Barcelona Declaration Podcast
David Rockland, Moderator of the Barcelona Principles session at the 2nd European Summit organised by AMEC and the IPR, talks about the importance of the Barcelona Principles and what it means. David is Partner / CEO - Ketchum Pleon Change and Global Research and chair of the AMEC US Agency Leaders Research Group. We are grateful for our friends at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for their permission to use this podcast and for the specialist assistance of Podcaster, @EricSchwartzman.
Podcast notes (with acknowledgements to the PRSA).
01:05 -- How The Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles were created, the first globally accepted and endorsed attempt to standardize the measures of effective public relations campaigns.
02:35 -- For the first time, the global public relation industry rejected using media coverage as a method of determining the value of a PR campaign.
04:17 -- A discussion of the seven measurement principles adopted in Barcelona.
1. Goal setting and measurement are fundamental aspects of any PR programmes.
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.
07:34 -- We the delegates rejected AVEs, and how disposing of them as a measure of PR effectiveness is in the best interest of the public relations industry.
09:17 -- Recommended alternatives to advertising value equivalency for valuing public relations campaigns.
12:01 -- How the Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles address social media.
13:37 -- The principle that it should be transparent how measurement results are calculated. Currently, Rockland says, some PR service providers hide behind "black box calculation" and that needs to stop. Calculations should be logical and replicable.
15:26 -- Industry feedback to date has been supportive of the principles, and in some cases, criticizes them for not going far enough, but if you're objective is to declare globally acceptable principles, you've got to start somewhere.
16:01 -- Rather than risk the possibility of the principles not being adopted my majority of the delegates, Rockland chose not to abolish advertising value equivalencies altogether, but rather, establish caveats by which they can be more accurately recognized.
17:23 -- Next steps for adopting and applying these measurement principles.
19:35 -- Why PR practitioners can't afford not to adopt and apply these measurement principles to the public relations efforts.
