We need a yardstick

Your article, 73% of CEOs say marketers lack credibility (mwlinks.co.uk/LackCredibility), highlights the work that marketing and PR people still have to do to show stakeholders they understand the need to demonstrate quantifiable return on investment (ROI) and can deliver measurable results.

In a week where 89% of this year’s attendants at the AMEC European summit stated that measuring PR’s ROI was the most important issue they were facing, it is clear the communications industry has measurement at front of mind.

At present there are a number of different ways to measure PR and marketing campaigns, but no magic, standardised way to demonstrate ROI. I’m all for organisations like AMEC working with the industry to outline best practice and better universal measurement terminology. But the fact that there is no agreed framework in place is no excuse not to measure.

PR and marketing professionals need to work with their stakeholders to create a bespoke way of measuring a campaign that is aligned with their business objectives. By putting measurement at the heart of a campaign – agreeing the objectives and a method of evaluation that most suits them at the outset – communications professionals can gain greater credibility with the C-level executives they ultimately report to.

Pete Hendrick
Managing director, Rocket