Measurement Month: The Barcelona Principles
We’ve written before about the Barcelona Principles. As part of our support for AMEC’s Measurement Month, we’ll share again our thoughts on their importance. PRNews reported earlier this year that in a communications survey, 58% of respondents said they had not heard of the Barcelona Principles, and only 19% said they have integrated them into their measurement strategy. Yikes! Here are a few answers to get you started on learning more.
What Are The Barcelona Principles?
They are a set of standards - developed by AMEC, the Institute for Public Relations, the PRCA, ICCO, the PRSA and The Global Alliance - that provide a framework for effective public relations and communications measurement. They recognize and encourage that goal setting and measurement are fundamental to success.
Why Should I Care About These Principles?
Because standards are a good thing - and the PR industry could use some guidelines on how to not only measure success, but how to better prove our value to the business bottom line.
Are The Principles Only For PR Agencies?
No, the Barcelona Principles are for communicators across agencies, brands, non profits, government organizations and more. Anyone interested in measuring the success of their communications programs - earned, owned, shared, paid - should familiarize themselves with the Principles.
Do the Principles Support Measurement Methods Such as Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs)?
Absolutely not. In fact, they rather underline that AVEs measure the cost of media space or time, but do not measure the value of PR, communications, media content, earned media, etc. Advertising and other communications methods are not apples to apples and should not be measured as such.
Are the Principles Only About Measuring PR?
No. The Principles recognize - and encourage others to view - marketing and communications as an integrated model and discipline. PR is part of that integration and does not exist in a silo, therefore, neither should the measurement of PR. It must be a fabric of the larger picture of how a company’s overall communications are performing.
Maybe most importantly, the Barcelona Principles outline the importance of measuring and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. Doing so provides the best picture of success - so you can repeat what’s working and pivot from what isn’t.
For more information on the Barcelona Principles, visit this PRWeek recap on the recent updates to the Principles.
