PR chiefs rule AVEs no good for PR

The ‘Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles’ says Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) do not measure the value of PR

The 2nd European Summit on Measurement, held in Barcelona, Spain in June 2010, organized by the Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) and the Institute for Public Relations. AMEC brought five global organisations together. The Global Alliance, IPR Measurement Commission, AMEC, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) met to discuss and agree a set of principles on measurement and evaluation.

The world’s experts in research and public relations measurement and evaluation came to Barcelona to agree a set of evaluation principles called ‘The Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles’.

‘The Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles’ was created by delegates from 33 countries, after the leaders of five global PR and measurement and evaluation bodies and 200 delegates voted overwhelmingly to adopt seven key principles. The 7 Principles are:

1. Importance of Goal Setting and Measurement: Goal-setting and measurement are fundamental aspects of any public relations program. Goals should be as quantitative as possible and address who, what, when and how much the PR program is intended to affect.
Measurement should take a holistic approach, including representative traditional and social media; changes in awareness among key stakeholders, comprehension, attitude, and behavior as applicable; and effect on business results.

2. Measuring the Effect on Outcomes is Preferred to Measuring Outputs: Outcomes include shifts in awareness, comprehension, attitude and behavior related to purchase, donations, brand equity, corporate reputation, employee engagement, public policy, investment decisions, and other shifts in stakeholders regarding a company, NGO, government or entity, as well as the stakeholder’s own beliefs and behaviors. Practices for measuring the effect on outcomes should be tailored to the business objectives of the PR activities. Quantitative measures such as benchmark and tracking surveys, are often preferable. However, qualitative methods can be well suited or used to supplement quantitative measures. Standard best practices in survey research including sample design, question wording and order, and statistical analysis should be applied in total transparency.

3. The Effect on Business Results Can and Should Be Measured Where Possible: To measure business results from consumer or brand marketing, models that determine the effects of the quantity and quality of PR outputs on sales or other business metrics, while accounting for other variables, are a preferred choice. Related points are: (a) Clients are creating demand for market mix models to evaluate the effect on consumer marketing. (b)The PR industry needs to understand the value and implications of market mix models for accurate evaluation of consumer marketing PR, in contrast to other measurement approaches (c) The PR industry needs to develop PR measures that can provide reliable input into market mix models (d) Survey research can also be used to isolate the change in purchasing, purchase preference or attitude shift resulting from exposure to PR initiatives.

4. Media Measurement Requires Quantity and Quality: Overall clip counts and general impressions are usually meaningless. Instead, media measurement, whether in traditional or online channels, should account for: impressions among the stakeholder or audience, quality of the media coverage, and the premise that quality can be negative, positive or neutral.

5. AVEs are not the Value of Public Relations: Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) do not measure the value of public relations and do not inform future activity; they measure the cost of media space and are rejected as a concept to value public relations. Where a comparison has to be made between the cost of space from earned versus paid media, validated metrics should be used, stated for what they are, and reflect: negotiated advertising rates relevant to the client, as available; quality of the coverage (including negative results); and physical space of the coverage, and the portion of the coverage that is relevant. Multipliers intended to reflect a greater media cost for earned versus paid media should never be applied unless proven to exist in the specific case.

6. Social Media Can and Should be Measured: Social media measurement is a discipline, not a tool; but there is no “single metric”. Organizations need clearly defined goals and outcomes for social media. Media content analysis should be supplemented by web and search analytics, sales and CRM data, survey data and other methods. Evaluating quality and quantity is critical, just as it is with conventional media. Measurement must focus on “conversation” and “communities” not just “coverage”. Understanding reach and influence is important, but existing sources are not accessible, transparent or consistent enough to be reliable; experimentation and testing are key to success.

7. Transparency and Replicability are Paramount to Sound Measurement: PR measurement should be done in a manner that is transparent and replicable for all steps in the process, including specifying: Media Measurement (source of the content –print, broadcast, internet, consumer generated media- along with criteria used for collection, and analysis methodology –for example, whether human or automated, tone scale, reach to target, content analysis parameters-) and Surveys (methodology –sampling frame and size, margin of error, probability or non-probability-, questions –all should be released as asked-, and statical methodology –how specific metrics are calculated-)

“We see this as a major step forward. What will happen next is that the five organisations involved in the Debate will work with us in a process of consultation”, said Barry Leggetter, Executive Director of AMEC.

David Rockland, Partner/CEO of Ketchum Pleon Change and Global Research and Chairman of AMEC’s US Agency Research Leaders Group, said: “We want to be able to remember the Barcelona Summit as a powerful moment in time in the history of public relations when we acknowledged the need to replace outdated programme measurement models. We are delighted that as an industry we have taken a first and very significant step forward in developing standards and professionalizing how we approach the measurement of public relations”.
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Article by Elisenda Estanyol, Lecturer at the Open University of Catalonia (Barcelona‐Spain)
eestanyol@uoc.edu