Management wants data. How can anybody think otherwise in a business world ruled by six sigma, key performance indicators, balanced scorecards, dashboards and ROI. Yet studies continue to show that many public relations practitioners still do not use research to plan and measure their work. Lack of time and budget are often cited as reasons, despite the availability of low-cost (even no-cost) research methods. A ...

In 2006, an Institute for Public Relations survey identifying priority research topics put trust right at the top of the list. And what produces trust? The professional literature of our field suggests that transparency may be a key driver. Richard Edelman writes in the 2007 Edelman Trust Barometer that “continuous, transparent – and even passionate – communications is central to success” in today’s environment. The transparency/trust linkage seems to be everywhere – except in ...

“Exploring the Link Between Share of Media Coverage and Business Outcomes,” the second of two papers by Angie Jeffrey (VMS), David Michaelson (David Michaelson & Company), and Don Stacks (University of Miami), builds on an earlier work that may be familiar to regular readers of this column ...

“A new blog is created about once every two seconds. New videos are posted to YouTube even more frequently. Virtually everyone with a computer (98%) goes on line to search for information before making a purchase. Video search is taking over text search as the most popular form of searching. Politicians, marketers, and individuals are embracing new forms of social networking…at unprecedented levels.” So says Katie Paine (KD Paine & Partners, and member of the Commission on PR Mea ...

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When the boss talks, what’s it worth to the company? Marianne Eisenmann (Determinus, Chandler Chicco Agency) and Katie Paine (KDPaine & Partners) have authored a new paper entitled “Measuring the Effectiveness of Speaker Programs.” It offers tools and methods for doing just that. Speaking opportunities are often sought by executives who want to profile their organizati ...

Rejoice. You can now cite proof that a media placement has the same effectiveness as advertising. But not more than that – at least not yet. In a new Institute-sponsored study entitled “Exploring the Comparative Communications Effectivess of Advertising and Media Placement,” David Michaelson (David Michaelson & Co., LLC) and Don W. Stacks (University of Miami) designed an experiment to test a long-held, oft-re ...

As measurement is increasingly seen as a requirement for communications professionals rather than a “nice-to-have,” the number of different methodologies and techniques to measure results has proliferated. Now that the tipping point seems to have been reached and measurement is appearing on almost everyone’s to do list these days, its time to move beyond “any measurement is good measurement” to the stage where CEOs, clients and agencies aren’t just demanding “measurement” but rather de ...

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America has issued a call for entries for the 2007 Big Apple Awards. This year for the first time, the Institute for Public Relations will present a “Best Use of Research, Measurement and Evaluation Award.” Big Apple winners in every category will automatically be eligible for the additional research award, which will be judged by members of the Institute’s Commission on PR Measurement & Evaluation. The Big Apple Awards progra ...

Most public relations practitioners intuitively believe in the power of media coverage to create the awareness, knowledge, interest and intent that is needed to achieve desired behaviors by target audiences. But how much media coverage is needed to affect change, and is more really better? And before you say yes, when and where have you seen it proved? A new Institute paper by Angie Jeffrey (VMS), David Michaelson (David Michaelson & Company), and Don Stacks (University of ...