We’re all familiar with that vid of Rebekah Wade peering over the shoulder of Andy Coulson at what I imagine is a lurid tale being cooked up for the News Of The World.

But there is another – perhaps even more telling – VT running behind the phone hacking chronicles.

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Checking in at #measurepr this week, and it occurs to me that one of our New Year’s Resolutions here at hopwood PR must be to get our heads round the tricky business of measurement.

There are some massive challenges here:

1. All our clients are different so there’s no obvious one-size-fits-all way to measure results – have a look at our case studies and you’ll see we’re results oriented but that our projects have hugely varied outcomes

2. Clients’ priorities (and their people) change over time (but they might not tell you) so it’s easy to find yourself measuring the wrong thing

3. Assuming clients’ media profile matters to them, how do you evaluate that profile in a rapidly-evolving new media world?

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Public consultation: Stakeholders engaged!

Being a good listener is a valuable life skill but all it really takes is concentration and self control. Being a good communicator is far more challenging.

I was reminded about the difference at a public consultation event where I was handling the media.

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There’s a debate (unhealthy, I think) in the PR industry about whether or not it’s appropriate to measure the amount of media coverage we generate in terms of what it would cost to buy the same amount of space or air time as advertising.

It’s a hot topic on twitter under the hashtag #measurepr. Here’s what we think about measuring PR.

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Joining Science City regulars at the spectacular No. 1 Nottingham Science Park, it was exciting to see futurologist Richard Watson stray off the subject of climate change and make some eye-catching predictions about how the media will look in decades to come. More

Seven PR lessons from the greatest communication never made

By Duncan Hopwood MCIPR

“Pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere up in space…” – Monty Python’s Meaning of Life

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How to accelerate out of recession by someone who’s been there and done that

By Duncan Hopwood

Weakened by the insidious media outpour of grim economic news. Gunned down by the rat-tat-tat of your prospects telling you “no”. Deafened by the silence when you ask the world to take notice. More

So here they are, the world’s favourite quotes about the public relations profession as compiled in our online survey of communications professionals. More

With seniority comes responsibility. If a senior executive behaves irresponsibly in his or her private life, employees, shareholders and colleagues can legitimately question that person’s fitness for the job. More

PR is a powerful staff motivator. Build up what Vicky Franklin calls “a pyramid of communication lines within the client company” and successful media campaigns have a morale-boosting effect on the entire staff. This could be something as simple as posting cuttings on a bulletin board. More