Since 2010, the so-called Barcelona Principles have been summarizing the way to measure and evaluate corporate communication and PR. Their concept was created by the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication AMEC. This project has now received its third updated version. As by the occasion of the first amendment in 2015, the Czech company NEWTON Media is participating in updating and introducing the principles to local professionals this year.
“A lot has changed in the fast-growing field of communication over the last ten years. Procedures common in 2010, but even in 2015, are often obsolete. The most significant changes have taken place in the last two to three years,“ says Magdalena Horánska from NEWTON Media, which is the only Czech partner of AMEC who ensures the local launch and media coverage of the so-called Barcelona Principles 3.0. According to Horánska, the measurement should include both traditional and social media and should capture changes in the level of understanding of the target group but also the value of the brand, corporate reputation and reflect the impact on business results. The new version of the Barcelona Principles was developed by AMEC together with a team of experts from around the world. “The applicability of Barcelona Principles 3.0 has been extended to a wider and more diverse range of organizations, so that it is clear that best practices in measuring and evaluating communication are as important for the government and ministries or non-profit organizations as for commercial entities,” adds Horánska.
How to measure your communication
Barcelona Principles 3.0 have a total of seven points. The first says that setting specific goals, i.e. whom, what, when and how intensively should PR communication influence, is an essential prerequisite for planning, measuring, and evaluating communication. The second point recommends looking at the longer-term impact of the communication strategy. The third point deviates from the original targeting of business metrics such as sales and revenue but offers a more holistic view of performance. The fourth point mentions the need for qualitative and quantitative analysis in measuring and evaluating communication. According to the fifth point, AVE (Advertising Value Equivalents) does not express the value of communication, its measurement should be much more detailed. The sixth point says that all relevant online and offline channels, including social networks, should be measured. The last seventh point states that reliable and consistent measurement requires integrity and transparency regarding the current issues of personal data protection and governance, as organizations comply with new regulations such as GDPR.
„Communication measurement is a logical part of the work of all PR experts. Nevertheless, Public Relations is not an exact and easily definable discipline, it is a field which, in terms of the possibility of evaluation, is miles away, for example from business in which realistically definable numbers and results are taken into account,“ says Patrik Schober, Chairman of the Executive Board of APRA (Public Relation Association) and adds: “By measuring the impact of PR activities, arguments are obtained about the value of the work of the PR department, which can convince the company’s management, or more precisely. decission makers on the importance of investment in communication.“
Webinar on Barcelona Principles
The new Barcelona Principles 3.0 were introduced during the AMEC Virtual Summit in July this year. AMEC is now launching a communication campaign on this project. A series of international educational events called AMEC Measurement Month is also traditionally launched in November. This initiative shows on concrete examples from practice how the evaluation of communication measurements can be applied in the creation of a marketing and communication plan. As part of the AMEC Measurement Month, a webinar will take place on the 3rd of December, at which NEWTON Media, in cooperation with APRA, will present the updated Barcelona Principles. In addition to Magdalena Horánska from NEWTON Media and Patrik Schober, Chairman of the APRA Executive Board, who will speak about his experience in measuring communication in the Czech Republic, also the head of AMEC, Richard Bagnall, who will present a foreign case study on the application of the Barcelona Principles. The webinar will be held in Czech and English without simultaneous interpretation.
For more information and registration to webinar: https://app.livestorm.co/personal-35/barcelonske-principy-30
