2008

Good Words. And Great Names. Green Lipstick and the Environmental Pig. How it Feels to Live in a 650-year-old Wooden Home. The Key to a More Productive Workflow. Marketing that Makes a Sustainable Difference. New Year’s Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Sweet Successes.

2007

2007. The Perfect Time for a Road Trip Alcoa CSI “Uncorks” a New DVD to Introduce its Unique Wine Seal. Cook for the Cure 2006: Record-Setting Sauces Cook for the Cure—Spoil Your Dinner! Green What? Integrate, Segregate, Reformulate? Measuring the Effectiveness of PR: Thinking Beyond the “Thud Factor” Miller Brooks Builds with Habitat for Humanity. Online Media Measurement See What’s New at Miller Brooks! The Shock of the New. What is a Brand Touchpoint? What We’re Reading: Made To Stick Word of Mouth Marketing

2006

Brand Washing. Branding in the Blogosphere. Cook for the Cure: A Souper Time Cook for the Cure Invite How Does Your Brand Speak to Multiple B2B Audiences? June Blitz: Largest in Habitat History Making the Most of Your Online Advertising New Look, Easy New Access. New Year's Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Peter Drucker: Thoughts on Business from "the Man Who Invented Management." Trade Shows. Afterthought or Forethought? Why Marketing Matters

2005

Are Employees Speaking Your Brand Language? Conducting a Brand Audit: An Energizing Experience. How to Justify Your B2B Budget. How to Watch TV for Your Brand. You Can Learn a Lot. Less is More: Refining Your Brand's Print Materials. Patience. Is it the Missing Ingredient in Marketing Innovative New Products? Personal Accountability in Branding. Taking a Cue from Reality TV: Is It Time to Pimp Your Brand? The Sound of Branding. Triangulation: Three Views into Your Brand. Value Proposition. Positioning Statement. Are They Really Different? What's an Elevator Pitch?

2004

Are You Over-Hyping your Brand? Brand Understanding: Developing a Great Positioning Statement. Brand Warfare: 10 Rules For Building The Killer Brand. Good News/Bad News: Your Brand Made Headlines. How to Recover from Bad Press. Marketing B2B, Products vs. Services: Is There a Difference? Media Management: The Value It Brings to a Brand. Measuring Marketing ROI: Holy Grail or Myth? Mosaic Branding: A Way of Thought? The Right Media To Drive Your Brand. The Value Of Market Research For B2B Brands. Trade Show PR: Remain True to the Brand. Writing a Marketing Plan: Taking the Hassle Out and Putting the Value In.

2003

Brainstorming: How To Get The Most From Your Ideation Sessions. Brand Crisis? What Crisis? Brand Messaging: Why You Need It, And How To Develop It. How Do Customers Touch Your Brand? Understanding What's Important Can Make All the Difference. How To Get Your Brand Into Show Business. Is Your Brand a Product, Organization, Person, or Symbol? Keeping Your Brand Look and Message Consistent. Project Management: Working Behind The Scenes To Synchronize Your Brand. Putting The Web To Work For Your Brand. The Art Of Innovation: What Every Brand Can Learn From Inspired Product Design. When Do You Need Another Brand? Who Cares About Paper?

2002

A Brand's Functional Benefits vs. Emotional Benefits. An Electronic Brochure? What Is It and When Is It Needed? Collaborative Branding: When Agencies and Other Suppliers Work Together, Brands are the Big Winners. Creating A Direct Response Campaign? Think Like a Fisherman. Expand Your Brand: How to Make Your Brand Speak to Media and Analysts. How Long Should It Take to Produce a Brochure, a Website, an Ad? The Purpose Of A Corporate Brochure. The Softer Side Of Branding: Understanding the Nuances of Brand Personalities. What Color Is Your Brand? What's The Personality Of Your Brand? Try This Simple Brand Association Exercise. What Is The Value Of Your Brand? When Does A Brand Need A Logo?

2001

All Aboard: How to Get a Greater Return from Your Direct Mail. Brands, Channels, and Customers. Building Your Brand in a Tough Economy? Give Your Brand A Spring Cleaning. Is Your Brand Ready for the Internet? Get a Clue from the Cluetrain. It's A Brand New Day. Branding with Strategic Public Awareness. Justify Your Marketing Budget. Lights, Camera, Action! Tips for Launching Your Brand on TV. Photography: To Stock or Not to Stock? Is This Really a Question? SIC vs. NAICS: Understanding the Difference. What Business Are You In? What's an Elevator Pitch? Wolverine: Building A Brand That Works.

2000

Bingo Cards: Are They Dead? Creating a Harmonious e-Brand. e-Branding: How To Embrace It. e-branding: Sometimes Simpler Is Better. How to Strengthen Your Lead Management Process. Maintaining Your Brand's Image. Making Taglines Work. Managing Visual Assets In A Digital World. Mapping Your Web Site. Messaging: The Foundation for Good Communication. Miller Brooks: Growing with the Changing Times. Naming: Will It Play Around the World? Project Management: Necessary Evil or Strategic Advantage? Top 10 Steps to Taking a Brand Overseas. Why Every Brand Needs a Brand Architecture.

Measuring the Effectiveness of PR: Thinking Beyond the “Thud Factor”' 2007 Qtr 2

Measuring the Effectiveness of PR

Measuring the Effectiveness of PR: Thinking Beyond the “Thud Factor”

Poll any number of public relations experts and they will agree that the bottom line is only as strong as the “public” that supports it. What isn’t as clear is how you prove this to your organization. While marketing measurement is more art than science, tools do exist that help track the effectiveness of a public relations program so you can make more measured marketing decisions.

The traditional measurement for public relations is the clip book: that bulky compilation of print media garnered during a particular campaign. We’ve all used it, and many still do. The value of a clip book has often been associated with how loud a sound the book makes when it is dropped onto the table, the infamous thud factor. A pervasive metric that plays more to our basic senses than our business sense.

Tracking tools can provide deeper insight into the value public relations brings to an ROI–driven business. Each of these metrics analyzes news stories, which are after all, a primary objective of public relations.

Basic clip tracking and analysis
A general understanding of where your company is showing up in the news will help you gauge public perception. Basic metrics include article count, total column inch per article and total circulation of publications. Ad equivalency, the estimated amount it would cost to purchase the space in which news appeared, is another standard.

Awareness research
While costly, in–depth awareness research is useful in determining a baseline and in measuring business growth over time. Such analysis includes the tonality of news, share of discussion a company or brand receives compared to the competition, visibility or how many times an article gets published a month, review of headlines and lead paragraph mentions, the extent to which a company or brand is mentioned, and identification of key journalists covering the company.

Sales and Leads
News can, and often does, go beyond shaping public perception to provide businesses with tangible leads and sales, and not–for–profits with donor leads and contributions. Tools and services are available that can be used inside an organization to track how public relations directly impacts the bottom line.

Clip analysis will likely never disappear, but for deeper insight when funds are available, a variety of metrics do exist that detail how the news is helping to shape your brand.

Back to top