Measure Twice, Cut Once (and Cut Out AVE)...

I was copied on an internal discussion about AVEs (Ad Value Equivalency) the other day. The question was, how else can we prove the value of our media relations efforts? Here are some rambling thoughts. Over to you, gentle reader...

If the question was ‘what’s the financial value of our media coverage’ then our industry struggles. While seemingly a valid question if you’re used to purchasing ad space, as we all know we can’t measure editorial in the same way. Does raise a good question, of course, on how we can measure editorial. I’d rather measure editorial’s ability to do something.

Most B2B and B2C buyer studies conclude that editorial plays a critical role in the awareness and consideration phases of the decision. At first, coverage such as news announcements help our buyers understand the available solutions and provides product or industry information. At the consideration phase, coverage such as case studies or op-ed pieces help more informed buyers create qualified short-lists as they move on towards their decisions.

The tough thing in assigning a financial value to this (or any) broad marketing output is that the B2B buyer in particular is naturally influenced by a range of content through a number of channels. Not to mention, of course, historical vendor preference, predetermination to buy from existing suppliers, relationships with sales people, proofs of concept and 101 other things that ultimately contribute to a purchase decision.

On the plus side, marketing automation tools like Eloqua, Marketo and HubSpot are helping us understand the role these buyer touch points are playing in driving people towards a B2B decision. Once someone has entered the purchase funnel and exchanged some kind of profile info, they’ll typically be tracked in some way. Their content preferences will be used to create an marketing approach that will push a variety of content at them (plus salesperson engagement if warranted). The program will evolve based on the actions the prospect takes. Once purchased are made, this buyer behavior data can be used to create ROI metrics showing the value of the marketing tactics versus the value of the ultimate purchase.

So, back to editorial. In the model I put forward, unless there’s a link in the article to a particular client-owned webpage, it’s very difficult to determine with any accuracy the specific role it played in the ultimate purchase (unless media coverage was the only promotional technique for a particular event and then you could measure foot traffic). You could use some funky math to work backwards from a typical sales cycle and assess related media coverage to see if there was any correlation.

But I think we’d be chasing our tails a little if we went down this path. If the client is wanting to answer this question, it will take a combination of educated guesses, primary research and integrating media relations with their pre-sales processes. I’m thinking:

1.

Primary research to question know prospects and buyers 

and determine the role media coverage (and other content / channels) plays in the stages of their decision (awareness, consideration, intent, purchase). Best to extend this to other tactics. 

2.

Establish touch-points

in the communications program

where media coverage / other tactics can hand-off to marketing automation / demand generation / lead generation systems (or in the case of B2C purchases, fulfillment systems). 

3. Build programs aimed at getting people into the funnel

or to purchase – using tactics such as driving traffic to landing pages. Referral traffic data will show the if media outlets are driving traffic and goal / conversions in Google Analytics or marketing automation systems will show if prospects from media coverage convert. Given B2C purchases frequently occur in-store, you could look at things like dynamic number insertion (DNI) where unique 800 numbers are put on webpages for different campaigns and then fulfillment can track back to this interaction.

Sorry for the ramble, but a good discussion to have. Long story short. We need to work out the pieces we can be accountable for influencing in the purchase. And measure our ability to get people to take those actions.