How to Conduct a PR Campaign Review for Optimum Learning
5 Aug 2025, Deya Bhattacharya
5 Aug 2025, Deya Bhattacharya
By now, PR agencies everywhere acknowledge the importance of a campaign review. It’s when
you get to recalibrate as a team, celebrate the high points of the campaign and gather insights
on elements you can improve on or new pieces of information that can shape your strategy
going forward. Often, though, PR campaign reviews limit themselves to just the predetermined
KPIs. And while that’s an important part of the process, it leaves out critical opportunities for
improvement that lurk in the nuances of the campaign rather than the obvious numbers.
At Star Squared PR, we believe every campaign has a story to tell — and your ability to
understand that story, identify the morals and insights behind it, and convert them into
actionable knowledge will determine how well your future campaigns perform. Here’s how you
can work on making that happen.
Do your PR campaign numbers start and end with digital metrics? If so, it’s time to look beyond.
The basis of a successful campaign review is a data collection framework that covers the
following:
● Traditional metrics (reach, impressions, engagement rates across platforms etc)
● Qualitative/non-traditional metrics (share of voice, audience penetration across target
groups, sentiment analysis etc)
● Non-digital metrics (traditional media coverage)
● Post-campaign opportunities (business enquiries, partnership reachouts, speaking
opportunities etc)
Bonus Tip — Implement real-time tracking during your campaign to capture quick reactions and
spontaneous engagement patterns that might be missed otherwise.
A solid campaign review process focuses not just on performance against initial goals but also
why certain targets fell short (or exceeded expectations). The answers may not be obvious, so
it’s important to break down the analysis by audience segments, content types, campaign
phases etc so that you can cross-reference and identify hidden patterns.
For instance, you may see that awareness exceeded expectations in a certain audience group,
but when you look deeper, you find that much of that came from traditional media coverage
while digital media lagged behind. Then, further analysis could reveal that this group is largely
an older demographic that prefers consuming media through newspapers or television
coverage. This is a critical nuance that can help you shape how you target that audience group
in future campaigns.
Different audiences respond to different types of content, and it’s vital to make sure your
campaigns are aligned with these patterns. Post-campaign, prepare a content performance
matrix to map content types against different channels and audience segments, and study the
how’s and whys of their performance.
For instance, it’s not enough to say that a certain social media post got more reach in Audience
Group A versus Audience Group B. Was the extra reach in Group A because of paid effort or
organic amplification? How much of that reach translated to meaningful engagement?
Simultaneously, what led to the lower performance in Group B? Was it a matter of timing or
placement, or was it a fundamental misalignment with Group B’s preferences? The answers to
these questions will help you allocate resources efficiently and make sure future campaigns
cater to different audience needs.
Both internal and external stakeholders can offer valuable campaign insights that supplement
your own analysis. For example, your sales teams can give you feedback on the quality of leads
you received after the campaign — specifically, how likely they are to convert into actual paying
customers. Or, your customer service team can tell you how the frequency/content of customer
inquiries changed during or immediately after the campaign, giving you critical insights into
customer sentiment.
On the external side, journalists and industry connections can give you important perspectives
on message quality and the effectiveness of your positioning. Try to have these conversations
within two weeks of your campaign, while it’s still top of mind.
To conclude the campaign review process, prepare a detailed “lessons learned“ document with
specific, actionable recommendations for future campaigns. Focus on both the things that
worked and the things that didn’t — and the whys behind each. For instance, if media coverage
worked well but there were operational issues with getting the press releases out on time,
consider refining the media outreach process to finalise placements sooner. And finally, have a
process in place to translate these insights into concrete changes to your PR playbook so that
you’re ready to go for the next campaign.
The foundation of good PR is a continuous commitment to learning, understanding, and
improving — and campaign analysis exemplifies all three. Treat the campaign review process
as an investment in future success rather than a formality to be gotten over with, and you’re well
on your way to demonstrable PR excellence. That’s the approach we bring to every campaign at
Star Squared PR, and we’re proud to have helped our clients identify key insights that translated
to measurable business improvements. Ready to design campaigns that actually resonate with
your audience? Reach out to our team today to book your first consultation.
