STc 116 Exam 2 Chapter 8 Notes

Attendance Code

  • University of Miami Attendance Code: 1717

Presentation 8 Evaluation

Role of Communication

  • Lessons include:

    • Research

    • Program Planning

    • Evaluation

Lesson 8 Objectives

  • Understanding key elements of objectives.

  • Knowing the purpose of evaluation.

  • Distinguishing the measurement of different communication components.

The Purpose of Evaluation

  • Evaluation is the fourth step in the public relations process.

  • It involves measuring results against established objectives.

  • Key aspects:

    • Systematic assessment of both the program and its results.

    • Provides accountability to clients and practitioners.

  • Reasons for evaluation:

    • Desire to improve future efforts.

    • Adoption of a management-by-objectives system.

Prerequisites for Evaluation

  • Importance of having a clearly established set of measurable objectives.

  • Agreement between public relations personnel and management on evaluation criteria.

  • Evaluation should not be postponed until the end of the program; it needs to be clearly defined upfront.

  • Evaluation based on objectives such as:

    • Informational: Understanding if the audience received the intended message.

    • Motivational: Understanding if the audience was inspired to act based on the message.

A Public Relations Perspective

  • Overall goals of evaluation:

    • Inform strategic planning for the next stage.

    • Utilize insights gained from measurement and data analysis to guide future organizational strategies.

  • Evaluation cycle includes:

    1. Collecting Data

    2. Analyzing Data

    3. Developing Evaluation Questions

    4. Determining Theory of Change, Outcomes, Logic Model, and Measurement Tools.

Objective Checklist for Evaluation

  • Key questions to assess program success:

    • Was the activity or program adequately planned?

    • Did recipients understand the message?

    • Could the program strategy have been improved?

    • Were primary and secondary audiences reached?

    • Were organizational objectives achieved?

    • What unforeseen circumstances impacted success?

    • Did the program remain within budget?

    • What improvements can be made for future activities?

Current Status of Measurement & Evaluation

  • A noted trend towards systematic approaches in evaluations.

  • Opinion that public relations is more of an art than a science persists among some professionals.

  • Suggested using a mix of techniques for comprehensive evaluation results.

RADAR Dashboard Examples

  • Provides insights on various metrics:

    • Monitoring company or issue coverage and share of voices.

    • Evaluating the tone of CEO coverage (positive or negative).

    • Availability of coverage and metrics online continuously.

Public Relations Effectiveness Yardstick

  • Levels of measurement defined:

    1. Basic - Measuring targeted audiences, impressions, media placements.

    2. Intermediate - Measuring retention, comprehension, awareness, reception.

    3. Advanced - Measuring behavior change, attitude change, opinion change.

Measurement of Production

  • Defined as an elementary form of evaluation.

  • Evaluates quantity: number of news releases, features, etc.

  • Acknowledges limitations since this does not measure quality of output.

  • Other considerations for effectiveness: accuracy, balance, positive/negative sentiment, likeability, overall approval, and deviations from expectations.

  • Emphasis on the importance of measuring “earned” media.

Measurement of Message Exposure

  • Widely practiced evaluation via compilation of media clips.

  • Additional metrics include:

    • Media impressions

    • Basic web analytics

    • Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE)

    • Systematic tracking

    • Requests to 800 numbers

    • Return on Investment (ROI)

Measure Audience Awareness

  • Determines if audiences:

    • Became aware of the message.

    • Understood the content.

  • Methods include survey research and day-after recall surveys.

Measurement of Audience Attitudes

  • Changes in audience perceptions & attitudes evaluated pre- and post-campaign.

  • Assessing the impact of intervening variables is crucial.

  • Methods include statistical analysis of variance and baseline studies.

Measurement of Supplemental Activities

  • Includes evaluation methods such as:

    • Communication audits

    • Pilot tests

    • Split messages

    • Meeting and event attendance evaluations

    • Newsletter readership statistics

Communication Audit

  • Recommended to assess all organizational communication activities at least once annually.

  • Processes include:

    • Comprehensive analysis of communication outputs.

    • Informal interviews with various stakeholders (employees, management, media gatekeepers).

Pilot Test & Split Messages

  • Companies testing messages in selective locations to gauge public and media responses.

  • Split messages involve sending different appeals to different audiences to determine effectiveness.

Meeting & Event Attendance

  • Attendance figures can indicate messaging exposure level.

  • Audience attitudes can be gauged through behavior analysis during events.

  • Use of evaluation forms aids systematic participant feedback collection.

Teams and Participants

  • Listed teams and their participants involved in the tasks under evaluation.

Numerical Data

  • Several numerical values and identifiers seem to be from evaluation metrics.