Walt Lindenmann, who heads the research group at Ketchum Public Relations, advises a budget of between 5 and 10 percent, depending on the complexity of the program, whether or not there is existing research, etc. It is clear, however, that few companies' budgets are at this level.
In 1978, 25 percent of the respondents to a survey by PR firm Ruder-Finn said that their companies regularly budgeted for measurement activities in PR programs.
When Ketchum Public Relations conducted a similar survey 10 years later in 1988, this figure had risen to 48 percent. More than one-half of those who said they do budget research and measurement activities were allocating 3 percent or less of their budget.
More recently, a 1995 survey by PR NEWS and Schenkein/Sherman Public Relations found that measuring and proving PR's value to management was the top priority among PR executives.
Nonetheless, research and measurement budgets had grown at only one-third of the 198 responding organizations - and budgets were down at an equal proportion of responding organizations. More than half of respondents said they "rarely" (40 percent) or "never" (11 percent) budget for research and measurement.