Measurement malaise: is comms stuck in a rut?

It’s time for some honesty amongst friends. Compared to other corporate functions, comms has never really been particularly good when it comes to measuring and reporting on the value of what we do. For too long we relied on our beautifully designed press cutting books and detailed engagement reports, hoping our Advertising Value Equivalent scores would impress our marketing colleagues.

 But the times they are a-changin’. There are firms, large and small, becoming far more adept in how they measure the outcomes of their communication activity.

Yet given the wide array of providers, tools and systems (as well as all that free data) out there in the world wide web, why are more organisations still not measuring much beyond the basic outputs?

Is it the cost that puts companies off? Is it because boards and management teams don’t really care that much? Is it because what we do is a bit fuzzy and hard to define? Or is it because, as 'words' people are we inherently suspicious of anything that has numbers in it? We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Apella partner Andrew Brown has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance, Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk