According to research from Hotwire PR, marketers under 34 are the group most likely to use data generated from communications evaluation for planning purposes. About 65% of under 34s think communicators are effective at using data. That, however, coincides with 38% of CMOs who mistrust data stemming from the communications department.

It is this paradox that defines many conversations about the measurement and evaluation of public relations; data is necessary to learn and plan comms campaigns, but data may or may not be trustworthy. Measurement and evaluation professionals are there to ensure that the analysis of a PR campaign is carried out successfully and that the results have meaning to the overall comms objectives.

During AMEC’s Measurement Week, Communicate, in association with Salience Insight, hosted a webinar, Why Measurement Matters discussing the value of measurement for the communications professional. Measurement and PR experts Ketchum Change chairman David Rockland, and Mike Daniels, commercial director of Salience, joined Julie Lardieg senior brand manager at Godrej for Bio-Oil and Bernadette Murdoch, communications director at GSK.

The foursome shared their insights into measurement and its value to the corporate communicator. For Murdoch and Lardieg, measurement and evaluation helped inform both brand and communications strategy and the ways in which communications interacted with other departments internally. Murdoch pointed to a PR campaign for Aquafresh as a success to both opening conversation with consumers but also proving to business leaders that a small investment in public relations could yield a big return.

Rockland says, “The point of measurement is to show what’s working and what’s not,” and to be able to apply it to strategy in order to make productive changes. Lardieg says, too, that measurement does matter because it leads to better decisions, better outcomes and a better impact on the brand.

Though there are countless tools, strategies and platforms for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of a PR campaign, measurement, in the end does matter. If communicators, as Lardieg and Murdoch point out, can use it to their benefit, they can both enhance the efficacy of their campaigns but also more effectively prove ROI internally and produce better campaigns in future.