Public Relations Strategies and Tactics Tenth Edition Dennis L. Wilcox Glen T. Cameron This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 8 Evaluation Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 8 Objectives Understand the purpose of evaluation Know the key elements of objectives Distinguish the measurement of different communication components Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Purpose of Evaluation The fourth step in the public relations process is evaluation The systematic assessment of a program and its results A means for practitioners to offer accountability to clients—and to themselves Reasons for evaluation Desire to do a better job next time Adoption of the management-by-objectives system Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Objectives: A Prerequisite for Evaluation . It is important to have a clearly established set of measurable objectives Public relations personnel and management should agree on the criteria used to evaluate success Don’t wait until the end of the public relations program to determine how it will be evaluated If the objective is informational… If the objective is motivational… Instructor Notes: If the objective is informational… measurement techniques must show how successfully information was communicated to target audiences QUESTION FOR STUDENTS: What do they not measure? ANSWER: The effect on attitudes or overt behavior/action If the objective is motivational… these are more difficult to accomplish – need to prove that public relations efforts (and not other factors like marketing) was responsible for success. It is best to show a cause and effect relationship that starts with a baseline measurement Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Current Status of Measurement and Evaluation A trend to a more systematic approach to evaluation Some still believe that public relations is more art than science Public relations professionals should use a mix of techniques to provide a more complete evaluation Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

There are at least three levels of measurement and evaluation Instructor Notes: There are at least three levels of measurement and evaluation Basic level: compilations of message distribution and media placement Intermediate level: more sophisticated techniques are required – measurement of audience awareness, comprehension, and retention of the message Advanced level: measurement of changes in attitudes, opinions, and behavior Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Measurement of Production . Elementary form of evaluation Counts the number of news releases, feature stories, photos, guest editorials, blog postings, etc. created, published, or produced This type of evaluation is skewed because it measures quantity not quality Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Measurement of Message Exposure The most widely practiced form of evaluating public relations programs is the compilation “clips” Media impressions Tracking internet visitors Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) Systematic tracking Requests and 800 numbers Return on Investment (ROI) Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Measurement of Audience Awareness Determines if the audience Actually became aware of the message Understood the message Survey research Day-after recall Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Measurement of Audience Attitudes Changes in an audience’s perceptions and attitudes can be evaluated using pre- and post- measurements of attitudes Impact of intervening variables Statistical analysis of variance Baseline studies graphically show the percentage difference in attitudes and opinions as a result of increased information and publicity Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Measurement of Audience Action The ultimate objective of any public relations effort is to accomplish organizational objectives The ultimate objective of a company is to sell its products and services Raising awareness and interest is important, but ultimately, the goal is to motivate people to adopt an idea, vote, use a service or buy a product Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Measurement of Supplemental Activities Communication audits Pilot tests and split messages Meeting and event attendance Newsletter readership Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Communication Audits All communication activity of an organization should be assessed (audited) at least once a year Could include the following Analysis of all communication activity Informal interviews with rank-and-file employees, middle management, and top executives Informal interviews with community leaders, media gatekeepers, consumers, distributors, and other influential person in the industry Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Pilot Tests and Split Messages Companies test the message and key copy points in selected cities to learn how Media accept the message The public reacts The split-message approach is common in direct mail campaigns Two or three different appeals may be prepared by an organization and sent to different audiences Objective: to learn which is most effective Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Meeting and Event Attendance Attendance can be a indication of people exposed to the message Audience attitudes can also be evaluated by analyzing behavior at the event Evaluation forms provide a more systematic method of evaluating what participants think Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Newsletter Readership Readership should be evaluated annually Evaluation can help ascertain Reader perceptions The degree to which stories are balanced The kinds of stories that have high reader interest Additional topics that should be covered The credibility of the publication The extent to which the newsletter is meeting organizational objectives Instructor Notes: Remember that systematic evaluation is not based on whether all the copies of a newsletter have been distributed or picked up. This information doesn’t tell the editor what the audience actually read, retained, or acted upon Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Newsletter Readership Cont… Content analysis Readership-interest surveys Article recall Advisory boards Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.