Covid-19 Recession Places Renewed Emphasis on PR Measurement & Evaluation

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Economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic increases the importance of PR measurement and evaluation. With corporate revenues down across the board and budgets under scrutiny, PR must prove its value to company management to defend its budgets, according to new research from the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO)

PR professionals must abandon vanity metrics and embrace accountability and meaningful metrics that connect to the company bottom line if they are win respect and maintain their budgets, states the 2020 ICCO World PR Report, produced in partnership with Provoke Media and Opinium.

Signs of Improving PR Measurement

The survey indicates growing appreciation of PR measurement. Three quarters of the ICCO membership now report that they are using AMEC’s free resources and tools, up from 50% last year. Those tools include the updated Barcelona Principles, the Integrated Evaluation Framework, the Measurement Maturity Mapper and the Strategic Planning Guide, available at amec.org.

Fewer PR firms use advertising value equivalencies (AVEs), a metric that’s condemned as meaningless. However, AVEs are still being used by 46% of respondents globally — by 73% of agencies in the Middle East but just 10% in the UK. Almost three-fourths of respondents say they use AVEs because they’re expected by clients. Only 16% say senior client management expect AVEs, and 6% say senior management within the agency want to see the metric. A small but surprising 17% say AVEs are their preferred evaluation method.

A Shortage of PR Analytics Skills

A dearth of professionals with measurement and analytics skills poses a challenge to enhanced PR measurement.

“Despite how tough these times are, talent remains a huge challenge,” states ICCO Chief Executive Francis Ingham. “A challenge that is particularly acute in recruiting the people with the skills that we need — with data, measurement, and analytics at the top of the pile here. As our industry recovers, this challenge will intensify obviously.”

A survey last year by UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) found that most recruiters say research, evaluation and measurement skills are among the most desirable skills for PR pros. Yet relatively few PR pros say measurement is one of their common activities. There may be an even greater skills gap in the U.S. since PR measurement and evaluation has traditionally been more advanced in the UK than in the US.

Fortunately for PR pros, powerful PR measurement tools are now available that can reveal PR’s contribution to business goals. The best services offer compressive media monitoring, integrated media and business analytics, and customizable features. The best services also include human analysts who can assess media clips for greater accuracy.

Tough Times but Optimism in PR

Not surprisingly, the Covid-19 pandemic has severely hurt the PR business.

Almost two-thirds (62%) of PR firms have had campaigns cancelled and 61% are expecting a drop in fee income.

In addition, 46% report a loss of earnings, nearly 40% of respondents say there have been fewer pitches, and 35% say they have fewer retainers. Payment delays have also been a problem for more than a third of the industry (38%).

Other challenges faced across the board included hiring freezes (35%) and pay cuts (35%), while 15% of respondents have been forced to make redundancies.

Many remain optimistic about the growth of the public relations market, which is mostly expected to come from the technology (63%) and healthcare sectors (53%), states Opinium CEO James Endersby.

CEOs care more about corporate purpose, Endersby adds.  More corporations are addressing climate change, diversity and inclusion, and employee well-being.

Bottom Line: PR pros need first-class PR measurement skills and tools more than ever in order to retain their budgets during tough economic times this year. A worldwide survey reveals signs of improving PR measurement, but much work remains to be done.

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