Media Relations Campaign - Report Example

Evaluation Essay Why evaluate? The first important question that must be asked is why it is necessary to evaluate a media relations campaign. The following are important reasons why it is necessary to carry out an evaluation. Media relations campaign is not public relations campaign It is necessary to note that media relations and public relations are not exactly the same thing. While one may lead to the other, they are different in terms of some factors. In a nutshell, media relations is creating and maintaining good relations with media resources such as media houses, journalists, editors and such resources in order to increase the chances of being covered favorably in the media (Barrett, 2006). This does not necessarily lead to good public relations. Public Relation on the other hand refers to creating awareness, goodwill and positive attitudes with stakeholders such as customers, potential customers, investors and potential investors, and the business community. Although being covered widely in the media may lead to increased public relations activity, it is not automatic that having good media relations will lead to better public relations (Fitch, 2004). It is possible to have increased media relations and increased coverage on all media both traditional (print, radio and television) and modern media (social media) but still have low levels of public relations. To be able to know whether the media relations campaigns have yielded any positive results, it becomes necessary for the organization to be able to evaluate the media relations activity. This way, the firm is able to know the way forward, know what works and what does not work for its greater good. One of the serious mistakes that can be made is the belief that the more coverage an organization gets in the media the more successful the camping is. This is the definitely wrong way to think about media relations because what is important is not the coverage level but the effect it has with regard to how the organization relates with the target audience. Measuring the media relations coverage is easy and direct because it only needs to observe the coverage. However, this does not help because it does not lead to understanding the actual results in the way the organization relates with the public. ROI determination Evaluation is required in order to identify the return on investment. There are costs associated with media relations. It is necessary to evaluate the media relations campaigns in order to identify how the costs relate to the results (Sriramesh, 2009). As already established, the success of the media relations campaign is not necessarily the level of coverage in the media that results from the media relations campaign but the results of the same. As a result, it also makes sense that the only way to know whether the investment in media relations campaign paid off is by evaluating the actual results on the organization. Evaluation is also carried out in order to determine if it is necessary to change tactic or to keep the course. If the evaluation identifies that the media relations campaign is not bearing any useful results for the business, it would be necessary to change tactic. Without an evaluation, it would be impossible to achieve this. When to evaluate? Evaluation is not a one off process that is done at the end of the media relations activity. Rather, it is a continuous process that should be carried all along through the process. The first part of an evaluation is the planning for an evaluation. This will mean that the various tools necessary for evaluation have to be identified and prepared at the beginning of the process. The evaluation process will be planned for every stage of the media relations campaign. With regard to planning, the following issues are important; Choosing the tools for evaluation Choosing the tools is important because the tools used for evaluation determine how effective the process of evaluation is going to be. During the process of choosing the evaluation method, it is essential to remember that the process of evaluating a media relations campaign is just as significant as the media relations campaign itself. The success of the media relations campaign will be determined by the evaluation tools used. Various tools can be used for a single media relations campaign in order to bring out various analytics. Types of evaluation There are basically two types of evaluation, each of which is geared towards achieving a certain outcome. The first is the quantitative evaluation. This kind of evaluation is concerned with the measurable outcomes where data is used for evaluation. The other type of evaluation is the qualitative evolution that considers more than just the statistical data and instead considers some factors that cannot be quantified. The qualitative evaluation method is necessary in order to ensure that all factors affecting the effectiveness of the campaign have been considered (Weideman, 2002). By using qualitative evaluation, it is possible to capture the actual impact of a media relations campaign without allowing external factors to affect the result. Different methodologies to be used Apart from just choosing the type of evaluation to use to evaluate the media relations campaign, it is also necessary to choose the methodology to be used. There are various evaluation methodologies that can be used with regard to evaluating a media relations campaign. The methodology used depends on the particular situation as well as the issues that are intended to be identified. Cost of evaluation to be considered The other factor that is necessary to consider with regard to evaluating a media relations campaign is the cost of evaluation (Leinemann, 2004). The budget of carrying out a media relations campaign should include the budget for evaluating the media relations campaign. The evaluation process is a complicated process that needs various resources especially human resources. Failing to have a budget for the process of evaluation leads to poor evaluation since there will be no enough resources to evaluate the process. Having a budget will make sure that the best evaluation process will be used. An evaluation process is a forward-looking process and is necessary not just as a way to evaluate the already completed media relations campaign but to also provide foresight for any future evaluation. Advertising value equivalent Advertising value equivalency is the measure of how much money could have been used if all the media coverage of an organization were advertisements. This is measured differently for the different types of media. For instance, for print media, one can measure the dimensions of the area the story covers in the media and then multiply that by the rate. For the electronic media such as television and radio, the advertising value equivalency is measured by counting the length then multiplying that by the rate. The advertising value equivalency calculation is necessary as an indicative statistic and not as a way to measure the value of the media relations campaign. As has already been identified, media coverage does not in itself mean that the organization has achieved positive public relations or marketing outcomes. In this regard, in cases where the coverage does not convert into actual results, the advertising value equivalency numbers can be misleading. It is therefore imperative to note that the advertising value equivalency is just an indicative statistic and must not be used to determine how effective or useful a media relations campaign was but to guide for further evaluation and analysis. It is however an important statistic since it shows how much coverage the campaign was able to acquire. By establishing this, it becomes easy to determine the other factors with regard to how successful the campaign was. Calculating the advertising value equivalency of a media relations campaign is also a challenging process since not all spaces and slots in the media have the same rates for advertising. It is necessary to consider this factor. Case study: 350.org Media Relations Campaign Proposal There is a need for evaluating media campaign and determine how effective media relations processes are in supporting the organization and affecting its performance in the market. Evaluation of public relations is important in making sure that the media relation activities are effective on all senses of a business. The following is an evaluation of a media relations campaign proposal for 350.org to identity how it meets the needed standards for positive effect on the organization. According to the International Association for the measurement and Evaluation of Communication, 2012), any media relations campaign should be evaluated based on the following principles; Goal setting Any media campaign should have well set goals in order to ensure that the activities of media campaign will be useful to the business. These goals must be able to relate to what will be useful to the firm. With regard to the goals of the proposed campaign for 350.org, these are the issues; The goals are not well set The proposal outlines the goals of the organization whose the media campaign is intended, however it fails to outline the specific goals that the media campaign itself wants to achieve. According to the International Association for the measurement and Evaluation of Communication (2012), every media relations campaign should have clear goals that should be aspired to be met by a specific media campaign. This is important in ensuring that the there are measurable goals against which the campaign can be assessed at the end of the campaign. The proposed media relations campaign for 350.org does not provide the specific goals and this will meant that it will be harder to achieve this. Quantitative goals The goals are supposed to be measurable in a way that they can be quantified. Not only has the media proposal failed to have goals, the goals of the 350.org that have been cited are not measurable. According to the Barcelona declaration of Measurements Principles, measurable goals should outline who will do what, when, how and when it will be done. Some of the goals that have been cited in the proposal are not clear as to these above four factors which should make them to be measurable goals. For instance, the goals should be defined in such a way that; It is easy to know who is responsible for dong what Identify who when it should be done Identify how to it will be done Identify when it is to be done Apart from the goals meeting the above factors, the goals must also be holistic. Media relations should have to consider not only the mainstream traditional media but also the new type of media such as social media. These goals must also determine the factors such as changes in awareness among key stakeholders. Other factors that are important are comprehension which refers to how the target audience is able to understand the intention of the media campaign and any signs of attitude shifting (International Association for the measurement and Evaluation of Communication, 2012). The goals must also look at effect on business results, in this case, the effect on the effectiveness of the NGO meeting its goals. According to the International Association for the measurement and Evaluation of Communication (2012), the second important factor with regard to evaluating the media campaign is measuring the effect of the outcomes but not the outputs. This pertains to the fact that the media campaign must be able to look at the ways in which the outcomes will affect the organization (Freitag, 2009). This does not seem to be the case with regard to the case study. The case study does look at the various outputs such as the coverage on various media but fail to look at the how this will impact the organization. It is necessary for the media campaign proposal to outline how these outcomes will be measured. Without being able to measure these outcomes, it will be hard to gauge the success of the campaign eventually after it is done. The media campaign proposal for 350.org should be able to identify how it will do the following; Measure the outcomes of the camping in terms of shifts in awareness For instance, there should be a way to determine by how much the awareness of the issues that the 350.org wants to highlight has increased after the campaign. This may be a hurdle because it requires more factors to be considered and realistic metrics to be developed in order to measure the level of awareness before the campaign and after the campaign. This will help in defining the success of the campaign in terms of increasing the visibility of the organization being publicized. The other factor with regard to measuring the outcomes is with regard to measuring the change in behavior. Increased awareness of a brand (or cause in the case of the NGO) does not necessarily translate into actual results for the business or the NGO (Noble, 2007). It is necessary to identify how the increased awareness (if any) has led to useful results. In the case of a business, this would be evidenced by increased sales, brand equity, brand reputation, employee engagement, and increased investment into the business (through the public buying shares). For a nonprofit organization like 350.org, this may be evidenced by increased donations, employee engagement, public and public policy change. The proposal for media relations camping for 350.org should look at these issues and try to identify how these factors will be measured to identify how effective the media campaign was successful. It should also have both qualitative and quantitative ways to measure these outcomes and be sure to identify the ways in which they will be measured. Within the same issue, the proposal will need to identify some other factors which are necessary in ensuring the success of the media campaign. Regardless of how well the camping proposal meets the above mentioned factors, it must be able to have proper quality control mechanism which will aid in making sure that quality is achieved in the campaign. These include the following; Sample design Sample design is important in making sure that quality data for analysis is collected. Without having a proper sample design, the data will be flawed and will not produce realistic results. Question wording and order This determines how easily the cohort will be able to understand the question and thus give the correct information. Conclusion It is very evident that evaluating a media relations campaign is necessary in order to have a successful media relations campaign. Evaluation efforts should happen before, during and after the media relations campaign. Before the media relations campaign, the evaluation efforts that should be made are geared towards planning the evaluation process. This should include identifying and choosing an evaluation methodology, choosing the type of evaluation to be used and budgeting for the evaluation method to be used in order to make sure that the process will be successful. During the media relations campaign process, the evaluation efforts should go towards evaluating each part of the process as the process continues. This is necessary because it allows for the adjustment of the process if it turns out to be ineffective. If by the early stages the media relations campaign proves to be ineffective, the evaluation efforts during this stage allows for the implanters to be able to identify this and to guarantee that every required adjustments at this point have been done. After the media relations campaign is completed, the evaluation effort at this stage are geared towards making sure that the entire media relations campaign can be analyzed and its success measured. This provides for foresight for any future media relations campaigns. References Barrett, N. (2006, June 18). Don’t Confuse Media Relations with Public Relations. Retrieved October 31, 2014, from Content Marketing Today: http://contentmarketingtoday.com/2008/06/18/dont-confuse-media-relations-with-public-relations/ Fitch, B. (2004). Media Relations Handbook for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits, and Congress. sydneey, NY: The Capitol Net Inc. Freitag, R. (2009). Global Public Relations: Spanning Borders, Spanning Cultures. London, UK: Routledge. INternational Association for the measurement and Evaluation of Communication. (2012, June 20). Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles. Retrieved October 31, 2014, from INternational Association for the measurement and Evaluation of Communication: amecorg.com/2012/06/barcelona-declaration-of-measurement-principles/ Leinemann, B. (2004). Media Relations Measurement: Determining the Value of PR to Your Companys Success. Sydney, NY: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Noble, P. (2007). Evaluating Public Relations: A Best Practice Guide to Public Relations Planning, Research and Evaluation. London, UK: Kogan Page Publishers. Sriramesh, K. (2009). The Global Public Relations Handbook, Revised Edition: Theory, Research, and Practice. London, UK: Routledge. Weideman, L. (2002). Dynamics of Public Relations and Journalism: A Practical Guide for Media Studies. Sydney, AU: Juta and Company Ltd. Read More