---
title: Design measurement into programs says Waters Corp Comms Head
description: "Blog | To people who say marketing and communications are ‘soft’ disciplines and can’t be measured: that is not the world we live in anymore"
---

[blog ](https://blog.covalentbonds.com)

# [Design measurement into programs says Waters Corp Comms Head](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/design-measurement-into-communications-programs)

 Written by [Laura Browne](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/author/laura-browne) | Mar 27, 2020 4:00:00 AM

To people who say marketing and communications are ‘soft’ disciplines and can’t be measured: “that is not the world we live in anymore. You can have a hypothesis and test it. Now we have the data to remove gut instinct from marketing [and communications].” This was the theme of my [recent podcast](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/resources/failure-is-a-temporary-stop-on-the-road-to-success) with Kristen Garvey, Vice President Corporate Communications at [Waters Corporation](https://www.waters.com/nextgen/us/en.html).

### How to use data to fail fast in marketing and communications

Our conversation digs deep into how you can use [marketing data](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/resources/5-steps-to-making-your-life-science-company-marketing-data-driven) to ‘foster the failure mindset’. Kristen discusses the need to be fearless: “don’t let fear of failure stop you succeeding”.

### Designing measurement into the communications program

Waters takes a scientific approach to marketing: develop hypotheses and then A/B test. It is important to design measurement into marketing and communications programs. “If you can’t measure it, you should question whether you should do it. When you set objectives, tie a metric to that objective”. This enables people to adjust programs while they are running.

[You may also be interested in this article on [PR metrics](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/resources/using-pr-metrics-reporting-to-gain-credibility)]

Waters bakes measurement budgets into overall campaigns. You have to know what is working or not. The team [uses metrics and data to prove value](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/resources/measuring-and-tracking-life-science-marketing-success). This is especially the case for offline programs including PR and brand, where you can use brand tracking studies or analyze message pull-through and share of voice. Kristen describes a project they are working on to build a comms dashboard.

[Take a listen to the podcast](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/resources/failure-is-a-temporary-stop-on-the-road-to-success) to learn more about how to design measurement into your marketing and communications programs.

[View full post](https://blog.covalentbonds.com/design-measurement-into-communications-programs)

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