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‘For practitioners by practitioners’ – PRCA publishes paper tackling data literacy in public relations

Press release -

‘For practitioners by practitioners’ – PRCA publishes paper tackling data literacy in public relations

The Public Relations and Communications Association’s (PRCA) Innovation Forum has published a new paper showcasing the opportunities for public relations practitioners to harness data to plan, measure and demonstrate their value.

Data Literacy in Public Relations – a series of essays from 11 leading practitioners – aims to elevate understanding of best practice in the use of data in public relations. The essays explore how data informs strategy, decision making, creativity, execution, and measurement. The paper explains how insights can be developed from data and used as a foundation for content and storytelling.

The paper is freely available to public relations and communications professionals. Key themes include: the numbers that matter in public relations, designing a listening and measurement strategy, identifying a public and listening to conversations, the possibilities and limitations that tools present, translating data into insights, building a culture of digital literacy, and data storytelling and visualisation.

Highlights from the paper were presented at today’s PRCA Measurement Conference, sponsored by CARMA.

Download the report at the bottom of this page.

Stephen Waddington, chair, PRCA Innovation Forum and Managing Partner, Wadds Inc., said:

“The digital transformation of media and organisations over the past 20 years has created huge volumes of data. This data provides new opportunities for public relations practitioners to understand and engage with audiences. It has also provided practice with the means to plan, measure and demonstrate its value. Data Literacy in Public Relations has been written for practitioners by practitioners and addresses each of these areas.”

Johna Burke, Global Managing Director, AMEC, said:

“A credible voice of insights is only possible with meaningful data. We need to meet the C-suite where they are focused and refrain from expecting them to take an interest in the activity level of communications and public relations, which is still a dominant part of reporting. In short, equally important to data literacy is the ability to communicate the effectiveness of your initiatives in context to the overarching business objectives.”

Andrew Bruce Smith, member, PRCA Innovation Forum and Managing Director, Escherman, said:

"Our ongoing attempts to prove the value of public relations will fail unless we grasp the data nettle. Data Literacy in Public Relations brings together some of the sharpest minds in the industry to help raise the overall bar in this vital area and provide an on-ramp for practitioners everywhere to help rapidly improve our skills with data."

The contributors to the Data Literacy in Public Relations paper are: Iretomiwa Akintunde-Johnson, ID Africa; Stella Bayles, CoverageBook; Sophie Coley, Propellernet; James Crawford, PR Agency One; Orla Graham, CARMA; Alex Judd, Clarity PR; Steve Leigh, Sensu Insight; Shayoni Lynn, Lynn; Andrew Bruce Smith, Escherman; Allison Spray, H+K Strategies; and Stephen Waddington, Wadds Inc.

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The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is the world’s largest professional PR body.

Representing 35,000 PR professionals in 82 countries worldwide, we are a global advocate for excellence in public relations. Our teams across Europe, the Middle-East and Asia-Pacific work with professionals around the world to co-ordinate our operations across six continents.

Our mission is to create a more professional, ethical, and prosperous PR industry. We champion - and enforce - professional standards around the world through our Professional Charter and Code of Conduct. The Code compels members to adhere to the highest standards of ethical practice.

We deliver exceptional training, authoritative industry data, and global networking, and development opportunities.

We also manage the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) - the umbrella body for 41 PR associations and 3,000 agencies across the world. Additionally, we support the delivery of the Motor Industry Communicators Association (MICA).

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Gabriela Weiss Clarke

Gabriela Weiss Clarke

Press contact Communications Manager +44 (0) 207 233 6026
Ikechukwu Mgbenwelu

Ikechukwu Mgbenwelu

Press contact Content Marketing Strategist +44 20 4548 9436

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The PRCA is the world’s largest professional PR association, representing more than 35,000 PR professionals in 82 countries worldwide. Our mission is to create a more professional, ethical, and prosperous global PR industry.

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