Public Relations (PR) Expense as a Percentage of Total Marketing Expense

Public Relations (PR) Expense as a Percentage of Total Marketing Expense

KPI Details

Public Relations (PR) as a Percentage of Total Marketing Expense measures the expense incurred by the Public Relations (PR) function in relation to the total expense incurred by the company's Marketing Department over the same period of time. A relatively high value for this metric may be related to a number of factors, including highly manual (i.e., error and rework prone) PR processes and procedures (e.g., using press conferences almost exclusively, etc.), excessive time spent on low-value work (e.g., scheduling meetings or public events, printing, scanning, etc.), overstaffing, general inefficiencies within PR processes (e.g., inefficient public event planning, poor coordination with local or national media, untimely internal communications to company employees, etc.), and sub-par PR employee training and performance. While companies typically seek to streamline operations and employee positions to reduce expenses in the PR function, great care should be taken when doing so as too many layoffs can not only have a negative impact on company morale, but it can also make it that much more difficult to mold the public's perception of the company and its product offerings.

KPI Definition

The expense incurred by the Public Relations (PR) function divided by the total expense incurred by the company's Marketing Department over the same period of time, as a percentage.

KPI Best Practices

• Use outside public relations firms when possible to reduce PR overhead costs
• Take proactive measures to avoid bad PR situations, as damage control costs more than prevention
• Establish challenging but achievable PR budgets to establish threshold for PR spend

KPI Calculation Instructions Public Relations (PR) Expense as a Percentage of Total Marketing Expense?

Two values are used to calculate this KPI: (1) the expense incurred by the Public Relations (PR) function, and (2) the total expense incurred by the company’s Marketing Department over the same period of time. Include labor (wages, salaries, commissions, benefits), overhead (occupancy, utilities, supplies, advertising, legal fees, travel costs, etc.), technology (hardware, software, end-user operations, etc.) and campaign costs in this calculation. Include the expenses incurred through all sub-groups within the Marketing Department (e.g., Branding & Strategy, Content Marketing, Market Research & Analysis, Programs & Campaigns, and Public Relations) in the denominator.

KPI Formula :

(Expense Incurred by the PR Function / Total Expense Incurred by the Marketing Department) * 100