Metric name Relationship
Standards area Communications lifecycle (awareness, knowledge, Interest and relevance, relationship, intent and preference, and advocacy)
Metric description and application From Michaelson and Stacks, 2011: “Supplementing this overall or global question [about interest and relevance] is a series of statements that measure the relationship that the target audience has with the brand, product, service, or issue (see Table 4). These statements gauge the degree to which the brand, product, service, or issue is seen to be relevant to or homophilous with the needs and interests of the target. Homophily, defined as the state in which a person shares the same values, ideas, beliefs, and so forth as the person with whom they are interacting, is often a key measure that is overlooked in communication research. However it is often a central factor in determining the social acceptability of specific actions or purchases.Typical statements that are included in this measure include:

  • This product is a value for its price
  • The product has been presented honestly
  • Based on what I know of it, this product is very good
  • This product is something that is like me
  • Based on what I know of it, this product is an excellent choice for me
  • Based on what I know of it, I find this product quite pleasant to use
  • This product is used by people in my economic class
  • I think the product is very consumer unfriendly
  • People who buy this product are very much like me
  • I think this product is very reliable
  • This product reflects my social background
  • I would purchase this product because it reflects my lifestyle
  • This product is awful
  • People who use this product are culturally similar to me
Version, date, and author Version 1.0Last updated by David Geddes on Nov. 6, 2012
Status Interim Standard
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 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 – Relationship

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