New communications measurement benchmark launches - Barcelona Principles 2.0

Barcelona Principles 2.0 was launched by the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) in London.

The new framework was developed by AMEC in conjunction with the original partners involved in the original Barcelona Principles of 2010 - ICCO, Institute for Public Relations, PRCA, PRSA and The Global Alliance.

This marks the first update to The Barcelona Principles in the five years since they were launched at the AMEC International Summit in Barcelona in 2010 as the first global standard of effective public relations measurement. The new changes come only two months after delegates at AMEC's International Summit in Stockholm called for the Barcelona Principles to be reviewed.

David Rockland, Ketchum Partner and Immediate Past Chairman of AMEC, who led the original discussion which evolved the Barcelona Principles in Spain in 2010, and who chaired the international working group during the summer to develop an updated framework.

AMEC also included: corporate clients (including the Cleveland Clinic and Philips), Paul Njoku, Evaluation Lead, Government Communication Service, UK Government; and leading academic, Professor Jim Macnamara, University of Technology, Sydney, in the working group review.

David Rockland said: "In 2010, the development of the Barcelona Principles was a powerful moment in time in the development of public relations.

"The original set of principles was never intended to be a final or complete solution, but simply a place for us to start. What AMEC and our partners have now done is refresh the Barcelona Principles to reflect the significant changes we have seen in the media landscape and the emergence of integrated communications."

Rockland believes that if the original set of principles focused more on "what not to do," the updated Barcelona Principles of 2015 now provide more guidance on "what to do."

Key points of the revised Barcelona Principles are:

• Widening the scope beyond PR measurement, changing the language to make it clear that the Barcelona Principles are relevant and applicable to organisations, governments, companies and brands globally.

• Reinforcing the importance of integration, recognising the importance of integrated communications and that measurement must be integrated across geographies, methods (quantitative and qualitative), and channels (including paid, earned, owned and shared media).

• Making a distinction between measurement and evaluation, separating the role of measurement from the role of evaluation as the actual process of using data to make a judgement on value and effectiveness.

• Including a new focus on qualitative, recognising the important part that qualitative information plays in measurement and evaluation, adding color and context that helps professionals understand "the why" behind the quantitative outcomes.

• Reminding professionals of the need for all measurement and evaluation to be transparent, consistent and valid, giving more advice on approaches and accepted methodologies.

Barry Leggetter, CEO of AMEC, said: "The launch of Barcelona Principles 2.0 represents the first stage in a global education programme.

"AMEC is calling on all PR firms, PR associations, AMEC members and academics to back this cross industry initiative and endorse the new principles.

"We have a new opportunity to make Barcelona Principles 2.0 internationally known - and used."

As AMEC's only full member in Africa, Ornico (the brand intelligence research company) will host several webinars and talks in September 2015 in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. The Barcelona Principles 2.0 will be a major discussion point during these sessions, which forms part of AMEC's Measurement Month events.