The tools they need
I have had the pleasure of meeting with several of the leading personalities in the PR industry here and have come to the conclusion that there is an increasing level of frustration at the lack of tools available. Not only are PR agencies struggling to evaluate the output analysis, but they have absolutely no clue what the outtake and outcomes are.
It is not secret that clients are increasingly pushing PR agencies to lower their prices as they pour the larger portion of their marketing budget into advertising. One of the main reasons this is happening is the complete lack of ability to measure PR.
Agencies will tell you that clients are not wililng to put in a budget for research and evaluation of outtakes and outcomes. They will also tell you that even the evaluation of output is something only multinationals and large corporate groups are willing to shell out the money for. It is both time consuming and expensive for them to do anyway.
Mediastow tried to solve this problem by providing the basis for output evaluation with the instant media measurements of the share of voice, coverage reach and coverage size. We are also excited about the new addition of the advertising value estimate, which is scheduled to be rolled by June.
Those tools help but do not solve the fundamental problem though. You can measure what you have produced, but the ability to measure the results and success of what you do as an industry is perhaps the most important justification for your very existence. Without this, I am afraid the PR industry is doomed. Or is it?