Measuring the value of PR

The commonly-used word 'spin' does little to dispel the idea that PR is some kind of mysterious, shady art form that is impossible to quantify or measure.

CEOs and business decision makers tend to think in black and white, whereas PR tends to develop in varying shades of grey.

The process of measuring PR is a complicated business and can vary according to the way different companies measure success. The main problem businesses face when they embark upon a new PR campaign is that they haven’t sat down with their board (and their PR agency) and determined what it is exactly they are hoping to achieve from the campaign.

The success of a PR engagement varies from business to business. Mis-communication of goals and objectives with your PR agency in the early stages can be fatal. Once the measure of success is clearly determined, reporting the value of the PR campaign becomes less of a headache for all parties.

Whether it is measured in the quantity of increasing brand value, direct sales leads from media coverage, website traffic, raising the profile of the CEO, or possibly a combination of outcomes, there are various ways to measure this success in a clear, distinct way. This is when the marriage of straight CEO/marketing director's thinking and creative PR strategising becomes a match made in heaven. Advertising value equivalent is an old-school but popular method for many number-crunching business leaders and the growing power of social media has put likes, retweets and web traffic high on the agenda for measuring success. Adding value to a brand prior to a corporate action is another oft-ignored but very valuable aim of PR.

However you measure success, a good agency will have ways of presenting PR activity in a way that is digestible and quantifiable for all members of a board, as long as the foundations are in place to accurately measure success from the outset.