Berlin Measurement Summit report published: Output vs Outcome?
September 16 2009
The final report on the international survey of PR professionals for the Berlin Measurement Summit has been published.
The survey indicates that more practitioners than ever are measuring the effectiveness of their communications programmes.
The survey carried out by Benchpoint™ for AMEC, the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, and the Institute for Public Relations, was presented at the 1st European Summit on Measurement in Berlin held from June 10-12 and attended by nearly 200 delegates from 28 countries.
The survey was carried out amongst a sample of 520 PR professionals internationally.
Key findings were:
- The overwhelming majority of PR professionals, 88%, believe measurement is an integral part of the PR process (70% believe this strongly).
- While 77% of respondents claimed to measure their work compared with 69% in a similar survey five years ago, the survey results show that the PR profession are still not agreed on the best tools and methodologies.
- Measuring ROI (return on investment) on communications is viewed as an achievable goal by the overwhelming majority of professional communicators taking part in the survey. There is, however, very strong agreement that it is possible to calculate ROI on communications, and that demonstrable ROI would enhance the budgets (and status) of PR practitioners.
- PR Professionals still tend to judge their success criteria more by their ability to place material in the media rather than on the impact such coverage might have on shifting opinion, awareness, or moving markets, although there is evidence that this is changing.
- The survey found that the tools used by PR professionals includes press clippings - still the favourite - closely followed by AVEs (Advertising value equivalent) and more rigorous tools including Internal Reviews, Benchmarking, and the use of specialist media evaluation tools. Various forms of opinion polling and focus groups also remain as popular tools.
| Criterion | % | Pos |
|---|---|---|
| Hit target media | 20 | 1 |
| On time, on budget | 16 | 2= |
| Measures of message output | 16 | 2= |
| Awareness/Image | 15 | 4= |
| Client satisfaction | 15 | 4= |
| Achievement of goals | 15 | 4= |
| Other | 3 | 7 |
Source: Benchpoint
The data indicates there are two camps - the output measurers (clippings and AVEs) and the outcome measurers who tend towards more cerebral - and costly- measures (internal reviews, opinion polls etc).
Mike Daniels, Chairman of AMEC's Business Development Committee, said: "The survey presents a clear challenge to the media evaluation industry that more education is needed within the PR industry to demonstrate the business benefits of proper evaluation rather than continue to rely on clippings and AVE's."
Survey Notes:
- The on line survey by Benchpoint™ attracted over 500 respondents from around the world. Respondents were invited through professional associations and through professional networking groups. The largest response was from the USA, followed by Germany, the UK and Ireland. India and Canada also figured. The data does not support any national or regional differences from the data.
- The international survey team which led the research project was: Donald K. Wright, Ph.D. - Professor of Public Relations, Boston University, USA; Richard Gaunt, CEO Benchpoint Ltd, London; Mike Daniels, Director, Report International and AMEC board member, London; Dr. Ansgar Zerfass, Professor of Communication Management, University of Leipzig, Germany.
- Benchpoint Ltd is an on line survey company specializing in employee, customer and membership surveys for large and small organisations. It uses a unique proprietary system to provide real-time, fully analysed results. Clients include international companies, NGOs, professional associations and the UK Government.
More information and feedback:
Download Measurement Summit Survey Report (1Mb) (Includes Internal communications data)
More from the Measurement Summit: http://www.ameceuropeansummit.org/summit/
Follow the debate on "Intelligent measurement: http://intelligentmeasurement.wordpress.com/
For further information, data and charts contact:
Richard Gaunt
Or
Barry Leggetter
Executive Director, AMEC
Email:
Tel: +44 1268 412414
Mobile: +44 7748 677504
http://www.amecorg.com
Or
Frank Ovaitt
CEO, Institute for Public Relations
http://www.instituteforpr.org/