Public relations has long been difficult to measure among the corporate marketing mix. But research and analysis can help companies assess the return on, and effectiveness, of their communications programs.

In tandem with strategic planning, Horn Group Research provides necessary data to help clients gauge the success of their PR programs, make smarter decisions about market opportunities and competitive issues and refine communications programs as a result.

Our methodology is a five-stage cyclical approach that includes: research, objectives, strategy, communicate, results and measure. Horn Group offers packaged research services and custom projects that range from daily news analysis to comprehensive competitive research. Specific offerings include:

Daily or weekly news reports delivered via email including media coverage related to a client, its competitors and/or industry specific trends. This metric arms clients with insightful competitive intelligence and the ability to quickly identify and act on media opportunities.

• Daily Monitoring Report
• Weekly Coverage Analysis

Monthly or quarterly analysis reports including quantitative and/or qualitative assessment of a company, its competitors and industry specific trends. These metrics allow clients to adjust current communications programs and develop on-strategy marketing tactics to achieve competitive advantage.

• Share-of-Ink : Quantitative measurement of volume of coverage against competitors in areas such as media type, article type, and prominence.
• Share-of-Discussion : Measurement of category, topic, or trend awareness.
• Share-of-Market : Measurement of brand association with topics, categories, or technology trends.
• Competitive Analysis : A combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics including, but not limited to Share-of-Ink, Share-of-Discussion and Share-of-Market as well as variables such as tone, message resonance, positioning, CEO mind-share, interpretation and analysis of media/analyst perceptions, and strategic recommendations for fine-tuning programs.

Custom research is catered to individual client needs. Possible projects may include market analysis, perceptual audits or analytical reports based on a combination of previously mentioned metrics or criteria meeting client demands.

Results Measurement Case Study