How to (and how we) report PR activities and results

Our PR firm’s process for reporting public relations campaigns

Strategic communication requires consistent evaluation. To evaluate, you need reporting methods to know if your audiences are consuming your messages and how your messages have affected your audiences over time. PR professionals frequently use real-time reporting methods like dashboards or live monitors so teams can listen and immediately react, acknowledge, or adapt to their audiences.

Most PR firms and departments report as frequently as quarterly. Some report as frequently as monthly. Axia Public Relations reports progress each week, month, quarter, and year because regular communication assures our clients that we’re actively developing results for them.

Here’s how Axia reports progress to clients.

    Weekly

  Activities

Report: Weekly PR Activities Report

Audience:

Agency point of contact (and potentially their manager too)

Overview:

• Typically presented every Friday or Monday
• Typically via email
• It lists activities we completed that week
• Shares activities we anticipate doing the following week
• Activities: things we do to plan and produce communication
  (Examples include researching, planning, designing, writing, copy editing, reviewing, ideation sessions, and other actions to prepare and complete communication.)

View a sample Weekly PR Activities Report.

    Monthly

     Metrics

Report: Monthly PR Metrics Report

Audience:

PR and marketing department leaders

Overview:

• Presented at the end of each month
• Typically via a screen-share session, phone call, or in-person meeting
• Sent as a PDF so it’s shareable with other team members
• Typically includes activities and outputs
• Outputs: content, materials, and messages we distributed publicly and the extent to which the target audiences received those messages

View a sample Monthly PR Metrics Report.

  Quarterly

   Results

Report: Quarterly PR Results Report

Audience:

Head of communications, CMO, and potentially the CEO

Overview:

• Delivered at the end of each business quarter
• Presented in person or via video conference by Axia team
• Presented as PDF so it’s shareable
• Includes outputs, outtakes, and outcomes
• Outtakes: what audiences do with and gain from your communication
• Outcomes: effect your communication has on audiences

View a sample Quarterly PR Results Report.

    Annual

  Executive

Report: Annual PR Executive Report

Audience:

CMO, CEO, board, investors

Overview:

• Delivered at the end of each year or program end date
• Presented in person or via video conference by Axia team
• Presented as PDF so it’s shareable
• Includes outputs, outtakes, outcomes, and impacts
• Impacts: business results that stem from communication

View a sample Annual PR Executive Report.

 Campaign

 or Project

Report: Campaign and Projects Reports

Audience:

Marketing manager, CMO, CEO, board, and investors, depending on the campaign’s scope and investment

Overview:

• Delivered at the end of the campaign
• Presented in person or via video conference by Axia team
• Sent as PDF so it’s shareable
• What’s included depends on the campaign’s objectives. It may include:
• Outputs
• Outtakes
• Outcomes
• Impacts

View a sample Campaign and Projects Report.

Are your PR firm’s reports impressive? If not, maybe it’s time to cut ties. Download Axia Public Relations’ complimentary e-book “How to Fire Your PR Firm” and stop yawning while reading worthless AVEs and vanity reports. Find a PR firm that consistently reports, measures, and evaluates numbers that matter to you and your organization.

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