| Metric name | Intent to take a specific action |
| Standards area | Communications lifecycle (awareness, knowledge, Interest and relevance, relationship, intent and preference, and advocacy) |
| Metric description and application | Intent to take a specified action, however, differs considerably from overall preference (see Table 6). Members of a target audience may prefer one brand, product or service over others. But, in many instances, this preference does not convert into a likely action. For example, a consumer may prefer one brand of snack chips over another. However, that same consumer may be unlikely to purchase that preferred brand because of price, availability or other product attributes. This question is asked on a scale to measure intensity of the intent to take an action. The question can be asked for multiple brands, products, services, issues or topics in order to gain an understanding of comparative intent. |
| Status | Interim Standard |
| 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 orSelf-Administered | Based on everything you have (seen/read/ heard/observed) about this (brand, product, service, issue, topic), how likely are to (purchase/try/support) this (brand, product, service, issue, topic). Would you say you are “very likely”, “somewhat likely”, “neither likely nor unlikely,” “somewhat unlikely” or “very unlikely” to (purchase/try/support) this (brand/product/service/ issue/ topic)? | The response categories for this question are typically a scale that measures an overall level of intent to take a specific action. One of the most common and reliable scales consists of five points ranging from “very likely” to “very unlikely” with a neutral midpoint. The scale is similar to that used in the credibility or believability measure described in Table 1 |
| 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 | |
| Revisions | August 31, 2012 | David Geddes |
PDF: Standards Communications Lifecycle – Intent to Take Action
