Recent research by financial organisation, True Potential LLP has revealed that 29 per cent of UK savers are currently saving nothing towards their retirement. These pensioners will be faced with a harsh choice: continue working into old age or attempt to live off the already-stretched state pension. Even at the current levels, the future of a Government-funded payment is in jeopardy.
An HSBC Global Report (2013) found that the average Briton spends nineteen years in retirement but with savings that will run out after just seven years. This leaves a huge financial gap and it is unclear exactly how this will be filled.
In addition, it is not just a question of how much is saved, but where the money is invested. True Potential argues that many of those who are actively saving are not always getting the best return on their investments because they use vehicles that add little or no value.
Getting the best return for an investment is not, of course, limited to the question of pension provision. In the world of pensions and PR, there is an equal requirement for ROI as well. At one time this was measured by EAV – or Equivalent Advertising Value – but this does not give an accurate picture.
Admiral has given much consideration as to how we can demonstrate return on investment to our clients. We are proud to be one of the few communications agencies in the UK that offers a tailored evaluation service which routinely inspects the impact of our work against targets and budgets and we do this by providing extremely detailed intelligence to our clients.
The system is based on a range of metrics including the prevalence of key messages in target media and parameters are established in consultation with the client at the outset of any campaign.
Typically, we would measure the value of coverage in terms of quality (sentiment, position, key messages, imagery, share of piece) rather than column inches; calculate share of voice against competitors in the same space; track levels of coverage in key media; measure the conversion of stories issued to stories covered by media; and monitor the online profile of a client’s brand and/or online ‘noise’ relevant to a client’s industry.
We are now able to combine these metrics with other factors such as cost per impact (recognised by the Central Office of Information as the best replacement for Equivalent Advertising Value (EAV). We also provide data to establish the cost of reach (comparative assessment of the cost of PR versus other marketing activity); the effectiveness of messaging; the extent of the digital footprint e.g. inbound links, quantity and relevance of web traffic (incorporating Google analytics); the number of enquiries and relevant signs of behavioural change.
So, it’s not just about saving for a pension or hiring a PR agency, it’s about finding the right vehicle for you and ensuring that you get the best possible return on your investment. Thinking about it, whether it relates to pensions or PR, that’s a pretty good formula for most things in life.
