Full disclosure — I admit that my involvement in the American Marketing Association (AMA) and American Advertising Federation (AAF) hasn’t been high over the years … I’ve gravitated more to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). I’m going to focus here on PRSA, because I don’t know how helpful the AMA and AAF are with basic rules or guidelines specific to what one wants to accomplish and then identifying a measurement. That help may be there and I just didn’t know where to look for it.
I do know PRSA has an elaborate educational process through its APR accreditation program. It defines an objective as requiring the following:
- Target audience
- Desired “outcome” (further defined as “an effect, consequence, or impact of a set or program of communication activities or products”)
- Level of change/accomplishment
- Timeframe
I like this — very specific rules. Too many people confuse strategies and objectives, and I can see why it’s common. How often have you heard someone (or maybe you’ve even done this yourself) put together a list of objectives like:
- Exhibit at a trade show
- Send out 20 direct marketing pieces
- Survey our customers …
All strategies. Not one of these is a desired outcome for a marketing communications program — at least it shouldn’t be. Even PR purists would argue that earned editorial space is still a strategy, not an outcome. Your end goal is not to get your message out there; it’s to have it do something. To be received, understood, and to move a person. To what? That’s the question. To buy? Perhaps, in a marketing sense, but there are a lot of elements specific to distribution and delivery, product quality, and price, that are out of your control. In the PR purist’s definition, it could be to become aware, form an opinion, and act a certain way (short of buying).
Think of it this way: Let’s say you’re a PR person for a blood bank. Your role is to help people become comfortable in giving blood. What should be your measurement? How many people gave blood or how many walked in and tried to give blood, but perhaps were turned away for some reason?
Public relations is defined by objective, not necessarily by tactics or execution. But these same PRSA guidelines for an objective could be applied to all marketing communications. For example: What if the objective of an all-encompassing marketing program were to prompt product or brand awareness, interest, and preference (all true “outcomes”) using a variety of methods — such as advertising, media relations, direct marketing, and others? The same elements outlined above come into play.
Seems like we’re onto something. It’s simple and brilliant at the same time. And it’s the best definition of a marketing communications objective I’ve seen.
Tags: public relations, strategy
