Is PR measurement really all about the hits?

A few weeks ago, I moderated a panel on PR measurement with the fabulous San Diego chapter of the PRSA. We did the usual circling around which measurements matter, which ones don’t, and how no one has glommed onto any one (or four) measurement standards. Many good ideas surfaced and there was one point made that incited a fun debate among the panelists: Do “hits” (in this case, media pickups, not Web traffic) in and of themselves matter?

This is a loaded question of course.

The answer is no, in a vacuum, the hit itself does not matter. It’s the depth of that hit that matters. Did the hit convey key messages? Did it perpetuate the vision of the company? Did it drive Web traffic, leads, and engagement? All that matters is what the hit did. Period. End of story.

But wait.