By Greg Hazley
PR measurement gurus outlined four priorities for the industry at an International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication event in Lisbon last week, including adoption of standards for gauging social media and the return on investment of PR itself.
The confab, which is also organized by the Institute for PR, last year came up with measurement guidelines known as the Barcelona Principles, a list of seven guidelines meant to provide a basis for PR measurement and targeting the still widely used practice of ad value equivalency.
This year in Lisbon the group of about 180 delegates set a goal of 2020 to tackle the four priorities.
The priorities are as follows, with percentage of support for each from among the 180 attendees listed:
1) How to measure the return on investment (ROI) of public relations (89%)
2) Create and adopt global standards for social media measurement (83%)
3) Measurement of PR campaigns and programs needs to become an intrinsic part of the PR toolkit (73%)
4) Institute a client education program such that clients insist on measurement of outputs, outcomes and business results from PR programs (61%)
The priorities were designated from 12 issues outlined by the group.
David Rockland, global director of research & measurement at Ketchum, said Barcelona last year was meant to provide a foundation of an agreement on PR measurement. The Lisbon priorities are about looking to the future.
“We have set a course for the future and where this field needs to head in the next several years,” he said.
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