Measurement Month: agency panel share PR success stories

For PR professionals and their clients, measurement is growing in profile and importance, agreed Gorkana’s measurement panel consisting of DeVries SLAM, Bell Pottinger, FleishmanHillard Fishburn and Pitch, at an exclusive AMEC Measurement Month event last night (28 September).

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(From left to right) Paul Hender, head of insight at Gorkana, Daisy Pack, associate director at DeVries Slam, Allison Adams, director, insights & planning at FleishmanHillard Fishburn, Matt Hocken, account director at Pitch and Julia Hipkiss, associate partner at Bell Pottinger

As the panel shared measurement challenges they have faced, a consensus formed that while clients may want to improve upon their PR measurement strategies, they may not be clear on how best to go about achieving that. This provided a clear opportunity and challenge for agencies and specialists.

The ‘How you can prove success – the real world PR measurement challenge’ panel, which took place at Tanner Warehouse, London, comprised Daisy Pack, associate director at DeVries SLAM, Julia Hipkiss, associate partner at Bell Pottinger, Allison Adams, director, insights & planning at FleishmanHillard Fishburn, Matt Hocken, account director at Pitch and Paul Hender, head of insight at Gorkana. The event was chaired by Philip Smith, head of news and content at Gorkana.

A few PR measurement tips to come out of the event were:

Measurement Month panel

Measurement Month panel event at Tanner Warehouse

Measurement should be a priority from beginning to end
Hipkiss introduced the analogy of measuring for, and then buying, curtains for a house.

Hender expanded upon the idea: “You wouldn’t measure your blinds after you’ve put them up. You measure them beforehand.”

Likewise, with PR measurement, the panel agreed, it has to begin before the campaign comes into effect, and continue throughout in order to accurately monitor campaign results.

Adams said: “Measurement shouldn’t just happen at the end [of the campaign], it should be ongoing.”

Measurement should be tailored to each client
The panel agreed that clients should receive a bespoke measurement solution informed by their specific business and aims. Hipkiss shared her experience working with South Africa Tourism.

The brief, she said, was to get more UK travellers going to South Africa. Generating positivity was the key challenge, rather than awareness, and the agency’s measurement activity reflected that. In terms of the amount of people travelling to South Africa, Hipkiss said, the agency is currently 16% ahead of target.

Hocken explained how Pitch’s work with Betfair which, ultimately, wanted to see an increase in bets made, paid off. According to Hocken, a campaign that included an octopus stunt for the World Cup resulted in a 15% rise in bets made.

Measurement supports communications integration
Pack talked about DeVries SLAM campaigns with Krispy Kreme, Zippo and Quaker Oats. The latter, which featured ballerina Darcey Bussell in a recent campaign, was able to prove that it drove salience and thanks to the tone of the activity: “set the brand on a new path.” She advocated running integrated campaigns and, with the PESO (paid, earned, social and owned media) model in mind, ensuring measurement plays a role in driving these campaigns forward.