ROI link between PR and corporate reputation established published Feb 01 Ground-breaking research has been undertaken in the US to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of public relations spending among Fortune 500 companies. The Council of PR Firms commissioned Thomas L Harris/Impulse Research to assess the impact on corporate reputation of varying levels of spending. The study: Validated an ROI for corporate communications Identified that there is a correlation between an investment in corporate communications and a company’s reputation Identified relationships between reputation rankings and spending on PR Provided benchmarking data on corporate communications spending by function Tracked attitudes about the status of corporate communications, relating them to reputation rankings The report analysed spending in a broad array of corporate communications functions: media relations, executive outreach and speechwriting, investor relations, annual/quarterly reports, social responsibility and community affairs, foundation funding, corporate and issues advertising, industry relations, employee communications, department management and counselling. It also addressed spending on external agencies. While the Australian situation is different to the US, the study will be of interest and value to corporate communications professionals in our largest companies who face justifying corporate communication expenditure levels required in today's competitive media environment.

PR Influences Australian Public Relations Newsletter. Article: Survey and study measuring ROI link between public relation & corporate reputation. Information Content: Reputation & Research, Corporate Communications