Survey on the Use of Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation

Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation SurveyThis survey is an attempt to determine what measurement and evaluation methods are currently in use in the profession of public relations.

Debra Bethard-Caplick Graduate Research Project University of Maryland, University College

PO Box 34930 Chicago, IL 60634 P: (773) 625-3782 F: (773) 625-3784 dcaplick@ameritech.net

Survey on the Use of Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation

To: Public relations practitioners

Your assistance is requested with this research project, which is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree Please answer all of the questions in this form and fax or

email it by Friday, July 21, to the address listed above If you would like a copy of the results,

please provide your contact information to me at the address above in a separate message, in order to protect your confidentiality If you have any questions, you can reach me at

dcaplick@ameritech.net, or 773-625-3782

Thank you for your valuable assistance

Debra Bethard-Caplick

Graduate student, University of Maryland University College

Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation Survey

This survey is an attempt to determine what measurement and evaluation methods are currently in use in

the profession of public relations Please take a moment to indicate your answers below

1 For classification purposes, please indicate where you work:

Independent practitioner Small department (2-10 people)

Small agency (2-10 people) Medium-sized department (11-20 people) Medium-sized agency (11-20 people) Large agency or department (20+ people)

2 Do you currently or have you in the past two years used outside companies for measurement of your

public relations activities?

(circle one) Yes No Unsure

3 Do you currently or have you in the past two years conducted measurement yourself?

(circle one) Yes No Unsure

4 Does your department or organization specifically allocate funds for research, measurement, or

evaluation on a regular basis as part of its total annual budget for public relations programs and

activities?

(circle one) Yes No Unsure

5 Which of the following statements comes closest to describing how your department or organization

currently handles public relations research, measurement and evaluation projects? (PLEASE SELECT

ONLY ONE RESPONSE)

Little or no research/measurement/evaluation work is done

Most of the work is done internally

Most of the work is done by outside counsel and/or suppliers

Assignments tend to be evenly divided between doing them internally and using outside counsel and/or suppliers

Other (please specify)

6 During the next two years, do you anticipate that the volume of public relations research, measurement

and evaluation studies that your department or organization carries out annually will:

Increase by10% or more

Increase by 1-9%

Remain approximately the same

Decrease by 1 - 9%)

Decrease by 10% or more

7 What proportion of your total annual budget for public relations is allocated for research, measurement

or evaluation projects?

8 Which of the following measurement methods are you currently using? Please place a mark in the

space to the left of those you are currently using, or have used within the previous two years For only

those you have indicated using, please indicate whether you believe that method to measure output,

outtakes, or outcomes, according to the following definitions:

Output: The immediate results of a particular PR program or activity, for example, the number of news releases sent

out, the number of articles generated, the number of those who might have seen or heard the story, inquiries generated, etc

Outtake: A determination of whether the targeted audiences received the messages, paid attention, understood them,

or retained them

Outcome: Whether attitude and behavioral change occurred in the target audience.

Please make your choices below:

Publication/broadcast of story

Media outlet category (daily/weekly paper, wire service, local vs

national TV,etc.)

Use by targeted journalist

Targeted geographic area (region, state, ADI markets, etc.)

Source of story (media pitch, news release, press conference,

unsolicited, etc.)

Story form/type (hard news, feature, product review, editorial,

etc.)

Presentation (text only, graphics, charts, photos, color, etc.)

Column inches/broadcast time without multiplier use

Column inches/broadcast time with multiplier use

Reach (also called ‘opportunity to see’)

Advertising value equivalency

Message content analysis

Targeted media (byline, specific broadcaster, etc.)

Message readability/understandability

Total number of placements or media impressions

Item Measured Output Outtake Outcome Total circulation or potential audience reach (opportunities to see)

Client target audience or potential audience reached

Client/company mentions

Client product/service mentions

Competitor mentions

Competitor service/product mentions

Client/Company share of voice compared to competitors within

story

General issues covered

Client messages covered

Competitor messages covered

Spokespersons mentioned/quoted

Tone/stance toward client or company (also called slant)

Headline tone/stance/slant

Content favorability/unfavorability

Call to Action (phone/web/mail inquiries traceable to story

Cost of message placement/distribution (news release distribution

fees, brochure printing, etc.)

Number of media representatives attending event/press

conference

Target audience response (via Web response, phone inquiry,

postcard return, etc.)

9 If there are other items you measure that are not included here, please write them in the

following spaces and provide a brief explanation of what they measure Also, please check to

indicate whether you consider them to measure outputs, outtakes, or outcomes

10 Which of the following techniques do you or your department use to measure or evaluation public relations results Also, please check to indicate whether you consider them to measure outputs, outtakes, or outcomes

Focus group

Mall or shopping center intercept

Mail surveys

Pre- and Post-test (Before and after polls)

Surveys using sophisticated data collection and analysis

techniques, such as conjoint or factor analysis

Publicity tracking or media monitoring studies

Studies that systematically analyze or track consumer

inquiries, requests or complaints

Studies that use experimental designs comparing “test”

groups to “control” groups

PR/communication audits

Readership/readability studies

Qualitative depth interviews with opinion leaders

Studies that involve model building

Literature searches and information retrieval projects

Studies that involve secondary analysis of existing data

Content analysis studies

Studies involving psychographic analysis in addition to

demographic analysis

Studies involving observation, participation,

role-playing, or similar techniques

11 If there are other measurement methods you use that are not included here, please write them

in the following spaces and provide a brief explanation of what they measure Also, please check to indicate whether you consider them to measure outputs, outtakes, or outcomes

12 What measurement methods would you prefer to use, if you were not constrained by time and

budget considerations? Please list them in the following spaces and provide a brief

explanation of what they measure, if they are not currently listed in the first set of questions

Also, please check to indicate whether you consider them to measure outputs, outtakes, or

outcomes

13 Please indicate your agreement with the statements below, where 1 is strongly disagree, 4 is

neither agree nor disagree, and 7 is strongly agree Public relations measurement methods:

Strongly Neither Strongly Disagree Agree nor Disagree Agree

14 Please indicate how well you agree with the statements below, where 1 is strongly disagree,

4 is neither agree nor disagree, and 7 is strongly agree

Strongly Neither Strongly Disagree Agree nor Disagree Agree

planning purposes

want to measure

data

Strongly Neither Strongly Disagree Agree nor Disagree Agree

against other departments

management on the role/value of public relations

on the roles/value of public relations

on the attitudes/opinions of key stakeholders

Thank you for your assistance in completing this survey If you would like a copy of the results,

please send your name and address, email or fax number in a separate mail or email (to

preserve your confidentiality) to:

by Friday, July 21