Every PR and communications program generates outputs: clip counts, impressions, social metrics, event attendance. But outputs without context are just noise. A strong measurement program answers the strategic questions that matter to your organization and your clients.
Before your next campaign launch or evaluation report, ask yourself: Can our measurement program answer these five essential questions?
- Did we reach the right people?
- Did they pay attention?
- Did anything change?
- What worked and what didn’t?
- What should we do next?
1. Did we reach the right people?
It’s not enough to know how many people saw your content. You need to know who they were and whether they match your target audiences.
What this means in practice:
- Are you measuring against the specific demographics, psychographics, and behaviors of your priority audiences?
- Can you demonstrate that your message reached decision-makers, influencers, or customers—not just anyone?
- Are you tracking audience quality alongside audience size?
Why it matters: Reaching 10 million people means nothing if none of them can buy your product, influence policy, or change their behavior in the way you need.
2. Did they pay attention?
Exposure doesn’t equal engagement. Your measurement program should distinguish between passive exposure and active attention.
What this means in practice:
- Are you tracking meaningful engagement metrics (time spent, shares, comments, click-throughs) rather than vanity metrics (likes, impressions)?
- Can you measure message comprehension and recall?
- Do you know which channels and content formats drove the deepest engagement?
Why it matters: In an attention economy, proving you captured and held attention is crucial to demonstrating value.
3. Did anything change?
This is the heart of outcome-based evaluation. What shifted as a result of your communications work?
What this means in practice:
- Can you measure changes in awareness, perception, attitudes, or beliefs among your target audiences?
- Are you tracking behavioral outcomes (sign-ups, purchases, policy changes, donations or even sales)?
- Do you have benchmark data to compare against?
Why it matters: Clients and C-suites care about outcomes. If you can’t show what changed, you can’t show value.
4. What worked and what didn’t?
Good evaluation doesn’t just tell you that something happened. It tells you why and provides a roadmap for improvement.
What this means in practice:
- Can you identify which messages, messengers, channels, or tactics drove the best results?
- Are you conducting qualitative analysis alongside quantitative metrics to understand the “why” behind the numbers?
- Do you have a process for testing, learning, and optimizing mid-campaign?
Why it matters: Evaluation that only reports results is a missed opportunity. The real value lies in actionable insights that make your next campaign smarter and more effective.
5. What should we do next?
This is where measurement becomes strategic. Your evaluation should ultimately point forward.
What this means in practice:
- Does your reporting include clear recommendations for future action?
- Are you identifying emerging opportunities, risks, or shifts in the landscape?
- Can you demonstrate how learnings from this campaign will inform your strategic planning?
Why it matters: Good evaluation must answer “So what?” and “Now what?” If your measurement program can’t guide strategy, it’s incomplete.
Making This Real
If your current measurement program can’t answer these five questions, you’re not alone. Start by choosing one client or campaign and work backward:
- Define the outcome you’re trying to achieve
- Identify the audience whose behavior needs to change
- Determine what engagement looks like
- Build in mechanisms to track what’s working
- Create a reporting framework that includes recommendations
Most importantly: negotiate for the data access you need upfront. As measurement evangelist Jon Meakin noted, “If the client wants to pay based on outcomes, they need to become better evaluation partners.” You can’t measure outcomes if you don’t have access to the metrics that matter.