Leaders in the field of public relations representing companies and clients in more than a dozen countries have agreed to new global standards for measuring and evaluating the results of their work.
The “Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles” seeks to improve and add consistency to the tools and techniques used to measure the effectiveness and value of public relations strategies and tactics. The principles were adopted by some 200 industry leaders at the second European Summit on Measurement in Barcelona in June 2010. The European Summit is organized by the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communications (AMEC) and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR).
“These principles are a great starting point for setting standards for research and measurement,” said Pauline Draper-Watts, Chairperson of the IPR Commission on Measurement and Evaluation and a senior industry consultant. “The fact that they have been collaboratively produced by several professional bodies, discussed and agreed by many leaders in this field and ratified at the Summit is tribute to the desire to set minimum standards within the public relations industry. We have initiated a public global dialogue that can build on this initial work moving forward.”
IPR and members of its Measurement Commission made significant contributions to the document. Leadership in drafting the principles also was provided by AMEC, the International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO), the Global Alliance, and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
David Rockland, past chair of the IPR Commission and an executive at Ketchum Public Relations, said: “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.” Rockland facilitated presentation and discussion of the principles in Barcelona.
The seven principles are described in detail on the IPR website and are summarized here:
- Importance of Goal Setting and Measurement
- Measuring the Effect on Outcomes is Preferred to Measuring Outputs
- The Effect on Business Results Can and Should Be Measured Where Possible
- Media Measurement Requires Quantity and Quality
- Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) is not the Value of Public Relations
- Social Media Can and Should be Measured
- Transparency and Replicability are Paramount to Sound Measurement.
Application of the Barcelona Principles will be a topic discussed at the 8th North American Summit on Measurement October 6-8 in Portsmouth, NH. The North American Summit on Measurement is the premier event in public relations at which measurement experts and end-users gather to exchange insights and challenge each other for better measurement results. Participants include corporations, agencies, research companies and noted academics. Registration is available online.
The prestigious Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award is presented at the October Summit. The award recognizes superb examples of research used to support public relations practice. The winning entry is published on the IPR website. Corporations and institutions, associations, research providers and academics all are encouraged to enter this special annual competition.
About IPR
The Institute for Public Relations is an independent non-profit foundation which bridges the academic and professional fields, supporting public relations research and mainstreaming this knowledge into practice. More information is available at instituteforpr.org.
For more information:
IPR
Pauline Draper-Watts +1-312-371-2297 (mobile) pauline.draper@wattsconnect.org
Robert W. Grupp +1-484-557-8401 (mobile) +1-352-392-0280 (office) rgrupp@instituteforpr.org
AMEC
Barry Leggetter +44 7748 677504 (mobile) +44 1268 412414 (office) barryleggetter@amecorg.com
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