Empirical public relations Survey carried out by PSB depicts that Empirical Public Relations has yet to be fully adopted but much progress has been made. And the introduction of more effective methods of media measurement will further its development. Public Relations today need Empirical Public Relations more than anything else if it has to remain relevant to corporate reputation.
2. INTRODUCTION
A
s communications professionals are acutely aware, great shifts in
economic, social, political and technological behaviour are afoot,
altering the fundamental project of Public Relations. India is at the
locus of many of these changes. As one of the most dynamic economies,
with one of the fastest-growing middle classes, with the world’s largest
democracy, it is possible that these shifts, and their impact on the way
companies communicate with consumers, are felt more profoundly here
than in any other market.
The Indian communications industry requires nuanced understanding
of the complex challenges and opportunities it faces. This study was
conceived to facilitate such understanding; as such, we interviewed
a wide variety of senior practitioners on the both the agency and
client sides, including CMOs and practice managers, to incorporate
consensus on many key issues, but one conclusion was paramount: the
industry must adopt Empirical Public Relations: communications
strategies rooted in the science of public opinion.
77% of the professionals we talked to said that the primary factor
making the industry more complex in the last few years is the ongoing
shift from measuring coverage of a communications initiative to
measuring its business impact.
Empirical Public Relations demonstrates how campaigns move the
needle by creating and applying insights at each phase, working from
baseline measurements of perception, through communications tested to
maximize effectiveness, to tracking research to demonstrate ROI.
Practitioners agree that applied insights result in impact than
89% of clients say they are more
comfortable with research-based campaigns. However, a crucial
gap currently prevents the industry from applying science to its practice:
agencies are waiting for clients to demand measurement, while clients
are waiting for agencies to propose it. Fortunately, we also found a bridge.
Clients say they are ready to pay the premium for insights-based
campaigns – meaning that agencies must create a framework to address
this opportunity.
This new model will be constructed on a foundation of expertise in
the science of public opinion, which will require development of the
communications industry’s human capital. Therefore, industry leaders
must enhance their organizations’ applied science capabilitiesby
upgrading their own skills, developing those of their employees and hiring
new expertise into their teams. And much as Empirical Public Relations
will change the way campaigns are priced and paid for, addressing the
human capital challenge will require a revised model of compensation,
investments in technology, both to communicate most effectively in an
ever-accelerating, ever more-global digital world, as well as to improve
As Public Relations engages in more and more projects with
demonstrative bottom-line impact for clients, the industry will increasingly
earn a place at the table with chief executives, a perspective which
will lead to more business-impactful communications. This positive
it is founded on Empirical Public Relations.
Ashw Ani singl A
MD & Chief Executive,
South Asia,
Penn Schoen Berland
3. 87%
9%
4%
SAME
LESSÊCOMPLEX
MOREÊCOMPLEX
THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY
IS BECOMING MORE COMPLEX:
How do you think the public relations/communica-
tions industry has changed in the past few years?
ASKED OF ALL RESPONDENTS
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
SHIFTÊFROMÊCOVERAGEÊTOÊIMPACT
NEWÊMEDIUMSÊOFÊCOMMUNICATIONS
MOREÊINFORMEDÊAUDIENCES
INCREASEDÊCOMPETITION
SOCIALÊMEDIA
GLOBALIZATION
77%
74%
72%
68%
74%
63%
SHIFT IN EMPHASIS FROM
COVERAGE TO BUSINESS IMPACT
IS THE LEADING CHANGE FACTOR:
What are the key paradigm shifts you have noticed in the
ways the public relations/communications industry used
to operate in past few years?
ASKED OF ALL RESPONDENTS
A MORE COMPLEX
ENVIRONMENT
87% of Indian communications
professionals believe that the
industry has become more
complex in the last few years.
Of these respondents, 77%
say that the shift from an
emphasis on the measurement
of coverage to an emphasis on
the measurement of business
impact has been the key factor.
The success or failure of a
communications program is
now understood in terms of
the impact it has on a client’s
bottom line – a development
which has proven challenging.
Other key issues leading
to rising complexity include
the rise of new media and
a more informed audience
(74%, respectively), increased
competition in the marketplace
(72%), the rise of social media
(68%) and the increasingly
global nature of issues and
crises (63%).
The growing need to
demonstrate the business
impacts created by
communications programs is
creating demand for strategies
that implement scientific
methodologies at each stage of
the process – Empirical Public
Relations.
EMPIRICAL PUBLIC
RELATIONS:
THE NEW MANTRA
FOR THE INDUSTRY
I
n the aftermath of the global financial
crisis, some have observed that the
underlying principles of commerce have
changed, and that we’re now operating in
a “New Normal” – an era of persistently
underwhelming economic progress, defined
by higher unemployment and slower growth.
Concurrently, the Indian economy has risen
in prominence – moving from the fringe of the
empire towards the center of the universe.
Compounding these changes, rapidly adopted
and quickly evolving new communications
technologies have altered and accelerated
the way information travels. Consequently, the
brief of Indian communications professionals
has fundamentally changed.
To understand the new rules of engagement,
Penn Schoen Berland (www.psbresearch.in)
partnered with IMPACT magazine to conduct,
for the second annual India Public Relations
& Corporate Communications conference, a
first-of-its-kind study amongst practicing public
relations and communications professionals in
India.
Our research identified a significant paradigm
shift for the communications industry, defined
by three broad changes:
1. Business impact is supplanting
coverage as the most important success
metric.
2. New media is becoming more important
than traditional media.
3. Globalization: local stories no longer
necessarily remain so.
4. EMPIRICAL PUBLIC
RELATIONS
IS REQUIRED
“Assessing media coverage
is not enough,” says one
client. Indeed, 89% of clients
for communications services
say that they would be more
comfortable with research-
based campaigns. However,
62% of clients report that
their agencies do not provide
research insights in support of
their initiatives.
This is true even though both
agencies and clients agree
that Empirical Public Relations
are more effective and provide
greater value than traditional,
untested campaigns.
In practice, implementing
insights-based communications
techniques turns out to be
a collective action problem:
Agencies are waiting for clients
to demonstrate willingness
to pay for the services, while
clients are waiting for agencies
to demonstrate the capabilities
– and to propose relevant work.
The question for the industry:
who is going to break the
vicious circle?
NO
YES
38%
62%
AGENCIES FAIL TO PROVIDE
RESEARCH INSIGHTS TO SUPPORT
THEIR INITIATIVES:
Does your public relations/communication agency provide
research insights to support their ideas or initiatives?
ASKED OF CLIENTS
NO
YES
11%
89%
DESPITE CLIENTS’ INCREASED
COMFORT WITH RESEARCH-BASED
CAMPAIGNS:
Would you feel more comfortable with your public relations/
communications recommendations and ideas if research insights
were provided to support the ideas or initiatives?
ASKED OF CLIENTS
“Public Relations companies do not
propose measurement.” – CLIENT
“Nobody is ready to pay for it.”
– PROVIDER
CLIENTS WILL PAY A PREMIUM
FOR ADVICE BASED ON
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE:
Would you be willing to offer an additional incentive for
demonstrated, measurable impact? // Would you be
willing to pay a premium for strategic counsel based on
empirical evidence? ASKED OF CLIENTS
NO
YES
31%
69%
25%
75%
AGENCIES ALSO BELIEVE
THAT CLIENTS WILL PAY MORE
FOR EMPIRICAL PR:
Do you think your client would be willing to pay a
premium for strategic counsel based on research led
insights provided by your firm? // Would your client be
willing to offer an additional incentive to your firm for
measurable impact? ASKED OF AGENCIES
NO
YES
7%
93%
27%
73%
EMPIRICAL PUBLIC
RELATIONS = VALUE
In theory, the gap should be
easy to bridge.
73% of clients say they are
willing to offer an additional
incentive to an agency that
can demonstrate that their
campaigns result in measurable
business impacts, and 93%
are willing to pay a premium
for strategic counsel based on
empirical evidence.
Meanwhile, 69% of agencies
say that clients are willing to
pay a premium for strategic
counsel based on research,
while 75% believe that clients
will offer an additional incentive
for measurable impacts.
One issue that may be
impacting uptake rates is the
question of capacity. More
than one third of agencies
(38%) report that they still lack
any kind of formal process to
measure the impact of their
campaigns.
Before they can reap the value
of Empirical Public Relations
within client relationships,
agencies will need to build
the capacity to conduct
measurement of program
efficacy within their practices.
5. Clients aren’t blind to these
limitations. 70% say that upgrading
current employees’ skills should
be agencies’ top priority. 69% say
that they do not believe that PR
and communications agencies are
generally geared to respond to the
changes in the industry. Clients
who express such skepticism
also say that agencies must focus
on attracting and maintaining
appropriate talent (63%) and
adding new skills and expertise
(57%).
Agency professionals are aware
that talent improvement must
be a major focus of the industry.
As Public Relations adopts
more complex methodologies
to respond to more complicated
situations, building teams capable
of strategic, insights-based
advisement, not just process
implementation, is increasingly
key. Team continuity is also a
concern.
Communications professionals
identify a range of threats to the
growth and improvement of the
industry. One major challenge is
talent acquisition, management
and retention.
Agencies are taking steps to meet
these challenges. 77% say they
are planning to upgrade the skills
of their existing staff, 62% will add
new skills or expertise to their
team, while 46% plan to increase
the size of their team.
CLIENTS AGREE WITH AGENCIES
THAT UPGRADING SKILLS OF
EXISTING STAFF IS TOP PRIORITY:
What talent management steps should public
relations/communications agencies take to meet the
needs and expectations of clients ? ASKED OF
ALL RESPONDENTS, SHOWING TOP FIVE
RESPONSES
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
AGENCIES
CLIENTS
UPGRADEÊSKILLSÊOFÊEXISTINGÊSTAFF
ADDÊNEWÊSKILLS/EXPERTISE
INCREASEÊTEAMÊSIZE
ATTRACTÊ&ÊRETAINÊTALENT
77%
62%
46%
70%
63%
57%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
AGENCIES
CLIENTS
UPGRADEÊSKILLSÊOFÊEXISTINGÊSTAFF
ADDÊNEWÊSKILLS/EXPERTISE
INCREASEÊTEAMÊSIZE
ATTRACTÊ&ÊRETAINÊTALENT
77%
62%
46%
70%
63%
57%
NO
YES
31%
69%
CLIENTS ARE SKEPTICAL OF
AGENCIES’ ABILITY TO ADAPT TO
THE NEW NORMAL:
Do you think public relations/communication agencies
in general are geared to deal with paradigm shifts in the
industry? ASKED OF CLIENTS
“There’s a huge team to service my
account, but of these ten people,
hardly anyone would be doing the
thinking work.” – CLIENT
“New people lack patience and
quickly move on to the client side, or
to new jobs.” - PROVIDER
HUMAN CAPITAL: A
GROWING CONCERN
NO
YES
9%
91%
AGENCIES BELIEVE CLIENT
EXPECTATIONS ARE CHANGING:
Do you think that your clients’ expectations from your firm have
changed over the last year? ASKED OF AGENCIES
What are the various public relations or communication
services you seek? ASKED OF CLIENTS,
SHOWING TOP FIVE RESPONSES
CLIENTS SEEK MORE THAN JUST
MEDIA RELATIONS FROM THEIR
PARTNERS:
0 20 40 60 80 100
MEDIAÊRELATIONS
CSR
DIGITALÊMARKETING
THOUGHTÊLEADERSHIP
INTERNALÊCOMMUNICATIONS
88%
88%
78%
75%
66%
91% of agency respondents say
that their clients’ expectations
have changed over the last year
– perhaps the best possible
indication of the transition
the PR and communications
industry is undergoing to
adapt to the New Normal, and
certainly a good reason for
agencies to focus on building
capacity and expertise.
Client expectations are
evolving toward higher-value
services. Clients still work
with communications partners
for media relations – though
strategic media relations, with
an eye to business impacts, are
increasingly preferable – but the
mixture of services is becoming
increasingly diverse. Corporate
Social Responsibility, Digital
Marketing, Thought Leadership
and Internal Communications
advisement round out the top
five services sought by Public
Relations clients – all of which
can benefit from an Empirical
Public Relations approach.
While shifting expectations
represent a challenge to Indian
communications professionals,
they also represent a
significant opportunity: as
clients increasingly associate
Public Relations with more
sophisticated, business-critical
projects, the industry will
naturally move up the services
value chain.
NEW EXPERTISE
FOR NEW
EXPECTATIONS
6. NO
YES
45%
55%
MORE THAN HALF OF CLIENT
RESPONDENTS LACK FORMAL PR
IMPACT ASSESSMENT PROCESS:
Do you have any formal process of measuring impact or
effectiveness of your public relations or communications
programs? ASKED OF CLIENTS
How do you measure the effectiveness of your public relations or
communications programs? ASKED OF CLIENTS
MEDIA MEASUREMENT REMAINS
CLIENTS’ DOMINANT MODE OF PR
PROGRAM ASSESSMENT:
While communications
professionals articulate clear
desire to implement scientific
approaches, there’s still work
to do. Just 45% of clients say
they have implemented formal
processes to understand the
impact of their campaigns. And
for many, media measurement
remains the primary (and in
many cases, sole) methodology
for measuring program
effectiveness.
However, an increasing number
are looking beyond media: 62%
say they gauge their success
at least partially through
stakeholder research, while
46% monitor reactions on the
Internet.
While Empirical Public
Relations has yet to be fully
adopted, much progress
has been made. And
the introduction of more
effective methods of media
measurement will further its
development.
MEASUREMENT:
THE HOLY GRAIL OF
PUBLIC RELATIONS
0 20 40 60 80 100
92%
MEDIAÊMEASUREMENT
MEDIAÊEXPOSURE
STAKEHOLDERÊRESEARCH
INTERNALÊFEEDBACK
INTERNETÊACTIVITY
85%
62%
62%
48%
NO
YES48%
52%
17%
83%
AGENCIES SKEPTICAL OF PEERS’
PREPAREDNESS FOR THE NEW
NORMAL, BUT THEY’RE
CONFIDENT OF THEIR OWN:
Do you think public relations/communication agencies in
general are geared up to deal with the changes/paradigm
shifts in the industry? // Do you think your agency is
geared up to deal with the changes/paradigm shifts in the
industry? ASKED OF AGENCIES
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
RESEARCHÊFORÊROI
RESEARCHÊFORÊINSIGHTS
TECHNOLOGY/TOOLS
70%
63%
57%
AGENCIES MUST INVEST IN
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TO
MEET CLIENT EXPECTATIONS:
What should public relations/communications agencies
make technological investments in to meet the needs and
expectations of clients like you? ASKED OF AGENCIES
Inevitably, the New Normal landscape
will benefit some competitors, while
others are left behind. Our research
suggests several action items for
success going forward:
1. Communications firms must
continue to strive to implement
the established science of Public
Relations - both to show clients
their Return on Investment, and
to create actionable insights to
leverage in campaigns.
2. Firms must build human capital
by making investments in the
knowledge and skills of current
employees, and continue to attract
new talent who can expand the
industry’s range of expertise.
3. Firms must embrace
technology, not just from a new
media perspective but also to
drive operational and process
efficiencies.
Barely half (52%) of agency
respondents believe that agencies
in general are prepared to deal with
the issues presented by the ongoing
paradigm shift – but 83% say that
their own agency is prepared.
In some cases, the emperor will
be revealed to be naked. Indian
communicators must begin to adapt
themselves to the new context – or
face a brutal reality check.
FINDING SUCCESS
IN THE NEW NORMAL
FOR MORE INFORMATION: S. Khanna, Director, Marketing; skhanna@ps-b.com; M: +971 111 8615; www.psbresearch.in
ABOUT THIS REPORT: Penn Schoen Berland conducted 9 qualitative in-depth interviews (both in-person and over the phone)
and 80 online quantitative interviews between February 22 and March 17, 2011. Sample size makes the results indicative.
AUDIENCE DEFINITIONS: Clients - Chief marketing officers, heads of communications in organizations; Agencies - Public
relation professionals (manager and above); Media - Journalists and production professionals (managers and above).
