Metric name Interest and relevance
Standards area Communications lifecycle (awareness, knowledge, Interest and relevance, relationship, intent and preference, and advocacy)
Metric description and application “These measures constitute direct questions about interest in the brand, product, service, issue, or topic as well as broader measures that examine how they are perceived by the target audience. When the target audience is closely aligned with the brand, product, service, issue, or topic that is the subject of communication, there is an increased likelihood that they will take an intended action to purchase, support, or recommend. Without interest and relevance there is little or more motivationby the target audience to take any form or action that is aligned with business or program objectives.The basic question on interest is an overall or global question on interest in the brand, product, service, issue, or topic. This question is asked on a measurement scale to determine an overall intensity of interest (see Table 3). This question can also serve as the “dependent variable” in an analysis that predicts outcomes. This is commonly called a regression or leverage analysis.” (Michaelson and Stacks, 2011)
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 or Self-Administered After (seeing/reading/ hearing/observing) this material would you say you are “very interested”, “somewhat interested”, “neither interested nor uninterested,” “somewhat uninterested” or “very uninterested” in this (brand/product/service/ issue/ topic)? The response categories for this question are typically a scale that measures an overall level of interest. One of the most common and reliable scales consists of five points ranging from “very interested” to “very uninterested” 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

Data Collection Method

Prototype Question

Response Categories

Interviewer Administered 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
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.
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

PDF: Standards Communications Lifecycle – Interest Relevance

Heidy Modarelli handles Growth & Marketing for IPR. She has previously written for Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, The Next Web, and VentureBeat.
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