PR-Controlling
PR performance review
The issue of achieving performance transparency for PR work has played an important role for us ever since we founded the agency in the year 2000. The performance fee model we have been offering as an option – we were one of the first agencies in Germany to do so – has already been providing a very concrete answer to the question of PR performance control. The PR controlling methods we have since developed allow us to regulate PR activities more effectively and consistently optimise them. At the same time, PR controlling provides both the client and the agency with quantifiable results to build a case for communication measures. Visibility index, cost index and penetration are only some of the indicators we use to ensure results are quantifiable.
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As an active member of the DPRG’s (German Public Relations Association) working group on value creation, we are committed to the communication impact model, which is part of the DPRG/ICV framework for communication controlling. Our PR controlling concept places us in the “output” stages of this impact model.
Visibility index
In our controlling concept, the visibility index is the indicator that reflects the PR value of an individual publication in print and online media. There are three decisive factors:
- the type of publication (e.g. mention, market overview, press release, trade report etc.)),
- the length of the publication (e.g. quarter, third, half, whole page, several pages)
- and the specific relevance category of the medium for the customer (A, B or C). Media is categorised as A, B or C media individually for each company, with the specific target group affinity being the most important criterion.
For press publications, the lowest visibility index corresponds to a simple mention in a C medium. The highest possible visibility index is achieved by the publication of a complete trade or user report in an A medium.
Comparing visibility and cost
In a second step, the visibility index is compared to the cost index. The cost index is mostly based on the fees for a PR measure but also includes factors such as the amount of client company manpower involved in the measure. If, for a particular PR measure, you divide the sum of publication visibility indexes by the cost index you will have that measure’s visibility/cost quotient. At one glance, this visibility/cost quotient makes it possible to gauge and quantify how effective a measure is. If the sum of the visibility indexes exceeds the cost index, then the resulting quotient is greater than 1 and less than 1 in the opposite case.
Penetrating the target group
It is however not always enough to use the visibility/cost quotient to determine the relation between cost and returns. Sometimes it is advisable to take a look at the degree of target group penetration achieved with a publication. If a large number of target media exists for a specific target group then the number or length of the publication has to be greater when a high target group penetration is desired. In this case, the corresponding sum of the visibility indexes has to be high. If there are only very few target media, a lower visibility index will suffice to achieve a high degree of penetration. With the help of the A-B-C target group media categorisation, it is possible to determine a parent population to calculate the degree of media penetration. This target group media penetration can also serve as a basis for drawing up an agreement on objectives with our customers.
Qualitative evaluation and analytical success fee
Because of the high degree of detail involved, a qualitative evaluation of press publications costs a lot of effort. This is why, for most of our clients, this only makes sense in exceptional cases, such for example in the face of a crisis. This type of qualitative, content-based evaluation is also used to calculate our analytical success fee. Our qualitative evaluation not only examines a press release according to the above-mentioned criteria (publication type, length and customer-specific A-B-C relevance), it goes into much more detail. This includes examining images, headlines, placement, advance notification and contact details to determine a publication’s attention potential and calculate its attention index.
In addition, the qualitative evaluation addresses the question as to whether the intended core messages appear in the publication. In other words, the content index evaluates the degree in which the individually defined content communication objectives have been achieved with the publication. Individual communication objectives receive different values; these are then added to calculate a publication’s content index.
Both qualitative factors, the attention index and the content index are then added so that, at worst, the index will be assigned a value of 0.0 and at best one of 2.0.
Communication controlling
Möller Horcher is no doubt ahead of some of its competitors with respect to PR controlling. Nevertheless, because PR controlling serves different purposes, it is important for us to continue to develop this field. This is why we are involved in education and research, for example at the BiTS - Business and Information Technology School in Iserlohn, Germany. Gabriel Horcher teaches communications controlling to students earning their master’s degree in “Public Relations & Corporate Communication” at the state-approved private university.
Prof. Dr. Lothar Rolke of the Fachhochschule Mainz (Mainz University of Applied Sciences), an active member of the German Public Relations Association’s value creation working group, is the co-initiator of the annual Communications Controlling symposium:
“With the assistance of Möller Horcher’s PR controlling, it is possible for companies to quantify press work results in a specific manner. Indicators are calculated on the basis of the importance of the medium for the customer, publication type and length as well as prices and time and effort invested. KPIs help marketers control and optimise communication and also make it easier for controllers to assess price/performance ratios. In other words, transparency about our own activities leads to more efficiency, something that is justifiably demanded of communication today.”
Would you like to know what PR can do for you? Or do you need quantifiable results to present to management, controlling and the marketing department to build a case for implementing communication measures?
Talk to us! We will develop a PR controlling framework with you that really meets your needs.
Gabriele Horcher, General Manager at Möller Horcher Public Relations GmbH, by phone: +49 (0)69 - 80 90 96 - 52 or email: gabriele.horcher@moeller-horcher.de
