The PR professionals and researchers are under intense pressure to justify their existence and show accountability. Measure of PR activity indicates whether they have achieved their objectives.

Lindenmann (2003) noted that in order for Public Relations research to provide support and assistance in the measurement and evaluation of communications and marketing effectiveness, it is important to put far more emphasis on quantitative data collection.

Looking through many blogs of professionals in PR, it is possible to make a list of techniques which could be used to measure and evaluate PR effectiveness.

• Media Content Analysis - the process of studying and tracking of what has been written and broadcast. Its first task is to find out whether the key messages that an organisation sends to publics via media have been received by its audience.
• Web space Analysis - More and more increasing measure of organisation's reputation, image and activity is online discussion.
• Event and Trade Shows Measurement - For trade shows and events one of the measurement is assessment of the types of the individual present, the number of interviews related to the event and show, and the number of distributed promotional materials.
• Public Opinion Polls - Public opinion polls are often carried out to to determine whether or not key target audience has been exposed to the key messages of the organisation's efforts to assess the overall effectiveness.

Roza Djangaracheva, "Moon chariot"

Today I looked at Forbes list of the richest people in the world in 2006. Bill Gates is at the first place with his US$56 billion, and the third place is given to Carlos Slim Helu (US$49 billion), who owns the leading mobile operators America Movil and Telmex in South America. He ranks 3 in 2007's The World's Billionaires as well. These are more than examples that information and communication rules the world today.

There are other smart people in the list, like Ingvar Kamprad (US$33 billion), owner of IKEA, and Bernard Amault (US$26 biilion) and his LVMH. They admit that one day a BIG IDEA knocks the door and ... They just pursue it, earning huge money not by selling mineral resourses, but following their BIG, or if you want, CREATIVE IDEA. Creative Idea is the most important, being creative and brave in realising your Big ideas is a good half of success. So... Is it possible to measure Creativeness? I don't know so far. But probably, MR. FORBES does!

Measuring PR

The world has been changing today and it is obvious that Public Relations industry has been changing as well.
A discipline like PR cannot stay aside since its first task is communication. Moving from traditional and simple ways of communicating, PR has broadened its activities involving new techniques of communicating and influencing.
PR practitioners need to collaborate to ensure business effectiveness. This is why the evaluation of PR activity’s efficiency is so important; it has been regarded as a problem in professional community.
“Public Relations News” in cooperation with PRSA has led a research in December 2005 among the readers of this edition and the members of the organization asking “What problem will worry experts in PR in 2006 most of all?” 58 % of responders admitted that it would be PR-campaigns’ effectiveness’ evaluation.
Indeed, if PR professionals are eager to prove how much PR-activity has to an organization, what are the critical areas to be measured? Increasing sales and profits, employees’ incentive and moral, support in community and government, social responsibility? And what are the tools to measure?