| In an effort to move the public relations industry closer to agreement on standardized methods of program measurement, the Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org) is issuing a set of recommended metrics and approaches for evaluating public relations' influence on key business outcomes. PRSA is asking for industry comment before issuing a final set of recommendations later this fall.
Ultimately, the recommendations will be available to the industry as part of PRSA's resource library, and integrated into a larger PRSA initiative to link public relations to the achievement of organizational goals. PR pros are encouraged to share their thoughts via the PRSA's comPRehension blog
"Our fundamental goal is to change how the industry talks about what public relations accomplishes," says Michael G. Cherenson, APR, PRSA 2009 chair and CEO. "Instead of meaningless catch phrases, such as 'create buzz,' our recommended approach focuses on identifying meaningful expressions of business performance, suggesting more appropriate measurement metrics and recommending proven tools for demonstrating how those metrics were impacted."
Currently, PRSA recommendations focus on measuring public relations' impact on the achievement of four types of program goals: financial, reputation/brand equity, employees and other internal publics, and public policy. The recommendations are applicable to all forms of earned media — traditional, as well as social.
The recommendations were developed by a Measurement Working Group, with contributions by PRSA staff and commentary and ideas from PRSA members. The Group is led by Ketchum partner and managing director Dr. David Rockland, and includes the past and present chairs of the Institute for Public Relations' Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation: Pauline Draper-Watts, the current IPR Commission chair; Katie Paine, CEO of KD Paine & Partners; Mark Weiner, CEO of Prime Research North America; and Don Wright, professor of public relations at Boston University.
Forging industry agreement on measurability has become critical to public relations' future, says Dr. Rockland.
"Those of us who focus on measurement have yet to come to a useful consensus on a series of standard metrics for how to measure public relations," says Dr. Rockland. "There are some fairly straightforward techniques that we're all starting to use and talk about. Agreeing to a common language as far as how to talk about measurement will take us well down the road to eliminating the 'measurability myth.'" | 
