Emerging PR Measurement 'Standards' Getting Test Runs

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By: Doug Bedell

There has been a lot of effort in recent years to develop and put in place standards for measuring the reach and results of PR programs, as though the profession will never be respectable without a shared methodology for demonstrating results. Knowledgeable PR people have their own sense of how to gauge success. But the sense has been that tallying/evaluating ought to be a shared methodology. So, naturally, a task force — the Coalition for Public Relations Research — was established. And now (drumroll, please), four big corporations are going to give the emerging standards a spin. (Whoops! — an unfortunate word choice.)

General Electric, McDonald's USA, General Motors and Southwest Airlines are going to do something or other to test out the proposed standards. If this is of urgent interest to you, the Bulldog Reporter post referenced above is a good place to start. When tested, rolled out and practiced, the proposed new PR standards are intended to have the heft of those recognized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). And respectability will finally be assured, right?

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About the Author

Doug Bedell has a background in journalism and PR and is the owner of Resource Relations LLC in Central PA, focusing on organizational and crisis communication. He’s the community manager of SimplyFair.net, a social network on fairness. On the Web, Doug’s at www.ResourceRelations.com. On Twitter, he’s @DougBeetle.

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