The Thoughtful Thud Revisited

Youth with no AVE baggage? Let's hope so.........

It could be a false dawn but the BA Hons PR students I talked to in a session on measurement at Bournemouth University genuinely had no interest in AVEs. Most, happily did not even know what the term meant!

They did, however, understand the importance of being able to know that a PR programme was working and wondered aloud why a standard measurement standard did not exist? It's an interesting point from a group of young talent with no axe to grind, just reflecting that to them, it seemed like a common sense solution.

It's late in the academic year. Only exams left. So for a big group of students to be still in the lecture theatre at 4.30pm on a Friday means either, courteousness to a fault, or some interest in the subject of measurement. I'll take the latter option! So probably would my co-presenters, Professor Tom Watson, of BU and Paul Mylrea, Head of Press and Media Relations at the BBC and a Visiting Fellow of the Media School at BU. Paul is also President of the CIPR. Good news is that Paul confirmed CIPR would be attending AMEC's 3rd European Summit on Measurement in Lisbon in just over 2 weeks time.

What a difference a year makes!

 

 

 

Three weeks from today, workshop speakers from around the world will be sharing their knowledge at the European Summit on Measurement with delegates from 28 countries.

This growing and international interest is what encourages everyone concerned with the quest for improved marketplace recognition of the value of communications programme measurement. It shows us that the Barcelona Principles, what we felt was an important, albeit baby step, at our Summit last year, was nothing of the kind. In fact the Principles has emerged as what I’d call our own industry lightening conductor, responsible for a steep upturn in interest in measurement and for underlining AMEC’s own leadership role.

When we go to Lisbon  we will be aiming to move PR measurement to the next level. For that to happen we are asking all PR professionals to take part in a short survey about their attitudes to programme measurement. Will you help us and take part in the survey.

Coming to Lisbon? http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CC4LB9Z6A

Not able to come? http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CC4GJ9WUD

Deadline is June 1.

Invitation to Google - share your newspaper vision with the industry?

Google doesn't lose often, so this Belgian ruling is both a first and a precedent for Google. It has lost its bid to overturn a Belgian ruling that blocked it from publishing links to local newspapers on its online news service.

 AMEC is the global voice of the media intelligence industry. We offer Google Europe the opportunity to join a workshop at our 3rd European Summit in Lisbon to share your philosophy to collaborate with publishers in finding “new ways for them to make money from online news.”

This is a serious invitation to a session where your voice will be fairly heard. Contact Barry Leggetter at [email protected]

 

Measurement on the move double time!

 

 

 

 

Whatever the precise reason, today’s news from AMEC  that the communications programme measurement sector has grown by 14% over the past year, has to be encouraging.

Why I say “whatever the precise reason” is because there are a number of potential contributing factors behind today’s news of double digit growth.

It could of course be simply a question of the economy. I would prefer to think that the growth is because PR programme measurement is now on the communications agenda as never before. I’d like to think that the Barcelona Principles initiative at the European Summit organised by AMEC and the Institute for Public Relations 12 months ago helped; it certainly has to be true that the step by PRWeek in very publicly banning the use of AVEs as a method of programme measurement in its 2011 PRWeek UK Awards focuses the PR professional’s mind.

The key to all this is to keep the foot on the accelerator pedal. There is a wind of change. Will the PR professionals of the future now in their final year in the Media School at Universities like Bournemouth, accept the baton of change?

The year on year results are reported in the International Business Monitor, a global study by AMEC.