The Last Word in PR Measurement Principles?

Last week, the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) concluded its second annual European Summit on Measurement with a ‘Declaration of Research Principles’ voted on by over 200 delegates from 33 countries and five communications organizations. The declaration outlined seven key principles:

1. Goal setting and measurement are fundamental aspects of any PR programs.
2. Media measurement requires quantity and quality – cuttings in themselves are not enough.
3. Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs) do not measure the value of PR and do not inform future activity.
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.

Here is a link to the AMEC site describing the Declaration. Given the intellectual grounding and professional experience supporting these principles, there should really be no hesitation by communications practitioners to adopt these principles in practice. I look forward to exploring the potential for implementing these principles over a series of upcoming posts.