TrendWatch is a bi-monthly column in which Delahaye Medialink consultants share industry trends, insights and observations in the spirit of fostering continued communications.
This TrendWatch column on PR measurement and its role in the PR Awards process has been prepared exclusively for PR News. To read prior TrendWatch articles, please visit http://www.thegauge.com.
Increased visibility...the recognition of one's peers...professional affirmation... great assets for marketing one's skills and achievements. And all among the many reasons
why public relations professionals go to great lengths and expend considerable resources to participate in competitions that recognize PR excellence.
Amazingly, most entries disqualify themselves before the ink is dry.
As many Delahaye Medialink TrendWatchers have sat on countless PR award judging panels - and as many of our clients and colleagues have shared their stories, it's become
apparent - measurement is missing.
How do you as communication professionals put measurement into PR awards?
For starters, let's go back to the basics and remember the most critical component of any award entry: the results need to be tied to the objectives and the objectives need to
be measurable.
Entrants are often required to demonstrate the program's outcomes -- awareness, preference and behavioral outcomes are often specified as elements to include -- but most
entries fail to do this
The bulk of entries -- sometimes 3 out of every 4 -- provide only clips... reams and reams of clips, as if LOTS of photocopied clips somehow take the place of the other
measures requested. Some offer a client budget increase as sole proof that the program worked. Where's the measurement?
Entrants are also often requested to contribute supporting materials that prove the results of the campaign. Judges go through tons of clip copies, product samples, video-
taped airchecks -- all helpful in supporting the entry. But refrigerator magnets? Logoed pens and picture frames? This isn't proving PR ROI: it's manufacturing.
Is it any wonder why most entries fail?
To increase the chances that your entry will win, consider the following pointers:
Understand the process: Judges are often asked to review as many as 50 programs within a relatively short period of time. What this means is that the first step is usually an
elimination round. Get through this round and your chances increase.
Follow directions: If four program elements are required, then provide all four. And don't begin thinking about the elements when it's time to submit your entry; go back to
the beginning of the program and think about why each part of it was created. The research that entrants must demonstrate should be planned for and carried out months prior to the
award entry.
Do your own research: Most award sponsors offer free access to past award-winning entries. It is well worth the time to research what works (and what doesn't) when it comes to
a particular award program.
Make it easy for judges: Judges are human and while it would be untrue to say that easy-to-digest entries are automatic winners, it would be fair to say that many hard-to-
digest ones were easier to discard. Provide legible documentation, including photocopies of clips. Don't overstuff your binder to the point that it can't be reviewed, and make it
interesting.
Most importantly, tie your results to objectives: Do this by creating measurable objectives at the beginning of all your PR programs and then putting tracking mechanisms in
place to prove and communicate your return on investment.
Editor's Note: Delahaye Medialink is a sponsor of PR NEWS' Strategic Online Communications seminar, June 15. Earn a $50 discount by taking an online survey at http://www.PRandMarketing.com.