PR and communications aren’t being used enough to drive business outcomes and the bottom line, says Metricomm, the media evaluation company showing brands how impactful online media coverage really is.
Metricomm, a spin-out of Cheshire-based Tribe Communications, draws on big data and powerful statistical techniques to analyse the true power of PR, elevating it “by showing exactly how it drives organisational results,” it says.
According to its research, it turns out that – for driving consumer behaviours like search – “online media coverage is far more effective than advertising,” Mark Westaby, Director of Metricomm, told Prolific North.
“The amplification effect online media coverage can have on other marketing and advertising is huge.”
The company has also announced its intention to make its innovative and big data-powered media evaluation solution available to professionals on a SaaS basis in due course, giving PR departments the chance to prove how impactful their work really is to company fortunes.
Reputation, coverage and effectiveness
Until now, PR has focused very much on reputation and measurement has been inadequate – relying only on volume of coverage – leading brands to devalue their perception of it.
Metricomm’s research has shown, however, just how impactful it is on both consideration of products and ultimate sales. “The Holy Grail of PR measurement is understanding how effective it is. We can now do that, we do do that, and we do it very well.
“Because PR measurement has been so poor, marketing people and senior management have rather dismissed its effect,” said Westaby, who himself founded media evaluation firm Metrica nearly 30 years ago – which encompasses broadcast, print, online, social and consumer generated media.
Ultimately, Metrica was sold to Durrants, and now underpins Cision’s global measurement system – so his media evaluation heritage is strong.
