Measurement can be conducted in thousands of different ways, in hundreds of industries, and in a host of disciplines. PR NEWS gained an eagle-eyed view of the measurement landscape by talking with Edie Fraser, president and CEO of the DC-based firm the Public Affairs Group, Inc. Fraser facilitates regular conference calls and forums with top communications executives from Fortune 500 companies via her firm's Best Practices in Corporate Communications division.
PRN: It seems as if measurement has become a hot issue in communications almost overnight. Where's the fire?
EF:
There are three pressures driving communications performance today. One impetus is to treat communications as a critical management imperative for the company. That means developing very strategic planning in measurement systems and proving your results. Two is having your employees understand and measure themselves. Many companies are truly looking at the communications performance of each individual and what their contribution is. The third arena that we see is a discipline-based or functional approach to each category of communication. So whether it's employee communications or community relations or investor relations, there is a thrust of looking at what that function brings to the company in terms of ROI.
PRN: Where is communications measurement having the greatest impact?
EF:
Media relations [as a function] has seen the most dramatic increase and is the most measurable in terms of going from a "per clip" type of measurement to showing what it really can do for brand recognition. But there are several other areas that have come up on the screen. More and more communications professionals are serving as the management consultants across the company, up the system to the chief executives and senior officers, and across the system to the general management operating units. Many are charging out their time to prove their value against the business plan.
PRN: What is PR's relationship to the corporate business plan?
EF:
The overall objective of every [communication activity] should be aligned against the business plan. It should be clear where the value is in every form of communication, including stockholder value.
PRN: How has measurement changed traditional PR roles?
EF:
PR people understand now that they have a fundamental, exciting role as business managers. And that they have a role to impact the growth of the company, and the stock price of the company. This didn't exist 10 years ago. Most of the vice presidents of corporate communications in businesses today are being very demanding of themselves and their teams to show how communications can enhance business performance. That means they can change resources and reallocations, as well as get new budget resources for proven communications effectiveness.
PRN: How is PR adapting to the larger business landscape?
EF:
The drive toward new market growth means it is now the responsibility of communications to bring in new customers, new growth. Communications also plays a role in the globalization of companies looking at changing market share. And it's playing an absolutely fundamental role in new technology. Roughly 30% of CEOs now have their own Web sites, where they can interact with employees [and other key constituencies]. It is a major shift for communications to have a seat at that table, assisting that feed, in that type of absolute proactive outreach.
PRN: Your research shows that employee communications strategies are those being measured most consistently. Why the emphasis on that discipline over the others?
EF:
The challenge [of] integrating messages leaves employees totally confused. They also are confused by the fast pace of business competition. [Our survey] found that the average company has been through three mergers or acquisitions this year. This creates a situation where confidentiality in the company has to occur right up to the point of the announcement. At one point you're working for one company, and then you read in the newspaper [that you're working for someone else]. That is, if you haven't had an effective communications strategy via the Intranet, with videoconferencing, with the CEO getting out a message explaining why the company is making changes.so that there's a comfort level for employees.
PRN: Technology can houses a tremendous amount of power when used effectively as a communications tool. Does it have a downside?
EF:
There is also a tremendous detriment - 24-hour communications. We've got professionals who are exhausted but exhilarated. The top communications people are finding that their hours are 24 hours a day. I think of [one colleague] who's taken a key role at Daimler-Chrysler. She says ever since they went through their merger, she's up at 4:00 every morning on the Internet communicating with Germany. You find that across the board.
PRN: Your organization pools intelligence from scores of corporations -- many in the same industry. How do your members feel about sharing benchmarking information with their competitors?
EF:
This is no longer a concern. What each company wants to learn is not necessarily its own industry. They want to know, "What are other industries and other companies doing that is affective that I can apply?" These companies are really most interested in gaining market share and seeing ROI.