Stories by Mark Weiner

For those interested in approaching PR as a research-and-reality-informed process, there is a simple framework: ‘the Public Relations continuum.’ The six-step cycle drives continual improvement, versus objectives and against competitors, to provide opportunities for refinement with every rotation.

Research is more accessible now to more professional communicators. What’s more, communication technology platforms are ubiquitous and at many price points…some cost nothing! With free and low-cost technology, the decision to measure, even with a modest budget, is a matter of willingness rather than ability.

Without the context of comparative analysis, one can pursue what seems like a proper PR plan. Set measurable objectives, develop data-informed strategy and tactics, and evaluate performance…and get everything absolutely wrong.

For some in financial services the late-January phenomena of GameStop represented an existential threat. For others, it was a chance to take a position. In response, courageous executives acted. This was not possible without prior planning and consideration.

To succeed in 2021, we recommend “the Landscape Analysis” as the best way to catalog, evaluate and improve your situation. Even if you think you know the answers, the current atmosphere indicates a need to reassess the communication environment.

While counterintuitive, broad acceptance of technology to advance productivity and efficiency reveals a greater need for the human elements required to manage tools and think about data they generate.

Each year, the public relations profession celebrates the role of communications research during Measurement Month, an international collective of free educational content organized by AMEC. To recognize the importance of measurement and evaluation in public relations, we assembled a virtual roundtable to explore the latest developments and best practices of the PR Measurati in the US.

Our measurement column looks at another route to ROI. This one centers on the value PR brings to the enterprise when it helps maintain reputation in the wake of a crisis. It’s all about market capitalization.

IPR Measurement Commission member Mark Weiner examines how Ford Motor Company’s launch of the Ford Mustang Mach-E generated media coverage, awareness and sales. It’s an exercise that he argues proves PR’s influence on sales can be measured.

For years, Adobe executives believed that getting a large volume of media coverage across a wide range of publications was more beneficial than fewer articles in targeted media. Using media measurement and analysis, Adobe’s Dr. Jennifer Bruce showed this was not the case.