In a world where instant results are increasingly demanded, it’s important to be able to measure the immediate impact of your PR and wider marketing activities. However, when it comes to evaluation, it’s important to bear in mind the long-term contribution at PR should make to your strategy and not be fixated with immediate column inches.

It’s true that seeing your name (personal or company) in the media spotlight can provide an immediate pay back and a lovely ego massage, but what’s the end result when the buzz and excitement has subsided? Possibly an expensive cheque with little to show for it other than a few press cuttings and no contribution to your overall business plan.

Clear thinking is often clouded in the rush for results.

The goal for many companies embarking on a PR campaign is to raise awareness about a new brand, product or service, increase sales or help to change perceptions in the mind of your target customers.

Quite rightly, metrics play an important role, if only for providing hard data as to who’s seen what, where, how many times etc. But effective measurement should be deeper than this. Simple AVE calculations or circulation figures do little to measure the positive or negative impact of press coverage, nor do they measure contribution to your wider business plan.

When planning any campaign or activity, don’t forget to consider some metrics which take account of these important wider strategic issues. Think about how you can measure the campaign’s contribution to new markets or sectors, what doors have
been opened or what relationships have been strengthened.

It may take a little more time to create a metric or measurement tool for these indicators, but by doing so, you will be much better equipped to evaluate the real contribution of your campaign.

With our wider strategic approach, Red Marlin has an enviable reputation in delivering real business benefits for its clients. At the start, we discuss and fully understand their wider aims and agree campaign goals and objectives in line with these. Without this, who’s to say if it’s been a success or not?

But remember, that a softly, softly approach can be just effective as a big bang. Both have their parts to play, but not at the expense of the other. To learn more about how Red Marlin can give your PR and marketing a more strategic and measurable approach, call us on 01926 333245.