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CHAPTER 8: EVALUATION
OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter students should be able to:
1. Know the key elements of objectives.
2. Understand the purpose of evaluation.
3. Distinguish the measurement of different communication components.
SUGGESTED PROJECTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter discusses the last step of the public relations process, evaluation. The success
of a program is directly related to the extent that various objectives in the plan were met. A
number of evaluation methods are given, but the chapter strongly endorses more formal
and systematic methods.
1. As an outside assignment, have students compile the number of column inches
in the local daily newspaper devoted to university or college sports. Provide
students with the advertising rate per column inch and ask them to come up
with a dollar value for the publicity. Do they feel this dollar value is somewhat
misleading? Why, or why not? The purpose of this assignment is to make
students realize that converting news stories to advertising rates is not
necessarily the best gauge of publicity effectiveness.
2. Distribute samples of a media directory (e.g. Burrelle’s or Bacon’s) and discuss
evaluation methods with regard to circulation, target audience, and other
variables.
3. Discuss the use of impressions as a method of evaluation and then ask students
to determine the total number of impressions that were gained from the
following media placement:
• Article in the Life section of USA Today
• Mention on the Today Show
• Mention twice on NPR (National Public Radio)
• Column in PARADE Magazine (New York and Vermont circulation)
4. Distribute copies of a company magazine or employee newsletter to the class
and ask them to do a content analysis of the edition. The purpose is to acquaint
them with content analysis and the general nature of topics in an employee
publication. After doing the content analysis, what recommendations would
they make about changing editorial content?
5. Show a couple of public service announcements in class. Discuss projected
outcomes (e.g. increases in health screenings, funds raised, etc.) and how the
nonprofits involved can evaluate the success of the PSAs on a limited budget.
6. Take a speakerphone to class and call a toll-free hotline for a company. Tell the
representative that you have questions about a certain product that you actually
would have proof of owning (serial number, brand, etc.). See how helpful,
courteous, and “trained” the company representative is.
7. Bring sample comment cards (event/venue “exit” survey) to class, and discuss
the merits of each as a tool to measure customer satisfaction. An actual data set
would be especially enlightening in understanding attitudes/behaviors of the
attending audience.
CASE ACTIVITY: EVALUATING THE SUCCESS OF RIDESHARING
Clearly the most obvious way to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign is compare the
number of riders using mass transit or carpooling during the Rideshare Week to previous
weeks. Fluctuations in “ridership” and ticket purchases for public transportation are easy to
analyze. In addition, media impressions that resulted from the press conference coverage,
website hits, number of press kits distributed, special event attendance and other measures
that address relevance and involvement would be ways to gauge effectiveness of different
tactics implemented. However, evaluation should be more complex and long-term,
meaning awareness of the rideshare program, understanding of the benefits of participating
in the program, and long-term behavior change should be investigated using more formal
research methods like benchmarking studies.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION
1. What is the role of stated objectives in evaluating public relations programs?
2. What are some general types of evaluation questions that a person should ask
about a program?
3. List four ways that publicity activity is evaluated. What, if any, are the drawbacks
of each one?
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Copyright © 2015, 2012, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
include: (1) media impressions, (2) basic Web analytics; (3) advertising value equivalency
(AVE); (4) systematic tracking; and (5) return on investment (ROI).
4. Do you think news stories about a product or service should be evaluated in terms
of comparable advertising costs? Why or why not?
5. What are the advantages of systematic tracking and content analysis of news
clippings?
6. How are pilot tests and split messages used to determine the suitability of a
message?
7. How does measurement of message exposure differ from measurement of audience
comprehension of the message?
8. What is the relative importance of ROI to a public relations client?
9. What methods can be used to evaluate a company newsletter or magazine?