An all-star panel of PR agency and corporate professionals examined the ongoing daily challenge of PR professionals to create perceptions of value to clients and bosses.

Left to right: Demakos, Panelas, Marnell, Nemeth, Hadley

Athan Demakos, with his primary professional focus being investor relations, opened the discussion by proclaiming that: "It's about results. You have to know your goals, set objectives and meet them, then measure performance."

Responsible for the growth of her agency’s business in the Chicago area, Hadley explained that there is a lot more to the perceived value of public relations than the work we do. Without effective work that shows results, the best work won't help with perceived value. During her 15-year tenure at Porter Novelli, working with proprietary strategic account planning, she's learned that "clients prefer good work to working with nice personalities." She explained, "Return on investment is far more important in public relations, although we tend to get a little plaintive about it. There is no single metric showing the value of PR."

Agreeing with Demakos, Hadley believes that objectives are most important. We need to question what we are trying to achieve and think about what needs to be done. Therefore, these objectives need to be specific and measurable. According to Hadley, "Objectives are NOT a to-do list, but a list of what we want to accomplish. They have an effect on organizational success, as well as impact the target audience's behavior."

She suggests outlining the strategies and tactics for your objectives to provide an opportunity to show what PR can do.

Nemeth calls the measurement of public relations the million-dollar question. As senior director of the Global PR and Alliance Communications Department for McDonald's, she acknowledged that when budgets become tight, every dollar counts. She also talked about the power of the editorial press. She urged those PR people responsible for publicity and media relations to build relationships by getting to know reporters and deliver to them what they want to know and hear. Expectations also are important. Before creating PR plans, which include what can be delivered and the budget within which to work, a professional needs to consider the barriers they'll face and make sure they understand the perceived expectations.

Costs-per-impression count and, to reach people through advertising is steep. PR is less costly. "Know your audience, and measure results in a way they understand. There is more to PR than a clip book," she says. The key is to communicate messages.

"Nothing is more important than the right story at the right time, and then pitched to the right reporter," says Nemeth. "One story does not fit all. Therefore, you need to consider who will matter. Consider this before pitching any story and the forethought will be worth the time and effort. Show you've done more work on behalf of the product or client than anyone else."

Nemeth provides a formula that works for her:

1. PR programs must further the management's agenda, helping them to get their jobs done and meet goals. To do this, you must get into their mindset and see things from the perspective of the person you are trying to sell.

2. Schedule time to review the results at least annually, making sure the key messages of the story are all present.

3. Evaluate results on the quality and the quantity of coverage.

4. Dazzle them with results, by merchandising impressive publicity hits.

5. Involve the bosses in every step of the process in order to make sure they have ownership. They should be able to provide input into PR programs and they should be the ones to speak at events.

Nemeth adds that opportunities and challenges open doors to deliver messages. "PR has come into its own and is a necessity; we need to explain to and educate others as to its capability."

Working for a company with a well-known brand and a longevity of 235 years, Panelas indicated that shock waves were beginning to be felt more than ten years ago when "disruptive technologies like the Internet sent us reeling. Public relations was especially important at that time."

With more than 20 years of corporate communications experience, Panelas acknowledges that, although the model for measuring PR is scientific, more and more the operative model is what he calls "fuzzy logic and the chaos theory" in these times of diminished budgets and fewer people doing more work. "The client relationship," he says, "will continue to be created on intangible interpersonal skills."

He offers these questions to ask when evaluating PR firms:

1. How often does the firm come to you and offer new opportunities and new pitches?

2. Does the firm have a media relationship director? And are you, as a client, in on the pitches?

3. Does the firm come back showing its value or just the work it has done?

4. How realistic are its plans? Creativity is great, but be aware of the limitations and realistic capabilities of those involved.

He suggests there is a natural cycle in the agency relationship. Therefore, he offers some challenges to agencies: Do not just do releases about products, do radio tours. Get spokespeople better trained. Focus on freelancers with targeted pitches.

He asks the audience to consider, "If you are an account executive at a PR firm, how would you respond to someone like me with a tight budget?" Panelas likens PR to life, where planning and reflection are important, but not in excess. "Get out there and pitch!" Panelas adds, keep reporters in the loop and it will help develop relationships that pay off.

When he is not working with his clients or making fun of ad agencies, this cynical idealist spends his time teaching database marketing to graduate students. Marell contends that setting objectives and measuring performance are a waste of time. The objective is to get funding from investors. Having worked with "dot com" startups, the only measurement - according to Marell - is "how much you are spending compared to your burn rate."

As a database marketer, Marrel takes real time information from the market place and gains insight to make better decisions. Using the planets as an analogy, he suggests that we think of what we do know about clients, customers and the marketplace as Pluto and what we don't know, as Jupiter.

He speaks of success as not being a short-term thing but as a process, a long-term activity. For example, McDonald's changed the way America eats, not just this quarter but for the long term. Therefore, he suggests that PR people not focus on a project as an end. Short-term vision, according to Marrel, has ruined the advertising business.

"Agencies are good at telling clients that they will cease to exist without them," says Marrel. "The premise is wrong." He suggests that performance measurement is a result of a relationship between project successes and overall success. "It is our duty to educate clients and make them believers in what we can do with them."

Set objectives by segment to make them more loyal over time. Focus on the progression of where they are to where they should be. There is a long term invested effort to make that happen. Well-conceived and delivered ideas are the most effective way to get through.