Unlocking the Potential of Public Relations

A best practice study conducted by the Institute of Public Relations and Department of

Trade and Industry, UK

Prof Anne Gregory FIPR, IPR PresidentGerald Chan AMIPR, IPR Public Affairs & Education Officer

Unlocking the Potential of Public Relations A report by the DTI and the IPR

www.ipr.org.uk/unlockpr

In-house PR practitioners How well PR strategy supports the

organisation’s overall strategy

4 3

17

29

40

74 5

27

31 32

1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1 2 3 4 5 6

Per

cent

not at all fully

Private Sector Mean = 3.85

Public Sector Mean = 4.19

Main purposes of PR and how effectively they are achieved

PR Consultancies

1 = not at all, 6 = completely/absolutely

What constitutes good PR practice?

120 elements of good PR practice identified covering:

• Strategy making• Structure and organisation• Commissioning and resources • Research and planning• Professionalism• Creativity • Technology• Evaluation

Effectiveness of audience research

12

16

33

26

12

1

12

17

34

26

10

1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1 2 3 4 5 6

Per

cent

Private Sector Mean = 3.38

Public Sector Mean = 3.38

poor excellent

Importance of individual competencies for PR professionals

1 = not at all, 6 = very important

Activities outsourced to PR agencies/ consultancies and to what extent

1 = all internal, 6 = all external

Yes53%

No47%

Organisations running formal training and development programmes for PR professionals

In-house Consultancy

Yes46%

No54%

Future directions?

Maximising the Potential of PR

Professor Anne GregoryPresident, Institute of Public Relations & Director, Centre for PR Studies, Leeds Met. University

and

Dora McCabeHead of Group Public RelationsCadbury Schweppes plc

www.ipr.org.uk/unlockpr

DTI funded study of PR competitiveness

@1,000 senior respondents

Lots of best practice…

But highlights some areas for major concern…

Return on Investment (ROI):

The ratio or percentage of how much profit or cost saving is realised from an activity against its total cost

Measuring & Reporting

in Public Relations

An IPR and CDF study conducted by Metrica Research Ltd

 May 2004

Method & Sample

Semi-structured phone survey of 100 senior Communication Director and CEO respondents 80 private sector 20 public sector

Desk and web-based research on best practice & case studies

Benefits of PR

…long-term

raise awareness build reputation improve business standing improve positioning against competitors

…short-term raise awareness build reputation contribute to increased sales improve internal morale support other marketing activities

Measuring PR

Public sector

In response to pressure for uniformity

Combining internal teams & external agencies

Using broad range of tools and techniques

Private sector

44% conduct regular, planned & proactive measurement

31% conduct sporadic & reactive measurement

25% conduct one-off measures

Improving PR Measurement

59% intend to improve PR assessment and monitoring but plans vague, poorly thought through and some just ‘tinkering’

Only 4 respondents cited firm and definite plans in place to improve PR measurement

Measuring PR as ROI

Half referred to some form of financial measure but…

Significant proportion not confident about PR performance in terms of revenue or profit

8 out of 10 referred to ‘reach and frequency’ or ‘effect on audiences’ as main forms of measurement

Measuring PR as ROI

Only 6% claimed to measure PR in ROI related terms

34% did consider PR budgets in ROI terms

6 in 10 would use ROI to measure PR to…

Measure performance Justify existing PR spend Prove need for additional PR spend

PR ROI versus other communication measures

Over 50% believe that PR ROI would lead to bigger budgets and create more opportunities for PR

Up to 35% believe that PR ROI could be a threat and encourage budget restrictions

> 15% believe that only AVEs can provide necessary ROI measures

Others measure coverage (e.g. media analysis), reach and frequency or effect on audiences

Recap: Measuring PR as ROI

Majority believe in

Tangible PR assessment Reporting Universal form of PR

ROI

Main issue is choosingwhat to measure andhow to measure and reportin ROI-type terms

Does PR ROI make sense?

ROI: Ratio or percentage of how much profit or cost saving is realised from an activity against its total cost

Confusion over an agreed definition of ‘PR ROI’. Some examples of cost-savings and increased revenue

Cost-benefits, where identified, defined in different ways Different perceptions about how to measure PR Translated into cost or revenue

…but does not conform to strict definition of ROI

IPR concludes…

Industry largely still too defensive

ROI terminology in PR undervalues PR work perpetuates false comparison with advertising poor substitute for basic and rigorous PR

measurement and evaluation

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/artwork/hires/rocket.jpg

Linking PR outputs & outcomes to Organisation objectives & outcomes

www.ipr.org.ukwww.cdf.com

Timberland: PR sales to boot

Research identifies the market gap

Feb 01 - Jan 02 OTS 107,001,000 across ABC1 18-24 yr old market

Effect of PR campaign systematically tracked

26% UK store sales increase over same period = PR effect

Hadrian’s Wall National Trail Path – 7 years - £6bn Print OTS 20million and TV OTS 8million Visitor number up 50% on previous year 70% more bus passengers 25,000 trail information leaflets sold, requiring re-print of 30,000 4,000 guidebooks sold out in 3 weeks Website traffic up 50% on previous year Information Line calls x 4 times volume

Volvo XC90 Launch

• Overall UK 4x4 market up 400%

• PR impact = 45% XC90 sales

• Advertising cancelled: saving £2.5million

Miller: disaggregating the PR effect

• Over 2 1/2 years communication analysis identified that PR generated 1.2% of base product sales, or 4% of incremental product sales

• Cost-effectiveness of PR understood against TV adv. effect

IPR industry aspirations

Learn from and educate practitioners about meaningful PR programme planning (this includes measurement and evaluation)

Educate clients/employers about PR  

Not ‘PR ROI’ but Evidence-Based PR the difference made to business and organisation

objectives made as a result of PR (PR outputs and outcomes)

Evidence-Based PR: PR outputs and outcomes

• Media evaluation: no.of messages sent, coverage obtained, messages featured, OTS, against competitors

Qualitative & quantitative research: message understood and/or acted upon by audience, new and repeat behaviours

Attitudinal change: across audiences, against messages and competitors

Audience change: cognitive, affective, conative ???? Quality of relationships: achieved, maintained, protected - by audience

group, against messages Reputation: benchmarked by audience group, against messages and

competitors Cultural/social/political change: dialogue, partners, licence to do X,

change law Financial measures, share-price, volumes sales, calls made, web traffic,

attendees

…delivering organisation outcomes

Evidence-Based PR

Managerial effectiveness .e.g. delivering strategy, staying within budget, client handling efficiency…

Monitoring effectiveness .i.e how are we going along the way: out-take measures to modify PR programme to deliver organisation outcomes

Measuring effectiveness .i.e. how did we do in the campaign to deliver PR outcomes and business outcomes

Organisation contribution .i.e what is our contribution and value to the organisation

Evidence-Based PR:tailoring tools

Surveys: tracking, benchmarking, qualitative research, panels Clippings and media analysis Quarterly/annual reviews, meetings and reports Benchmarking and tracking media coverage or progress on

other specific objectives

…leading to the balanced PR scorecard encompassing Key Performance Indicators for programme delivery…

Evidence-Based PR

Thank you!

Prof Anne Gregory, IPR PresidentGerald Chan, IPR Public Affairs & Education Officer