Why all the fuss about AVEs?

By: KK / 29.07.09

Ein Interview mit David B. Rockland, Managing Director Ketchum Global Research Network, über den Nutzen bzw. Nicht-Nutzen von Werbeäquivalenzwerten und die Frage, ob diese Social Media-kompatibel sind.

communicationcontrolling.de: Mr Rockland, you have spoken about all the "fuss about AVEs" at the Mesaurement Summit in Berlin some weeks ago. Could you please give us again a short summary what in particular you mean with "fuss"?

David B. Rockland: The "fuss" is the argument within the public relations measurement whether a placement earned through public relations can be equated with the cost of placing similar sized advertising in the same space in a publication. Some would say an AVE is appropriate in the sense that one can get a message into a publication either in terms of buying space through advertising, or placing it there through PR. Others argue that earned media and advertising are much different and should not in any way be compared.

communicationcontrolling.de: What is your answer to the developments mentioned? What are better ways of measurement und more convenient PR metrics instead of using AVEs?

David B. Rockland: My personal belief is that AVEs can be a measure of the effectiveness of public relations as long as several items are addressed:

1. the quality of the placement; with advertising you get to say whatever you want whenever you want and this is not the case with PR
2. not to use a multiplier suggesting PR is more valuable than advertising which has not been proven, and should only be used if it can be shown to exist
3. to call an AVE what it is which is the equivalent cost of buying the space as advertising, not the value of the outcome of the PR program.

The better ways to measure are to focus on what consumer or other audience response took place as a result of the PR effort and its corresponding effect on a company's business.

communicationcontrolling.de: Could you please give us a short description what you've done for S&P as one of Ketchum Global Research Network's Best Practices in this context?

David B. Rockland: S&P uses a very conservative approach in terms of adjusting all AVEs lower to reflect the quality of the placements, and not using any sort of multiplier. They also use the metric internally as an index and do not discuss it as the value of PR, but a conservative estimate of what similar space might have cost if purchased.

communicationcontrolling.de: You've stated that social media forms, such as blogs and message boards cannot be adequately measured with AVEs. What is your recommendation for the evaluation of PR's contribution in these new tools? How do you analyse the new media environment and especially your clients' activities within?

David B. Rockland: Wherever possible we need to get away from measuring social media in terms of how much, and instead shift to link social media activity to business outcomes. We tend to recommend to clients that they simultaneous track the quality and quantity of activity among key online influencers, and then overall activity in the social media space, and then link the two along with traditional media to business outcomes. Fundamentally, we disagree that one has to measure and monitor everything in social media, only those with a proven or realistic likelihood of affecting a client's business.

communicationcontrolling.de: Is it hard to convince your clients from using new and more advanced measurement tools they probably don't know that well than the term "AVE"? What will be the future of AVEs in this context?

David B. Rockland: AVEs are, for right or wrong, part of the measurement toolkit and widely used. They are also very easy and cost effective to apply. I do tend to think they will be around for quite some time, and given that situation, it is critical to use them correctly and conservatively and not talk about them as the value created by PR. A good first step is to remove the "V" from the acronym, because it is not a value but a cost of advertising placements.

communicationcontrolling.de: In general, what are other most current topics you are dealing with in the field of evaluation and research?

David B. Rockland: Linking PR activity to business results through econometric modeling and brand tracking surveys is really what is the current top topics in PR measurement.

communicationcontrolling.de: Thank you for the interview!

 

About David B. Rockland

Born in 1958, US citizen, 25 year career in a mix of global corporate communications and research roles in private companies, NGOs and agencies.

About Ketchum Global Research Network (KGRN)

Top and largest PR research group in the PR industry comprised of around 100 people globally. Specialized in media measurement, corporate reputation research, and linking PR activity to business outcomes.

 

David B. Rockland war Referent beim "1st European Summit on Measurement" vom 10. bis 12. Juni 2009 in Berlin. Einen Überblick zur Veranstaltung mit ausführlichem Bericht zu den Präsentationen und Diskussionen finden Sie hier auf communicationcontrolling.de

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