| Metric name | Advocacy |
| Standards area | Communications lifecycle (awareness, knowledge, Interest and relevance, relationship, intent and preference, and advocacy) |
| Metric description and application | “Public relations often differs from other forms of marketing communication because the end result of a communication program is not necessarily the sale of products or services . One of the key measures for the success of public relations programs is the ability of a program to create advocates among the target audience for a brand, product, service, issue or topic.” (Michaelson and Stacks, 2011: 16) |
| Version, date, and author | Version 1.0Last updated by David Geddes on Nov. 6, 2012 |
| Standard or guideline | Standard |
| Metric type | Communications outcome: “Quantifiable changes in awareness, knowledge, attitude, opinion, and behavior levels that occur as a result of a public relations program or campaign; an effect, consequence, or impact of a set or program of communication activities or products, and may be either short-term (immediate) or long-term.” (Don Stacks, ed. 2006. Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement. Institute for Public Relations.) |
| Detailed description.This is the actual standard, and must include full description of how to use this metrics. | The table below provides recommended survey questions to measure awareness using common survey methods. |
|
Data Collection Method |
Prototype Question |
Response Categories |
| Interviewer | I am going to read you a series of statements about the (brand/product/service/ issue/ topic). There are no right or wrong answers, we are interested in how much you agree or disagree with the statements. Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree?Place an X in the box that best represents your answer for each statement. | The response categories for this question are typically a scale that measures an overall level of agreement. One of the most common and reliable scales consists of five points ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” with a neutral midpoint. The scale is similar to that used in the interest measure described above. |
| Self-Administered | Please respond to the following statements about the (brand/product/service/ issue/ topic). There are no right or wrong answers, we are interested in how much you agree or disagree with the statements.Place an X in the box that best represents your answer for each statement. | The response categories for this question are typically a scale that measures an overall level of agreement. One of the most common and reliable scales consists of five points ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” with a neutral midpoint. The scale is similar to that used in the interest measure described above. |
| Source documents | David Michaelson, Ph.D. and Don W. Stacks, Ph.D. 2011. “Standardization in Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation,” Public Relations Journal Vol. 5, No. 2. |
| Academic research supporting this standard. | See supporting documents. |
| Validity and reliability of the standard. This should reference formal, preferably published, research demonstrating the validity and reliability of the metric, or, in the absence of such research, the kind of research that should be conducted. | |
| Team leads and contact information | David Michaelson, Ph.D.: Teneo Strategy; Chair, Institute for Public Relations Research Fellows; and IPR Measurement CommissionProf. Don Stacks, Ph.D., University of Miami, Institute for Public Relations, and IPR Measurement Commission |
