Wondering how best to measure your PR efforts? Understanding that vanity metrics are irrelevant in communications measurement is crucial. Life science communicators must focus on metrics that matter. PR teams are now competing with other marketing functions for budget: those that can prove impact on sales, win the lion-share of the dollars. Ultimately cost per lead is the critical measure for all marketing and communications functions.
In this latest episode of the ‘Talk Life Science Marketing Analysis’ podcast. We interview the ‘Queen of Measurement’ Katie Paine. We discuss the importance of PR measurement for life science companies Katie has over three decades of experience in the measurement world working with most big name brands you can think of.
Speak The Language Of The Boardroom
All the C-suite care about is stock price, sales and market share. In order to demonstrate the impact of public relations, communicators need to tap into one of these to start to speak the language of the boardroom. In this podcast we discuss a pharmaceutical company which was able to directly correlate PR activity with share price. When the company talked more, the share price went up. The team was able to prove impact and secure larger budgets.
Measure the Right Things
Understanding which metrics to use is crucial. Reporting on vanity metrics such as impressions, coverage or numbers of clips, and advertising value equivalency (AVE) will not win you a seat at the C-suite table. If you are still using AVE, listen to the example that Katie provides to understand why this is a poor metric. Instead, you need to tie results to your business objectives. Understand what you are trying to achieve, get the data you need to prove it, and report it in graphs and charts.
Communications Measurement in a Crisis
No company is immune to a crisis. In life sciences, regulation is often the foundation of crises, and therefore, the biggest driver of measurement. It is critical to have a mechanism for monitoring, evaluating and responding to a crisis. Accurate measurement, based on data, is crucial. Katie describes a project where a pharmaceutical company wanted to understand why their share price was plummeting. A measurement program unearthed the company was being attacked by short-sellers, and helped the company formulate a response.
The episode explores how best to use media and communications measurement in life sciences. It is full of tips and advice from Katie’s 30 years in industry, covering topics from IR, crisis management to how to communicate impact to scientists better.
Listen to this podcast to learn more about using data to optimize your marketing and communications success.
Recommended Reading: Measurement Advisor
