At the same time, as all we know, the Institute of Public Relations Measurement Commission (NY) does not recommend AVE, as a PR measuring tool. However agencies, including many in Ukraine, face clients’ expectations to calculate AVE.
PR colleagues would agree with my thought that in fact, AVE hardly is able to objectively demonstrate the effectiveness of PR campaigns, because different agencies use different basis and factors. Can we rely on AVE in the United Kingdom, where British Broadcasting Corporation ratings is not measured? But they reach every home. Is this tool helpful to measure PR in Ukraine, if we have continuous declines in publication circulations, but people more often watch niche TV channels and spend time in social media? From my own experience, I know that several news lines on the front page in daily Facts & Comments, on the popular Economic Pravda news website or on Facebook may have much more effect than two-page article in a local business or gossip magazine (and in this case AVE will be different).
So, the first serious step towards regulating the way PR is measured is a document, signed on June 18 at the 2nd European Summit on Measurement. The representatives of Top-5 PR and consultancy networks, together with about 150 delegates from global and local analytical and PR agencies from around the world took part in the summit. This document is called the Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles.
The final copy of the declaration will be presented in the middle of July, but everyone can read their preliminary version on the Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) website.
European Summit on Measurement has agreed on seven key principles, as the following:
1. Goal setting and measurement are fundamental aspects of any PR campaigns.
2. Media measurement requires quantity and quality – clip cuts are generally meaningless.
3. Advertising Value Equivalents (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.
The ‘Barcelona Declaration of Research Principles’ is the first global standard of PR measurement and communications tools in corporate and individual PR. I also hope that this declaration will become the serious step in development of global PR industry and help its further growth.
The summit was organized by AMEC and Institute of PR with the participation of such consultant and research companies like The Global Alliance, IPR Measurement Commission, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO).
Viktor Kovalenko is a public relations and communications professional. You can read his blog entries at http://viktorkovalenko.blogspot.com/
