Communication and Measurement (Chapter 6)

Communication The Third Step
1. The Goals of Communication
  1. Message Exposure
  2. Accurate Dissemination of the Message
  3. Acceptance of the Message
  4. Attitude Change
  5. Change in Overt Behavior
2. Making Sure the Audience Receives the Message
  1. Most communication models focus on four basic elements
    1. Sender/source
    2. Message
    3. Channel
    4. Receiver
  2. Modern models add...............................
    1. Feedback
  3. One-way communication simply disseminates information (less effective than two-way communication)
  4. Feedback can be thought of as two-way communication
  5. Most effective type of two-way communication is interpersonal face-to-face communication
    1. Message is fortified by gestures, facial expressions, intimacy, tone of voice, and immediate feedback
  6. Small group discussion is very effective.
3. Making Sure the Audience Pays Attention to the Message
  1. All efforts are wasted if the audience does not pay attention.
  2. "All who receive your message won't publish it, and all who read or hear your message won't understand or act upon it."
  3. People make highly intelligent choices about which messages require their attention and fulfill their needs.
  4. The PR must tailor messages that focus on grabbing the attention of the audience.
  5. Approaches to achieving this
    1. To understand the mental state of the intended audience.
    2. Attract the attention to audiences who...
      1. Actively seek information
      2. Passively process information
4. Making Sure the Message is Understood
  1. Communication can take place only if the sender and the receiver have a common understanding of the symbols being used.
  2. Being able to understand each other depends heavily on common comprehension of words
    1. Depends on education, SES, regional differences, nationality, cultural background
  3. Establishing common ground and building bridges
  4. the key is to produce messages that appeal to the characteristics of the audience
    1. Copy-test all public relations materials on a target audience
    2. Apply readability and comprehension formulas to materials before they are produced and disseminated
  5. The simpler the writing, the easier it will be for the audiences to understand the message
5. Making the Message Credible
  1. Source of the message must have a sense of knowledge and authority.
  2. The same info is more trusted in news articles than in advertisements because news is objective and honest
  3. Often use respected outside experts or celebrities as representatives
  4. Focus more on "what is said" for high-involvement audiences and more on "who says it" for low-involvement audiences
6. Making the Message Memorable
  1. Repitition
  2. Convey information in a variety of ways via multiple communication channels
  3. Helps people remember the message as they receive it through different media and extends the message to both passive and active audiences.
7. Making Sure the Audience Acts on the Message
  1. Ultimate purpose of any message is to affect the recipient
  2. Change perceptions, attitudes, opinions, or behavior
  3. The Adoption Process
    1. Awareness
    2. Interest
    3. Evaluation
    4. Trial
    5. Adoption
  4. Reduce message complexity
  5. Take into account competing messages
  6. Structure the message to meet the needs of the audience
  7. People approach innovation in different ways, depending on their personality traits and the risk involved.
    1. "Innovators" eagerly try new ideas
    2. "Laggards" are the last to adopt anything.
    3. "Early adopters" are opinion leaders
    4. "Early majority" take deliberate approach
    5. "Late majority" are often skeptical but bow to peer pressure.
Measurement The Fourth Step
1. Measurement
  1. Objectives: A Prerequisite for Measurement
    1. Program Plan
    2. Determine how the plan will be evaluated at the beginning, not the end.
      1. "Evaluating impact/results starts in the planning stage."
    3. Informational Objective
      1. Measurement techniques must show how successfully information was communicated to target audiences.
      2. Message dissemination
      3. Audience exposure
      4. Do not measure the effect on attitudes or overt behavior and action.
    4. Motivational Objective
      1. More difficult to accomplish
      2. Show that the public relations efforts caused increase
      3. Research should be done both before and after the public relations activity to measure the percentage of the change.
  2. Measurement and Evaluation Status
    1. Level 1: Basic
      1. Meauring Targeted Audiences Impressions Media Placements
    2. Level 2: Intermediate
      1. Measuring Retention Comprehension Awareness Reception
    3. Level 3: Advanced
      1. Measuring Behavior change Attitude change Opinion change
2. Measurement of Message Exposure
  1. Media Impressions
    1. Report how many people have been exposed to a message
    2. "Media Impressions"--The potential audience reached by a periodical or a broadcast program
    3. Commonly used in advertising to document the breadth of penetration of a particular message
      1. Gives an estimate as to how many people are exposed to a message
    4. Do not disclose how many people actually read or heard the stories or acted on the information
  2. Internet Hits
    1. Counting the number of people reached via an organization's website or through social media posts.
    2. "Hit"--instance of a person accessing a site
  3. Advertising Equivalency
    1. "Advertising Equivalency" (AVE)--calculation of teh value of message exposure
    2. Converting the value of stories in the regular news columns or on the air into their equivalent advertising costs
    3. In reality, comparing apples with oranges
      1. Fundamental difference between publicity and advertising
      2. PR can't control the size, placement, timing, or content of messages
    4. The Institute for Public Relations Measurement Commission has rejected AVE, the concept and the practice
    5. Does not engage good media relations
  4. Systematic Tracking
    1. "Benchmarking"--tracking coverage and comparing it over a period of time
    2. Another form is comparing the number of news releases sent with the number actually published
      1. Helps PR department determine which kinds of publicity are most effective and earn the most return on investment
  5. Information Requests
    1. Counting the number of requests for more information generated by a public relations effort
    2. Provide toll-free number, e-mail address, or website
  6. Cost per Person
    1. Determining the cost of reaching each member of the audience
    2. Place costs in perspective
    3. Cost-effectiveness is often also used to evaluate public relations campaigns.
    4. Cost per thousand (CPM) = total number of media impressions / cost of publicity program
  7. Audience Attendance
    1. Measuring attendance at events
    2. A major cause of lackluster attendance is apathy
3. Measurement of Audience, Awareness, Attitudes, and Action
  1. Audience Awareness
    1. "The second level of public relations evaluations"
    2. Measures whether target audience groups...
      1. actually received the messages directed at them
      2. paid attention to those messages
      3. understood the messages
      4. have retained those messages in any shape or form
    3. Day-After Recall
      1. Participants are asked to view a specific tv program or read a particular news story
      2. Interviewed the next day to learn which messages they remembered
  2. Audience Attitude
    1. Audience's perceptions and attitudes that result from internalization of the message
    2. "Baseline study"--entails measurements of audience attitudes and opinions before, during, and after a public relations campaign.
      1. Measures the percentage difference in attitudes and opinions as a result of increased information and publicity
  3. Audience Action
    1. Ultimately, PR efforts are evaluated on how well they help an organization achieve its unique objectives
Easier to accomplish than the other three