NEW YORK - Research designed to gauge the effectiveness of PR continues to become more sophisticated, as practitioners move away from output measures, such as clip-
counting, toward more outcome-oriented metrics, such as spikes in sales, employment inquiries or donations, in the case of many nonprofits.
A survey of the communications departments inside 210 Fortune 500 corporations, for example, finds that as many as 96% of large companies budget for measurement and research,
and 92% use some sort of benchmarking methodology. Participants in the survey, conducted by D.C.-based Public Affairs Group/Best Practices in Corporate Communications (BPCC),
indicated that measurement allocations claim roughly 3% of the total communications budget, on average (which, in a company with a PR budget of $9.5 million, would amount to
$288,000 for measurement, the study illustrates).
But this anecdote may shed light on the reason so many PR practitioners still hesitate to measure the impact of their work: the practice seems cost-prohibitive - particularly
for smaller companies whose budgets pale in comparison to those of corporate behemoths. In truth, however, outcome-oriented research needn't be excessively expensive. Speakers
at last week's PR NEWS "Best Practices in PR Measurement" seminar shared some of their most effective, low-cost research tactics. We offer two examples:
Sears: Media Moves Sales
Sears Roebuck and Co. is hardly a small player, with 326,000 employees and annual revenues of $40 billion+. Nevertheless, the Hoffman, Ill.-based retail giant keeps its
research costs in check by taking a selective approach to media measurement. Instead of analyzing every piece of media coverage it gets, the company measures customer attitudes,
preferences and behaviors surrounding specific, noteworthy media hits.
Last year, for example, the company surveyed 400 customers both before and after an "Oprah" segment lauded Sears for donating Christmas gifts to needy kids. Each survey gauged
the extent to which consumers viewed Sears as a socially responsible company, whether they planned to shop at Sears for the holidays, and how much they anticipated spending on
holiday gifts at Sears. Benchmarks ultimately revealed that consumer intent to shop (on the positive side) increased from 59% to 70% in the wake of coverage. And customers who'd
already planned to shop at Sears during the holidays bolstered their spending projections by 39% after hearing Oprah say, "We love Sears." The ultimate ROI: a $13 million boost
in revenue in exchange for $20,000 worth of donated merchandise. "We can't spend $15,000 to measure every placement we get, so we pick and choose which placements we're going to
measure," Sears PR director Tom Nicholson told seminar attendees. The company uses such benchmarks to analyze which PR strategies in its arsenal are moving the needle and
producing the greatest return for the dollar.
Hydrogen Media: Attributing Recruitment Rises
Hydrogen Media, a Tampa Bay e-business solutions firm serving small- and medium-sized clients, operates on a considerably smaller scale, with 150 employees and annual revenues
of roughly $4.5 million. Like most employers in technology circles, Hydrogen is grappling with the talent shortage. To keep tabs on its competitiveness in the marketplace, the
company routinely charts correlations between the influx of incoming resumes and key events - such as media hits, or the introduction of new benefits programs.
In January 2000, for example, Hydrogen saw a 600% increase in resume submissions after launching a concierge service for employees that includes perks such as drycleaning, car
washing and errand-running. (An employee referral program incentivizes staffers to recommend potential candidates.)
Similarly, resume traffic spiked last month after a "CBS Evening News" segment showcased the firm's progressive culture in the context of a story about local business views on
Election 2000.
"The cost is virtually free, with the exception of about a half day's worth of manpower to generate the data," said Craig Patrick, director of PR at Hydrogen Media (which, by
the way, garnered a Platinum PR Award from PR NEWS last spring for its internal communications program). Hydrogen's resume benchmarking program is a joint effort of the PR
and HR departments at the firm.
(BPCC,202/466-8209; Nicholson, Sears, 847/286-5231, [email protected]; Patrick, Hydrogen Media, 888/890-9175, x315, [email protected])