PR leaders call for death of AVEs

London, 19 June 2012 - Leading PR figures have called on the industry to abandon Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs), and to agree common standards of evaluation and measurement.

At last week’s 4th AMEC European Summit on Measurement, the PRCA revealed its latest PR Leaders’ Panel results. Composed of the most senior of the PRCA’s consultancy and in-house individuals, two thirds of the panel agreed that AVEs have no value as a method of evaluating the impact of PR campaigns, and 90% of the panel urged the industry to adopt new, agreed common metrics.

Speaking on behalf of the PRCA, Richard Houghton, former PRCA Chairman, immediate past President of ICCO, and current managing director of Aspect Consulting, said: "The PRCA was instrumental in starting the evaluation debate some 15 years ago when it jointly published the first PR Planning and Evaluation toolkit.  Our latest member research shows that an overwhelming majority still believe that a consistent approach to evaluation is required. Not surprisingly, the majority of our members do not believe AVEs are a credible evaluation tool.

"Delivering evaluation that demonstrates programme outtakes and outcomes, rather than just outputs, will demonstrate business value and so support larger PR budgets. This can only be good for all PRCA members.  The PRCA will be working closely with AMEC to do our very best to make evaluation a component of every public relations campaign." added Houghton.

Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of the PRCA said: “I’m delighted that evaluation and measurement in PR is finally getting the attention it needs.

“Rather than just decrying AVEs, we now need the industry to work together finally to bury them. Over the next six months, we will work with AMEC to deliver the common standards of evaluation that our industry demands.”

                                                                                                                      -ENDS-


Notes to editors

For more information on what the PRCA is doing on measurement and evaluation please contact Aeneas Tole on 020 7233 6026

About the PRCA

Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams, PR freelancers and individuals. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.

What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry's behalf e.g. fighting the NLA's digital licence.

Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 250 agency members from around the world, including the majority of the top 100 UK consultancies. We also represent over 70 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations.

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