PR Must Generate ROI as a Contributor to Overall Business Success, Says Virtual Roundtable

Each year, the public relations profession celebrates the role of communications research during Measurement Month, an international collective of free educational content organized by AMEC.

To recognize the importance of measurement and evaluation in public relations, we assembled a virtual roundtable to explore the latest developments and best practices of the PR Measurati in the USA.

Mark WeinerChief Insights OfficerCision

Our contributors are: Liz Rector, Director of Communications Intelligence, Cisco Systems; Cindy Villanfranca, Senior Communications Specialist, Southwest Airlines; the Adobe Communications Measurement and Insights team comprised of Jen Bruce, PhD and Susanne Sturton, (“Adobe”), and Michael Young, Global Insights Manager, Ford Motor Company. The conversation was moderated by Mark Weiner, Chief Insights Officer at Cision.

Mark Weiner: How do you integrate your PR data stream with other departments within your organization?

Michael YoungGlobal Insights ManagerFord Motor Company

Michael Young: We integrate campaign measurement across earned, paid and owned. The result is truly holistic.

On integrating PR data with other business units, it’s crucial to understand and grasp their data sets, with a result being one cohesive data story.

Cindy Villanfranca: Thanks to social media, we now have real time data at our fingertips—and a lot of it. This allows us to integrate the insights coming from PR into other areas of the business quickly to get a holistic picture of the landscape.

In today’s socially charged climate, having a pulse on customer sentiment is a must. You can’t always wait for survey data or other data that may have lag time.