European PR measurement summit - really?
June 28th, 2010 by Lloyd Gofton
As you may have seen in PR Week last week, the so-called ‘Barcelona declaration of research principles’ was created at the second European summit on measurement, in partnership with AMEC (the Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication), and incorporating the CIPR’s Measurement Group, the Global Alliance for Public Relations, the IPR’s Commission on Measurement and Evaluation, the PRSA and the ICCO to agree a set of measurement and evaluation principles.
On reading the story, my initial reaction was full of hope, finally we can put the ghost of measurement to rest in the PR sector by agreeing relevant industry-wide standards, and hopefully kill off the AVE scores once and for all.
In fact the Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) system, and its relevance as a PR measurement, was highlighted in the third principle, which reads: ‘AVEs do not measure the value of PR and do not inform future activity; they measure the cost of media space.‘ Spot on!
The full list of seven principles are below:
SEVEN KEY PRINCIPLES
1. Measurement and goal setting are fundamental for any PR programmes
2. Media measurement requires quantity and quality - clip cuts are generally meaningless
3. AVEs do not measure the value of PR and do not inform future activity; they measure the cost of media space
4. Social media can and should be measured
5. Measuring outcomes is preferred to measuring media results
6. Business results can and should be measured where possible
7. Transparency and replicability are paramount to sound measurement
I’m sorry, there must be some mistake, surely this is the agenda for discussion, not the outcome of an ‘expert’ summit that involved 200 delegates from 33 nationalities, supported by 5 global bodies?
Far be it from me to call into question exactly what they did for the rest of the time at this summit, but isn’t this a starting point? And if this is the second event, what exactly took part at the first event?
The mind boggles at how this feedback is supposed to be relevant at a time when PR in general is already being left behind in terms of how it measures and justifies spend, let alone how PR understands and utilises social media, and surely point 4, (above) only goes to prove PR is still very far from doing this.
As for the quotes from various ‘industry figures’ and bodies represented in the PR Week article, i agree, it is important, and it is a positive platform to grow from, which we should support. However, it’s really not a huge step, in terms of steps, it’s pretty tiny. Where is the urgency? Where is the delivery? We all know what the PR industry should be doing, but surely the issue is ‘how’.
Perhaps that comes out of the next event? Is it unfair of me to expect more? If this was the outcome of a client-facing event would the client be patting us on the back and saying well done, you’ve stated the obvious, and it’s taken you years to do it, but at least you’re on the right path now.
Yes, i understand the event was developed to set ‘principles’ and in fairness that was achieved, but come on, can we really afford to continue moving at such a slow pace?
It’s great that the PR industry is going to leave AVEs behind, but the truth is, the fact that AVEs are still being discussed underlines how far behind we are.
Oh, and apparently the Barcelona Principles will be refined based on detailed participant feedback, and will be built on by AMEC and its partners over the coming months and years.
I think it’s best that i don’t comment on that little gem.
Tags: Barcelona declaration of research principles, measurement, PR
