BARCELONA PRINCIPLES? IN SHORT FORM

• Importance of Goal Setting First

• Measuring the Effect on Outcomes is Preferred to Measuring Outputs
• The Effect on Business Results Can and Should Be Measured Where Possible
• Media Measurement Requires Quantity and Quality
• AVEs are not the Value of Public Relations
• Social Media Can and Should be Measured
• Transparency and Replicability are Paramount to Sound Measurement

What the Principles brought into effect was a move from debating the evergreen topic of
measurement, to reaching a consensus on what works and what doesn’t. But this brought
about the question of what metrics do you use if not AVEs? And, how does social media fit
into this mix?

With this in mind, Ketchum Global Research & Analytics (KGRA) and its international network
of communication and research experts have developed a number of measurement tools for
clients to provide more in-depth reporting of campaigns from media results to financial ROI.
Here’s how to apply the Principles:

5
PRINCIPLE 3:
The Move Toward Analytics

The demand for business results from PR moves measurement toward a more analytical space.
Analytics is the application of a number of statistical approaches that have been in use by
many marketing and other disciplines for many decades. It now moves to the forefront of PR
measurement as the industry seeks to demonstrate the monetary value from earned media and
other types of communications.

HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF RESULTS ANALYTICS GENERATES:

• For the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, we were able to isolate the effects on volunteer
fundraising from various channels such as radio advertising, direct mail, point-of-sale
promotions, and online earned media. We found that they would raise more money for
blood cancers research if they began to shift money toward online earned media and point-
of-sale promotions. And, within point-of-sale, we found a specific approach that would
work best.

• For a manufacturer of a healthy frozen food entree, we determined how social media was
driving sales. As it turned out, there was no observable direct effect on sales, but Twitter
activity is driving potential consumers to their website, and website visits in turn is driving
sales.

• With a global chemical company, we’ve been able to determine how different messages
and channels of communication are affecting their reputation. And, as a chemical company,
they are often the subject of environmental criticism. So, we could determine what types of
facts and information are most important to encouraging influential citizens to speak more
positively on their behalf when engaged in conversations that are critical of the company.

• As the Anti-Defamation League reaches its centennial anniversary, it is seeking the best way to
continue to be effective in battling hate around the world. Should it focus its communications
on civil liberties in general, cyber-bullying, religious freedoms, or law enforcement training to
recognize hate crimes, as examples? Daunting and important questions, but ones that are
answerable using analytics to not necessarily re-shape their message or mission, but to ensure
ADL is focused on the proper elements of their mission and messages in communicating.

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PRINCIPLES 2 AND 3:
PR is measured on three levels

Outputs Outcomes
Contact/response level
Perceptions/behavioral levels Business Results
KNOWLEDGE, OPINIONS, Business level
REACH, CONTENT ATTITUDES ADDED VALUE

Frequency Awareness Revenue/turnover

Visits Comprehension Contracts clos ed
Prominence Reputation value
Recollection
Brand value
Reader contacts Recognition PE Ratio
Tonality Credibility Market share
Message impact Stock price
Image changes
Share of voice Employee retention
Recommendations
Journalist inquiries Purchasing intentions
Purchasing intentions

Impact on media/channels Impact on target groups Impact on organizations

“HOW TO” TIPS

Outputs — assign a scoring system based on the reach to your target audience, tone,
prominence, message delivery, and inclusion of a recommendation or endorsement.

Outcomes — ask whether the company already has any kind of tracking survey. It can be fairly
simple to add 2-3 questions to such surveys and measure whether the PR activity is affecting
audience change. If such a survey does not exist, there are a number of low cost ways to do
survey research that may be useful.

Business results — these are estimated by marketing analytics approaches or through the same
survey used for outcomes. Most companies tend to have departments which measure what
is driving their sales. Bringing PR into that mix is the aim, and often more easily accomplished
than one might expect.

7
 PRINCIPLES 4 AND 5:
Measure Media Quantity and Quality, Not AVEs

• WHAT ABOUT MEASURING THE COST EFFICIENCY OF PR

VERSUS ADVERTISING?

Consider applying cost per thousand (CPM) calculations against the “Intermediary Effect” and
“Target Audience Effect” metrics. CPM is calculated by dividing the total cost by the relevant
number to get cost per message, cost per article, etc.
Approaches using gross rating points (GRP), which measure reach against percent of total
population, and target rating points (TRP), which measure reach against percent of targeted
population, can also be applied to “Intermediary Effect” metrics if relevant population numbers
are available.

• IN SEARCH OF VALID METRICS TO USE?

Go to www.Amecorg.com and find charts like this one to help you.

Awareness Knowledge Consideration Preference Action

- Content creation
- Traditional media engagement
Public Relations - Social media engagement

Activity - Influencer engagement

- Stakeholder engagement
- Events/speeches

- Audience reach (traditional & - Key message

social) alignment - Endorsements by
- Frequency of (positive) journalists or influencers
- Impressions/Target audience
mentions - Rankings on industry
Intermediary impressions
- Number of articles
- Key message
alignment
- Expressed opinions of lists

Effect - Video news - Accuracy of facts

consideration
- Social network
- Expressed opinions of
preference
- Frequence
Followers - Social network fans
- Prominence
- Retweets/Shares/ - Likes
- Share of voice Linkbacks

- Relevance of brand (to - Attitude uplift

consumer/customer) - Stated intention to buy
- Knowledge of - Sales
- Visitors to website - Brand preference/
Target - Unaided awareness
- Aided awareness
company/product
attributes and features
- Click-thru to site Loyalty/Trust
- Market share
- Cost savings
Audience Effect - Brand association and
differentiation
- Time spent on site
- Downloads from site
- Endorsement
- Request for quote
- Leads generated
- Customer loyalty
- Calls - Links to site
- Event/meeting - Trial

10
PRINCIPLES 4 AND 5:
Measure Media Quantity and Quality, Not AVEs

AVEs have been traditionally used by PR professionals who have struggled to assign a value to
clips. Essentially, an AVE places a monetary value on a public relations placement by using the
currency amount paid for an equivalent advertising space. So why ban AVEs? The main reason
is that the cost of advertising is not the value of PR. Also, AVEs:

• Cannot capture the outcome of a PR campaign, limiting PR value to its placements in the media.
• Cannot measure the variety of messages delivered in the media in relation to the tamed messages
in advertisements.
• Cannot measure the value of keeping a client out of the media spotlight.
• Cannot properly distinguish between placements in noteworthy columns or sections of a
publication and generic or less desirable areas of a publication.
• Cannot measure social media in many forms, such as blogs and message boards.

MEDIA RESULTS APPROACH: AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO MEASURE QUALITY OF

MEDIA RESULTS

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PRINCIPLE 7:
Transparency and Replicability are Paramount to Sound Measurement

PR measurement should be done in a manner that is transparent and replicable throughout all
steps in the communications process. This includes:

MEDIA MEASUREMENT

• Source of the content (print, broadcast, internet, consumer generated media) along with
criteria used for collection
• Analysis methodology – for example, whether human or automated tone, scale, reach to
target, or content analysis parameters

SURVEYS

• Methodology – sampling frame and size, margin of error, probability or non-probability

• Questions – released as asked (wording and order)
• Statistical methodology – the calculation of specific metrics

12
PRINCIPLE 6:
Social Media Can and Should be Measured

MONITORING VS. MEASURING

Social media has become an intrinsic part of PR campaigns and an important method of
engagement. Therefore, not only should conversation in social media platforms be monitored,
but social media needs to be incorporated into PR measurement and reporting.

MONITOR

• Look for issues to which your organization or brand might want to react
• Identify trends in consumer opinion, desired content/features, etc.
• Provide a qualitative analysis of content

MEASURE

• Quantify reach, tone, recommendations, etc.

• Identify top users
• Benchmark in advance of interactive activity to track changes over time

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Ketchum Global Research & Analytics Leadership

Dr. David Rockland

Ph.D., Partner/CEO, Global Research and Ketchum Change
[email protected]

Mary Elizabeth Germaine

Senior Vice President/Director
[email protected]

Don Bartholomew
Senior Vice President, Digital & Social Media Research
[email protected]

Christina Nicols
Senior Vice President, Research
[email protected]

Kelly Holland
Vice President, Research
[email protected]

Ketchum has the largest research and measurement group in the public relations industry, Ketchum Global
Research & Analytics (KGRA). We have global presence with local expertise, providing state-of-the-art
services for our clients. We are thought leaders in the industry, emphasizing the importance of goal setting
and measurement. Ketchum led the creation of PR measurement standards, called the Barcelona Principles,
aligning with our practice over the past ten years to measure the quality of media coverage, track outcomes,
and incorporate advanced analytics tools to tie PR to return on investment (ROI).

Our Global Research & Analytics team is a core group of 150 professionals across 18 cities, committed
to the use of research in all phases of the branding process, from planning and program development to
tracking and evaluation. Our research approaches are focused on informing communication strategies that
will ultimately impact satisfaction and desired behaviors among target audiences. We therefore apply and
analyze research to inform communication and strategic objectives.

14
THE 10 GOLDEN RULES
OF MEASUREMENT
1. ESTABLISH WRITTEN GOALS

2. MEASURE THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF MEDIA

3. UNDERSTAND THE SAME PRINCIPLES APPLY TO TRADITIONAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA

4. DO NOT USE AVE AS THE VALUE OF PR

5. ADD PR QUESTIONS TO TRACKING SURVEYS TO EASILY CAPTURE OUTCOMES

6. COLLECT MEDIA DATA IN A MANNER USABLE FOR MARKET MIX MODELING

7. RECOGNIZE THAT ANALYTICS IS THE FUTURE OF PR MEASUREMENT—ROI IS THE

ANSWER

8. MAKE SURE ALL MEASUREMENT IS TRANSPARENT

9. USE MEASUREMENT TO TRACK PROGRESS AND TO DESIGN PROGRAMS BETTER

10. REALIZE THAT COMMUNICATIONS EXPERTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY MEASUREMENT

EXPERTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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