[IABC] Results-driven communication measurement

She was speaking at the 2010 IABC World Conference happening currently in Toronto, Canada.

Communication measurement does not have to be expensive - it has to be results-driven and objectives-oriented. Even in organisations that only have a handful of communication practitioners and limited budgets, good communication strategies and measurement cannot be jeopardised.

"Even crisis communication need to be evaluated and measured in real-time, to crystallise results and understand the benchmarks for success," said Kealey. Communicators need to be positioned to provide added value.

Needs to be focused

Communication needs to be focused on delivering results and move away from an activity-based model. The point of media relations is not the hit, or the end result; it's about the outcome and effect of those communication talking points. "Communications is often seen as a nice-to-have, fluffy function... it's time to position communication as a strategic topic with solid measurement as the foundation," she continued.

Strategic thinking is serious... evaluation is something that needs be thought of at the beginning of any campaign, not in the aftermath, where you decide how you could possibly measure it. Kealey said, "Worry less about the stuff in the middle - they will flow logically into place. Focus on the objectives and results."

A practical approach to measurement is contained in The Results Map, which shows the communication continuum and interconnections between objectives and desired results and the roadmap required to ensure a measurement plan stays on track. The main steps are: start, prepare, plan, implement, evaluate and results.

Communication measurement is intrinsically difficult because of the nature of the discipline's return. One of the difficulties is because communicators have borrowed communication measurement tools from marketing and media, such as "the nonsensical use of advertising value equivalent and comparing communication and marketing measurement tools," explained Kealey.

Outcomes-based model

An effective outcomes-based model can be achieved by designing a 'Communications performance indicator matrix' - done by:

1. establishing objectives
   
2. clarifying value
   
3. mapping tactics to audiences
   
4. defining success and
   
5. measuring.
   

1. Establishing objectives

It is important to have clarity about the corporate objectives, before diving into communication objectives. Communicators are set up for failure unless they have clarity of what the business is seeking to achieve. Objectives must be SMART, in order to be actionable and measurable.

2. Clarifying value

The word 'value' needs to be defined - what are you actually looking at getting out of the communication campaign. The outcome is based on messaging (defining the right content), relationships (helping organisations build, solidify and maintain solid associations), leadership (position leaders through value coaching and people's perceptions of leaders once they are in the spotlight), and avoidance. Communicators should not be measuring the output of public relations, but rather the outcomes of public relationships.

3. Mapping tactics to audiences

This is a more detailed and thorough understanding of audience categories relative to tactical messages that will work for them.

4. Define success

What will be defined as successful, and how communicators can help colleagues and management to understand the desired outcomes? What is the desired outcome of an activity - is it awareness, knowledge, or an actionable? For example, if you relaunch an intranet, do you want people to simply know that it's there, or do you want people to start using it? Those are entirely different objectives, which need to be clarified upfront. One of the best ways to overcome the barriers of management not knowing their communication objectives is to host a Discovery Session with them and workshop the desired outcomes.

5. Measuring

Put measurement tactics in place that will ensure results-driven data. A communication performance indicator matrix will follow a four-pronged approach - process, activity, relationships, and results. Kealey says about 80% of measurement revolves around activity, which measures output - number of clips, number of blog followers, number of web hits, number of newsletters distributed to staff, number of staff who read newsletters. Relationships, though, focus on outcomes and the degree to which relationships were formed. Results is the level at which the convergence of business and communication objectives is met.

These levels, when performed in succession in a single strategy, will produce a successful package. "Capture the communication value, package the findings and promote the results," said Kealey. This creates a strategic approach to communication measurement, coupled with the right measurement matrix to capture the data concisely and strategically.

The IABC World Conference

Speakers at the conference include top names in communication measurement such as Angela Sinickas, who has worked with 23% of Forbes' Global 100 largest corporations; case studies by General Motors; Towers Watson on the latest in employee engagement trends and how to manage them; change management by Erin Dick of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines; KPMG on how its effectively communicates with an internal audience on a global basis; Bert Regeer of Shell International on how to successfully manage leadership communication; William Amurgis from American Electric Power will share how to develop and rollout a massive intranet; and Katie Delahaye Paine, the CEO of KDPaine & Partners, will talk about how to effectively measure media exposure in meaningful terms, specifically on social media.

Besides the top calibre speakers at the event, delegates are predominantly at communication director level or above, and come from some of the world's largest organisation, including Lockheed Martin, Unilever, Weber Shandwick, American Express, PricewaterhouseCoopers, TWI Surveys, GlaxoSmithKline, Tyco Electronics, Zurich Insurance Company, Shell, BP, Pratt & Whitney, Nestle, Cadbury, and many others. It is the premier conference for communications, with over 1400 delegates, and an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of how some of the largest companies in the world approach their communications strategy.