I was delighted to see that the COI has recently announced the results of its initiative to standardise PR evaluation metrics.

Metrica worked closely with the COI on the plans and has long endorsed moving away from simple quantitative measures towards analysing the role that PR plays in a wider context.  For that reason it was pleasing to see four elements in particular…

Firstly, establishing the programme without the recommendation of Advertising Value Equivalence should be seen as a giant step forward. The COI report describes AVE as a flawed metric and states that it will not be including AVE in the core set of mandatory metrics.

In putting his hands up to occasionally having used AVE, Adrian Cadwallader, Deputy Head of Marketing at the Department for Children, Schools and Families highlights that he was troubled by the appropriateness of using one marketing technique to evaluate another and embraces the new cost per impact (CPI) metric.

As a way of showing comparative value across communications disciplines this is a measure Metrica has been providing to clients for a long time.

It was also pleasing that Adrian pointed out the need to tailor the metrics according to the campaign. This supports the conclusion that the COI has drawn by not creating a proprietary “scoring system” or magic bullet approach. For as long as I’ve worked in the industry the goal of having one “score” to measure the effectiveness of PR has been discussed and the debate rages on. I don’t think “scores” will ever be the answer. I wont get into that now but we’ve blogged about it a few times – here for example.

Neil Martinson, Director News and PR at COI points out that establishing a consistent approach to the way metrics are calculated will make it easier to compare results across other marketing disciplines. The endorsement of cross discipline measurement was perhaps the most heartening conclusion of all. Feeding into holistic evaluation programmes and econometric models will ultimately raise the bar for everyone. 

Metrica has a history of integrating it’s analysis into econometric models; as  Carolan Davidge, of Cancer Research UK points out when discussing the work Metrica did for the Race for Life campaign, it’s perfect for demonstrating outcomes and for supporting those who feel their PR budget is under threat.

Finally it was great to see that the analysis will focus on Reach to audience. Far too often we see competitors clients come to us frustrated by generic media evaluation that pays no heed to the one element that should be central to all campaigns – the audience. There’s no point pitching me your latest beefburger – I’m veggie – and all the messaging in the world won’t make me buy it. Understanding how well you are communicating with those that matter is central so hats off to the COI for documenting that too.

If you are looking at your evaluation programme and think the standardised metrics that the COI has rolled out might be right for you feel free to get in touch – we’re always happy to help.

In the mean time, I’m off for some Tofu and lentils… yum!