Reach? Impressions? Coverage? What measurement really matters in PR – lessons from Taylor Swift

When people hear “PR” many think about measurement in terms of driving awareness or changing perceptions. Which are of course important, but PR can deliver so much more. Leads, sales, job applications… the list goes on, and on. 

Luckily the days of relying on antiquated measurements like AVE are behind us, but many still hold on to vanity metrics that deliver little to no value. You can’t demonstrate improved awareness or perception by simply stating how many pieces of coverage you got. 

For example, how would we measure the impact of Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris on social media?

The instagram post currently (27.09.24) sits at a whopping 11 million likes reaching tens of millions more. Amazing data, right? But that’s simply an output and not an outcome. 

An output is…., whereas an outcome is much more meaningful, as it considers the action you want people to take away after the initial engagement, or after garnering their attention. So to demonstrate the real value of the post we need to look deeper. Following her post:

• There were 400,000 visitors to the vote.gov website in less than 24 hours, up from a daily average of 30,000
• The General Services Administration reported over 27,000 new voter registrations on September 11
• Additionally, more than 80,000 people used the site to verify their registration status

Now THAT is real measurement and real impact. 

The Evolution of PR Metrics

AMEC, of which With is a proud member, is a global organisation dedicated to promoting the importance of measurement and evaluation in communications. Their Barcelona Principles, serve as a guideline for effective PR measurement and emphasise the need for meaningful, quantifiable results. With have fully embraced AMEC’s principles and paved our own path into meaningful measurement, making sure it is ingrained within everything we do. Only by placing measurement at the epicentre of our work can we continue to develop and evolve our campaigns for the better. 

With’s approach to measurement:

1. Set Clear Objectives: Effective measurement begins with defining clear objectives for your PR campaigns, which must be defined at the earliest stage possible. What are you trying to achieve? Increased brand awareness, improved reputation, lead generation? Objectives guide not only guide the PR strategy and tactics, they also guide the selection of appropriate metrics.

Read our case study with Pollinate for a demonstration on outcome measurement on digital campaigns. 

2. Measure Outcomes, Not Just Outputs: Too often one is mistaken for the other, leading the less scrutable believing their campaigns have been a whopping success due to overuse of vanity mentions. For example, counting media mentions can offer a basic sense of visibility but it’s essential to dig deeper and analyse outcomes that demonstrate real impact. This might involve tracking changes in public perception, shifts in sentiment, or behavioural changes among your target audience.

Read our awareness case study with MullenLowe here to see how a clear goal leads to great PR. 

3. Integrate Measurement: PR does not operate in isolation to all other elements of any business. Integrating PR measurement with overall business metrics provides a holistic view of how PR efforts contribute to broader organisational goals.

Shedding Light on Outdated Practices

The PR landscape has evolved considerably, yet some outdated measurement practices still linger. These practices often fail to capture the true value of PR efforts and can hinder decision-making. Here are a few examples:

1. Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE): AVE fails to consider the qualitative differences between earned and paid media and does not reflect actual impact.

2. Impressions Alone: Relying solely on impressions (the potential number of people exposed to your content) neglects whether the content actually resonated with the audience. It’s a quantity-focused metric that lacks depth.

3. Vanity Metrics: Metrics like social media likes, shares, and followers can be misleading if not considered in the context of broader objectives.