Campaign measurement

2nd June 2011

How do you measure the effectiveness of a campaign? Whether it’s through column inches gained, web traffic generated or new sales leads, measures of success will look very different to different people. What’s important is deciding at the start what your measures will be and using these throughout the life of the campaign, not just as the closing chapter.

Consider this: most companies have a set of corporate key messages to be used throughout their communications, from press releases to newsletters and marketing campaigns. But how many actually track which key messages are being used and where? How do you know all your key messages are reaching your audience – it’s common to find one or two which aren’t being communicated at all. By tracking every month where and how messages are being used, you can build up a much more accurate view of what you are saying about your company, what information you’ve given people to say about you and which messages need additional promotion to ensure they are heard.

If messages are consistently failing to reach your customers, for example if they are ignored in your PR campaign, it raises questions about perceptions of your business. It is likely that the internal perception of the company is different to that of the media and customers. Now you’re aware there’s a problem with a key message, you can investigate further and create a strategy to get you from where you are now to where you want to be – as reflected in this key message.

Clearly key messages used will be only one small measure of success. But the principle of regular campaign measurement and refinement is one that needs to run throughout every campaign undertaken.