Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
A renowned Public Relations (PR) measurement and evaluation practitioner in Nigeria, Mr Austin Ayaosi, has highlighted some common mistakes organisations made when measuring their results.
In a chat with Marketing Edge, Mr Ayaosi, who is the Lead Analyst at BrandImpact Consulting, a full-scale media and public relations measurement and research consultancy based in Lagos, stated that one of the blunders is attempting to measure PR performance in silos.
He advised that to avoid this gaffe, PR measurement, especially when it plays a supporting role, should be done in alignment with the overall goals which it supports.
“It is difficult to truly measure and evaluate the success and impact of a marketing campaign in which PR provided support without aligning PR objectives with marketing goals for the campaign.
“Similarly, measuring the impact of internal communications on employees should be done in collaboration with the HR unit,” the PR measurement expert said.
Speaking further, he said, “Another mistake is that more often than not, PR and Corporate Communications managers don’t take time to understand their organisations.”
He pointed out that, “It is important to understand an organisation; know the organisation’s priorities, then align your role and measurement/evaluation framework with the priorities.”
“I believe that’s what the smartest practitioners in Nigeria have done to secure a seat at the table. I call them the smartest practitioners because the zenith of a PR career is sitting with the suit-and-tie ladies and gentlemen of the Board. Only a few practitioners in Nigeria have attained such career heights.
“The good thing is that measurement and evaluation is the easiest route to showing the impact of PR on the organisation. My advice to PR professionals has always been: Measure what matters to the Board; if you can’t do that, then make what you measure matter to the Board. Either way, you just have to measure,” he submitted.
Mr Ayaosi also used the occasion to lament the attitude of most companies toward PR measurement and evaluation, noting that they hardly have a budget for PR measurement and evaluation, thus making pitching for a measurement and evaluation job much more difficult than pitching for a regular PR brief.
According to him, what has negatively influenced PR measurement and evaluation is the myth that PR can’t be measured, noting that he has always had a contrary belief.
“I have always believed that PR can be measured. In some cases, the impact of PR can be linked to an organisation’s bottom line. It requires a deeper focus and dedication; a thorough understanding of the entire PR measurement and evaluation cycle; and a lot of work,” he said.
“For instance, we signed on a client in 2020; seven months into the engagement, the PR Manager won the company’s Annual Outstanding Performance Award, in acknowledgement of PR’s contributions to the business. It was the first time a PR manager won the award,” he added.
