Smoke Signal, A Public Relations Podcast

A Public Relations Podcast: Smoke Signal Episode 24 – Measurement and evaluation = strategic communication

Paul Cheal Season 2 Episode 24

This month, in partnership with the Public Relations Institute of Australia, we mark Global PR Measurement Month by speaking with adjunct professor, lecturer, researcher, presenter – Fraser Likely – from his hometown in Ottawa Canada.

Having an industry level discussion to highlight the importance of measurement has never been more critical. According to a recent study into continuing professional development conducted by the Public Relations Institute of Australia, measurement and evaluation is one of the top three priorities for Australia’s professional communicators.

While Fraser Likely is today synonymous with PR measurement and evaluation, for 30 years, while running his own communication management firm, Fraser never spoke about measurement and evaluation. It was simply performance management.

And while the tools, technology and techniques are now more sophisticated, at its heart measurement and evaluation is still all about performance – whether that be of a program, a campaign, a team or an organisation.

Fraser defines seven units of measurement: we can measure a specific communication activity and associated messages; a project or campaign;  programs such as internal comms or issues management; how PR helps the whole organisation achieve its business goals; how organisation do in regard its environment and society around it (CSR or reputation); the performance of individual practitioners; or the overall communication function and what value it has to an organisation.

With measurement and evaluation more sophisticated than ever, the greatest question today is what is the uptake among practitioners? For Fraser, engagement with measurement and evaluation goes hand in hand with the role communications plays in an organisation. Those professional communicators with a seat at the table and part of the strategic management process will look at measurement and evaluation in a much more sophisticated way.

Fraser references a  recent research piece involving 20 Chief Communication Officers, that showed senior practitioners never showed the management team traditional media metrics, social media measurements or web hits for the simple reason this was backward looking intel. What they did was analyse this data to help inform insights for their management – here’s what we’ve learnt, here’s what we know, here’s what we think is going to happen so here is how we should adjust our strategic plan. Using the data to turn it into strategic insight to feed into the management decision-making.

Fraser says in recent years there has also been a more overt distinction made between measurement (effectiveness) and evaluation (value).

Measurement is what we all do. We are using tools and technology to collect and analyse data. What this shows is the effectiveness of our communication efforts. Did we reach who we wanted to reach? What impact did it have? Did it change opinion or behaviour?

Evaluation is more the assessment of value or the merit or worth of the campaign / program / project. It answers questions such as was this valuable for us or not?

Where measurement is objective and quantitative and looks at effectiveness, evaluation is subjective and looks at value. This is how management tend to assess PR programs and departments.

Looking forward, Fraser cites Maturity Models such as the one by AMEC that allows  users to compare and contrast against what you have in place now and best practice to help practitioners improve and further the organisation’s  measurement and evaluation capabilities.

Be sure to checkout the other initiatives on the PRIA website marking Global PR Measurement Month, including a recent webinar: Measurement: Get Serious to be taken Seriously

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