Firstly, the proper good news: the world of public relations is increasingly becoming more conscious of measurement, analytics and insight derived from data evidence. The encouraging good news: a lot of agencies are already on board, and industry bodies such as AMEC, PRCA, PRSA, IPR and CIPR are spearheading the movement towards higher standards of measurement and analytics, by endorsing the Barcelona Principles and Valid Metrics Framework. The not so good news: the debate is still more than a little muddled, social media is all too often portrayed and understood as the only media that deserves our attention (no, two re-tweets still doesn’t equal an FT leader), and number-crunching analytics are not the solution in and of themselves.
The Holmes Report recently published an article which focused on the changing culture of PR companies, as they begin to see how analytics will drive business benefits for them and their clients. We are very happy to see discussion about metrics and analytics when it is clear and well-informed, helping to engage and excite the PR community. In some respects, however, we feel that Arun Sudhaman’s piece failed to tell the whole story. The work of already well-established and successful analytics providers is not mentioned. Also, as guardians of measurement best practice, an approach to AMEC, the driving force behind much of the recent visibility accorded to communications research, might have offered another expert view.
The article also almost exclusively focuses on social media, but with absolutely no acknowledgement of the state of flux and confusion that exists around analytics in that arena. Only now is AMEC, in partnership with the PRSA and the IPR, beginning to develop standards and common terminology.
Of course, the shift in thinking about measurement is welcome – it is one that has been in evidence since AMEC’s Barcelona Summit, which gave rise to the Barcelona Principles, and has since been built on by the Lisbon Agenda. Measurement and analytics are at least gaining an airing in the PR community. It’s only been over twenty years in the making!
Precision analytics drives more effective PR and business processes – that much is generally acknowledged. However, the cause is not helped by hyped quotes such as: “You can build a predictive model in 3 clicks”. Really? Also, everyone will agree that simplicity is a good thing. Sadly, something that can’t be said of this snippet: “The highest potential use of data goes far beyond metrics and measurement…It calls for applied analytics – to more confidently and concretely build, shape and protect our clients’ brands by increasing the volume, frequency, calibre and general usefulness of their self-produced content; their media coverage; their connections with relevant communities and individuals; and, their ties to related topics and trends in digital and social media.” Not a contender for Plain English awards.
Whilst the PR community is at last waking up to the importance of moving beyond simple volume counts and that other bête noir, AVE, towards an acceptance that measurement needs to link outputs to outcomes, uncritical enthusiasm for supposedly new analytics tools could easily lead to a situation where PR abdicates its responsibility for business analytics to software and spreadsheet engineers with little or no skill in communications and marketing.
But not all is lost. Claire Walker, MD of Firefly makes the case for what is, after all, why clients, in large part, choose PR in the first place: “An over-reliance on data and analytics can mean a lack of risk-taking and perhaps stifled creativity – both bad habits,” contends Walker. “PR exclusively by the numbers is not great at all. You need to be sure you don’t get lost in the numbers and lose the ability to know what will fly, and sometimes that’s instinctive.”
So, whilst we need to support the move towards analytics, where they support and extend PR’s impact and effectiveness, we need to ensure they are accessible and relevant. Marrying analytics to business outcomes is the necessary driver for change. Robust data evidence leading to relevant business insight, leading, in turn, to better decisions. In that sense, PR is no different from any other serious business function.
