the mount vernon report fall 2010 vol. 10 no. 3

8/8/2019 The Mount Vernon Report Fall 2010 vol. 10 no. 3

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ommunication and her twin sister, reputa-tion communication, have been described as a

science but they are often equal partsscience and art. The principle if you cannot

measure it, then it does not exist is science atits best and certainly applies in many circumstances. However,measuring and tracking human behavior can be like counting

the grains of sand at the beach. Why bother counting whenyou can just guess?

The answer to this age-old question lies in the fact that theeffort to count the grains might not be worth the task. People

often want to know the answers but they do not want to em-bark on the hard work of research so they forgo defining aproblem before they set out to solve it. This can be as perilous

as flying without radar in a cloudy sky or navigating a boatin a fog without heeding the lighthouse. Predicting human

behavior without a ruler is hocus pocus science.

The best leaders, marketers and convincing communicationscientists know that they must have a foundation of truthto execute a successful communication strategy. These scien-tists must know where to start to determine the degree of

change they desire. They must make comparisons based ongood judgment and sound reason.

Strategic planners ask, What is our present state and thenwhat is our desired future state?

They work backwards, following a critical path from theend point to the starting point, to identify the importantmilestones needed to reach the ultimate destination. Com-munication scientists use strategic planning as a tool to de-

termine the resources needed to achieve the goals. Mostimportantly, they assign probability to the desired out-

come. If it has never been done, there may be a reason whyothers have failed in the past. Identifying risks and how theyimpact outcomes help communication scientists steer clear of

failure.

The most distinguishing factor of reputation communicationrequires a long lens view. Reputation might be a composite ofsmall acts, but the outcomes are not left to chance. Small acts

are planned and their cumulative effect often leads to signifi-cant change over time. Those of us in the reputation businessknow that like ocean waves pounding on the shore, the effectsof change both positive and negative can be relentless ifleft unmanaged, and impossible to measure as a result.

George Washington, the patron saint of the Mount Vernon Report,

knew all of this when he took part in the planning for the forma-tion of our colony from farmer patriots to a force of democ-racy and freedom. Washington was a surveyor by trade hemeasured, mapped and charted vast areas of our new country.

He used the instruments of the transit and square to deter-mine the absolutes and boundaries of land. But his qualitativeknowledge came from being in the field.

This issue of the Mount Vernon Reportis devoted to the theoryand practice of measurement. And while the tools may change,

the truth lives on. Walk the hills, but bring a map.

Peter Morrissey can be contacted at [email protected] Excellence: blog.morrisseyco.comThe Fosbury Flop: thefosburyflop.comTwitter: @Morrissey_Co

M E A S U R E M E N T THE ART AND SCIENCE OF REPUTATION COMMUNICATIONS

ISSUES AFFECTING REPUTATION MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

V O L U M E 1 1 N U M B E R 3 F A L L 2 0 1 0


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The Census Success and PR Number Crunchers

The 2010 U.S. Census, now in its final stages, reached its goal of72 percent mail-back participation while remaining $1.6 billionunder budget, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This landmarkachievement was not merely a matter of good fortune, but ratherthe result of a well-coordinated awareness campaign.

The Census Bureau faced many challenges in its mammothtask of surveying the American population, a project under-taken just once a decade. The past few decades saw lapsesin Census participation, especially among minorities, adultsin their 20s, recent immigrants, and other hard-to-reachsegments of the population. In 2010, to overcome thesechallenges, the U.S. Census Bureau launched the largestmarketing and public relations campaign in its history.

The integrated campaign in-creased awareness and gener-

ated conversation around theCensus to increase levels of mail-inresponses, and therefore reducecosts associated with sending Cen-sus workers door-to-door to collectdata. Using earned media placement,social media engagement, strategiccommunity partnerships, and grass-roots outreach, the Census PR teamexecuted a brilliant program withthe help of a very important secretweapon: measurement.

Each component of the public rela-tions campaign had its own systemof qualitative and quantitative met-rics used to assess and improve out-reach.

For media placements, Census PR professionals measured: The tone of the pieces Quality of the outlets Share of the market Number of key Census messages contained in the piece, and

Tenor of reader feedback

For community events, they measured: Number of attendees The quality of their experience, and Their comprehension and retention of key messages

With social media, measurements included: Interactions Re-tweets and likes Page visits Media toolkit downloads Blog mentions, and Overall buzz on networks such as Facebook, Twitter,

LinkedIn, and YouTube

Having been involved in Census outreach in southwesternConnecticut, I can personally attest to the vigor with which Censusworkers collected data and demanded numbers from their strategic partners. Leveraging their highly-specific measurements, the PRteam was able to identify and target their most valuable outlets andpartners, enabling them to efficiently communicate their message

to as many hard-to-reach segmentsof the population as possible before

Census forms were mailed.

Their multimedia approach, pairedwith careful metrics, createdextremely high visibility. In thefirst week of the CensusPortrait of America road tourthe project earned more than 102million media impressions.

Increasing the rate of mailin response was the Census

public relations efforts primarygoal. It was determined that forevery percentage point increase inmail-back participation, the government would save $85 million in

follow-up costs. The U.S. Census Bureau finished their work witha $1.6 billion surplus, around 22 percent under budget for theproject.

The numbers speak for themselves: A carefully planned andexecuted public relations campaign, combined with a strong systemof metrics to increase the efficiency and efficacy of media outreach

saved the government more than one billion dollars. And who saidPR cant make the world a better place?

~ Doug Flora

In 1977, the Universityof Maryland hosted thevery first conference onmeasuring the value of

public relations.Over 100 researchers,

academicians and publicrelations practitioners

attended. The conferencewas sponsored by AT&T.

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How We Search:

2010 Top Websites by Traffic Ranking

#1 #2 #3 #11 #19

He doth not tweet

@pgillin

We live in a culture

that is gaga for num-

bers. The great Albert

Einstein once said,

What gets measured

gets done. In the spirit

of embracing numbers

and their visual impact,

we have developed the

following infograph.

Here are a few glimpses

into the importance of

measurement in the

Web 2.0 world.

c

TheG

PA

wasfirs

t

used

atthe

Unive

rsity

of

Camb

ridge

in1792

IN 2010, WE PREPARE FOR THE NEW GUARD OF RE PUTATION...

- =(audience x conversion rate)x average lifetime value

x profit margin

cost of acquisition DIGITAL ROI

Shakespearesays...

The purest treasure moral times afford is aspotless reputation.

But how do weachieve that?

@Morrissey_Co

And fi nally,how can we

measure onlinereputation?

In 1985,

Microsoft

introduced

EXCEL

For example,deciding

between awebcast and awhite paper...

100

2%

$10,000

$3,000

233%

Audience size

Conversion rate

Lifetime profitability

Cost of acquisition

ROI

500

1%

$25,000

$10,000

150%

Webcast White Paper

credibility conduct ofbusiness

REPUTATIONKEYS

trust peopleproducts

+ + + + =

R E P U T A T I O N K E Y S

COST OF ACQUISITION

DIGITALMEASUREMENT

The average lifetime value of a customer is$50,000 at a 10 percent profit margin.

The average cost of delivering a webcastto100 registered viewers is $3,000; viewersconvert at a two percent rate.The average cost of delivering a whitepaper to 500 registrants is $10,000;registrants convert at a one percent rate.

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The Value of Public Relations

Measurement is an essential component of strategic commu-nications, and there has been a great deal of attention recently

surrounding the importance of measuring and evaluating theeffectiveness of public relations campaigns especially in thesechallenging economic times, where every dollar spent is carefully

monitored, and expectations are high.

Resources and guidelines that enable measurement of publicrelations activities have been utilized in varying degrees for decades.However, the public relations industry does not have a set of stan-dards or methodologies it adheres to when measuring the success

or failure of public relations initiatives.

This past June, more than 200 senior public relations professionalsfrom around the world gathered at the International Associationfor the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC)

Summit on Measurement in Barcelona, Spain. Representatives metto debate and draft a formal set of public relations measurementprinciples that will guide the industry to ensure that it measuresitself fairly and accurately.

These principles were described by AMEC Executive DirectorGeneral Barry Leggetter as baby steps, but they are an important

move in a cohesive direction. They are a mix of the obvious and thethought-provoking. The real challenge will be to look ahead andcontinue to find ways to bring unique value and importance to thepractice of public relations.

Barcelona Declaration ofResearch Principles

1 Goal setting and measurement are fundamentalaspects of any public relations program.

2 Media measurement requires quantity and quality clippings in themselves are not enough.

3 Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) do notmeasure the value of public relations and do not

inform future activity.

4 Social media can and should be measured.

5 Measuring outcomes is preferred to measuringmedia outcomes.

6 Business results can and should be measuredwhere possible.

7 Transparency and replicability are paramount tosound measurement.

Note: Access the Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles at

instituteforpr.com/digest_entry/the_barcelona_declaration_of_research_

principles/.

~ Margaret Brady

Reputation Advisor

The Mount Vernon Report is published and copyrighted 2010 by Morrissey & Company, an independent Reputation Communications firm headquartered at 6 Edgerly Place, Boston, MA 02116. Permission tocopy and distribute is granted, provided that full attribution is given to Morrissey & Company. Further commentary or response to any of the topics discussed in this issue is welcome and should be directed to617-523-4141 or via e-mail to [email protected] on recycled paper. In an effort to conserve natural resources we have altered the format of The Mount Vernon Reportto omit the use of an envelope. Art Direction/Design: Neville Design, Braintree, MA

Please visit our website at: mountvernonreport.com and RepEx Blog: blog.morrisseyco.com

Morrissey & Company6 Edgerly PlaceBoston, MA 02116

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