All the awareness in the world is worthless unless it can be converted to customer preference and, ultimately, purchase.
Yet, when we talk about measurement, we almost always stop at awareness, the first step. The most common publicity measurement tool is clipping analysis. From this we do
comparisons with our competitors, with last year, calculate cost per impression and content analysis. But clipping analysis alone doesn't tell us if any of the publicity helps
reach business objectives.
Recently, we have demonstrated a clear linkage between publicity placements and top-line revenue growth at Sears.
In the first example, we surveyed consumers to establish a baseline of attitudes toward Sears and several competitors. We also asked how likely they were to shop at each of the
competitors and how much they intended to spend.
Then, a nationally syndicated television show aired a segment very favorable toward Sears. Immediately following the segment, we repeated the consumer survey asking 400
individuals about attitude and purchase intent. We saw dramatically positive shifts following the broadcast of the show. Because the surveys were conducted immediately prior to
and following the broadcast, the likelihood of other factors influencing the results was virtually eliminated. In figure 1, positive intent to purchase at Sears increased by 11
percent (from 59 percent to 70 percent who said they agree or completely agree with the statement "I will shop at Sears this holiday season").
On the question of spending, we found that consumers were willing to spend significantly more at Sears following the broadcast of the show. Figure 2 shows that those who
indicated they would spend less than $100 decreased from 48 percent to 35 percent while those spending more than $250 increased by 19 percentage points. The amount of money
respondents estimated they would spend with Sears during the holiday period increased by 39% per shopper. For Sears, that increase translated to more than $40 million.
We also documented an attitude shift. There was almost a five-fold increase in the number of respondents who agreed that Sears does good things for the community following this
single placement. Prior to the placement, the attitude toward Sears was almost a perfect bell-shaped curve with the majority of respondents feeling neither negative nor positive
toward Sears on this question. Following the show, the attitude toward Sears skewed significantly positive.
A second study of a public relations placement on a different syndicated national television program provided further evidence of a link between consumer attitudes and
spending. It showed an 11.1% change in positive consumer attitudes toward Sears and a 4.2% increase in intent to shop, resulting in a 25% increase in the number of respondents who
said they will spend more than $100 in the next six months.
In addition to survey data, we have also been able to gather sales figures and directly correlate public relations activities to that information. Recently, a New York
Times article on fashion footwear at Sears appeared in the New York and New Jersey editions of the paper. The impact in those markets was dramatic and immediate. In the week
following the Sunday article, sales in the New York and New Jersey districts outpaced both a control market and our national figures by more than 20 percent. This shift in
spending was the result of a single article, rather than the accumulated impact of hundreds or thousands of articles.
We have documented objective evidence of a strong correlation between public relations activities, consumer perceptions and sales revenue. Rather than merely counting
clippings, we are able to count what the clippings produce in additional revenue.
E. Ronald Culp
Senior Vice President, PR and Government AffairsSears, Roebuck and Co. [email protected]
Thomas Nicholson
Director, PRSears, Roebuck and Co. [email protected]