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The following slide
presentation is designed to
accompany the workbook
“A Manager’s Guide to PR
Projects: A Practical
Approach”
2nd edition
© PJ Parsons 2018

2. THE EVALUATION PHASE
PART 5
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3. WHAT THIS SECTION COVERS…
 Fundamental principles guiding PR evaluation
 Planning the evaluation: what we need to evaluate
 Approaches to evaluation: strategies and tactics
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4. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF PR EVALUATION
WHAT AND WHEN
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5. A WORKING DEFINITION OF “EVALUATION” FOR PR ACTIVITIES
EVALUATION is a measurement of an organization’s
success in disseminating planned messages to its
targeted publics to reach specific communication and
relationship goals and objectives.
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6. THE EVALUATION CYCLE
Formative
Research
Ongoing
Research
Summative
Research
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7. ARE “PERFORMANCE INDICATORS” THE SAME AS
EVALUATION?
 A Performance Indicator is a “clear, unambiguous
statement of desired or required results” and
includes the delineation of the criteria set up to
measure actual outcomes.
 An Evaluation Strategy must provide the methods by
which the performance indicators will be measured.
 So, the answer is NO.
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8. THE “BARCELONA PRINCIPLES”: GUIDANCE FOR PR
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It's important to evaluate outcomes, outputs &
organization impacts.
You should employ both quantitative & qualitative
methods.
All strategies & tactics, including social media, need
to be measured.
You should use only transparent, consistent and valid
measurements.

9. PLANNING THE EVALUATION
IDENTIFYING WHAT NEEDS TO BE EVALUATED
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10. WHAT WE EVALUATE
 Productivity
 Message Dissemination
 Message Accuracy
 Penetration
 Change in Knowledge Level
 Change in Attitude
 Change in BehaviourPROFESSORPARSONS.COM 10

11. EVALUATING RELATIONSHIPS
Control mutuality
Trust
Satisfaction
Commitment
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12. APPROACHES TO EVALUATION
OVERALL STRATEGY & INDIVIDUAL TACTICS
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13. SAMPLE EVALUATION TACTICS
 Surveys
 Focus groups
 Media tracking
 Inquiry tracking
 Readability assessments
 Expert reviews
 Readership surveys
 Content analysis
 AuditsPROFESSORPARSONS.COM 13

14. STRATEGIES & EVALUATION TACTICS
Strategy Typical Evaluation Tactic
Public information campaign Polls, pre-post-test
News conference Media monitoring
Events / celebrations Attendance, media monitoring, staff
debriefing, participant rating
Spokespersons Booking evaluation, opinion polls
Fundraising event Donor tally, prospect list, pledges
Social responsibility efforts Focus groups, opinion polls, opinion
leader interviews
Lobbying Media analysis, legislation monitoring
Meetings, conventions Registration tally, participant feedback

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MEASURING SOCIAL MEDIA OUTCOMES
Exposure Engagement
Influence Share of voice
Social Media
Effects

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THE “BENCHMARK”
…a standard against which
you may compare or
judge something…