Communication Effectiveness Awards 2008 verliehen

By: KK / 11.12.08

Interview mit Sandra Macleod, CEO Echo Research, die in London den Platinum Award beim diesjährigen Wettbewerb der Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) erhalten hat.

Die Auszeichnung wird jährlich von dem internationalen Branchenverband für Best Practices im Bereich Evaluation und Research vergeben. In insgesamt 13 Kategorien können Agenturen, Unternehmen und Organisationen ihre Projekte einreichen und entsprechend ausgezeichnet werden. Neben Ehrungen für  "Best Use of Media Evaluation", "Best Use of Digital Media Measurement" und "Best Use of Integrated Media Research" wurde auch ein "Newcomer of the Year" und "Innovation" Award vergeben. Als besondere Auszeichnung gilt der Platinum Award für die beste "Overall Performance" in den ausgelosten Einzelkategorien. Die AMEC Awards fanden bereits zum siebten Mal statt.

Echo Research, eine auf Reputationsanalyse und Stakeholder Research spezialisierte Kommunikationsagentur mit Hauptsitz in London, konnte den Platinum Award in diesem Jahr für sich verbuchen.

Mit Sandra Macleod, CEO Echo Research, haben wir über die Auszeichnung und aktuelle Herausforderungen im Bereich Evaluation von Kommunikation gesprochen.

communicationcontrolling.de: Mrs Macleod, congratulations! Echo Research has won this year’s Platinum award for „Special Adviser to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.“ The judges described the analysis provided by your company as a "brave and wide ranging analysis which sought to provide honest and unflinching communications advice". Could you please give us a short overview what the project was all about?

Sandra Macleod: The Echo study was commissioned ahead of Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the OPEC 2007 Summit in Riyadh, to help support a successful communications programme as the eyes of the world watched on. For this brief, Echo analysed both media and online sources relating to the OPEC Summit, and also to the Kingdom's own reputational assets leading up to this major event, and provided recommendations and guidance on messaging and outreach.

communicationcontrolling.de:  Evaluation and research have long been the „poor cousin“ in the branch? What is your impression, has the topic become more relevant? Moreover, what are you telling your customers to convince them of the importance of the topic?

Sandra Macleod: You are right that PR has been among one of the last management functions to adopt evaluation and research, but its growth in demand is testimony to the importance of reputation, differentiation and authenticity. Communications has a significant part to play in all these areas, so researching the opportunities and gaps, and evaluating its effectiveness is being called upon by management teams who understand this. During these difficult economic times, we believe that more resources will be diverted away from advertising into public relations, and as such, researching what needs to be done and what is working will be more valuable than before, as organisations will want to waste less resources, time and effort than in the past.

communicationcontrolling.de: As the Echo Group CEO you have a good insight in all practices. What are the most current topics you are dealing with in the field of evaluation and research?

Sandra Macleod: We are seeing a change in management focus to listen more - they recognise that they do not have the monopoly on great ideas or the right solutions, so stakeholder feedback - be it from customers, staff, or influencers - is rising up the agenda. So, too, is reputation risk assessment - providing soundings from social and online media as to where there may be changes and potential threats or opportunities. We are also finding that people are drowning in data and information, so we are producing integrated reputation audits and scorecards on material they may have and/or creating new research that may be lacking to provide insights that are tailored to their needs and business strategies.

communicationcontrolling.de: Echo Research is operating worldwide and has branches all around the world. Could you please give a brief overview about regional differences in the field of evaluation? From your practical experience, is the field expanding and in which direction (methodological)?

Sandra Macleod: It is so interesting to see regional variations, and support our clients in different parts of the world bringing what we hope are some areas of clear best practice and innovation. I don't want to generalise but certainly the US is ahead in its use and appreciation of reputation scorecards on the back of Six Sigma, and social media/“digital dialogues.“ Echo has even registered with the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to provide blog tracking to pharmaceutical companies in the US as this is the law there. The French market is divided among the Attaches de Presse who are hungry for quick and simple data on media coverage, and Marketing/Coms Directors who appreciate large stakeholder surveys. In Germany, we see a huge appetite for numbers, data and academic underpinnings, so aim to meet that need with the very real and practical applications that work in the US as well for our German clients. Above all, as so many of our clients are international, the regional difference disappear and it becomes one driven by the culture of the management team at the top, many of whom are interested in proven best practice.

communicationcontrolling.de: Thank your for the interview!

About Sandra Macleod
Sandra Macleod, Group Chief Executive of Echo Research, has more than twenty five years’ experience in communications and reputation analysis and evaluation. She is the  first international Board Member and Trustee of the Institute of Public Relations (USA), a Fellow of the Institute of Public Relations (UK), Freeman of the City of London Guild of Public Relations, Member of the Market Research Society, Editorial Advisor to the Corporate Communications Journal, and Companion of the Chartered Institute of Management. Sandra Macleod is cited as „among the 100 most influential people in PR in the last 21 years“.

About Echo Group
With 165 employees and analysts in offices in Europe and North America, Echo works for a quarter of the FTSE and Fortune 100 companies, and also has clients in the Public Sector and NGO community providing media content analysis and stakeholder studies. More information: www.echoresearch.com

About AMEC
The International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) is the global trade body and professional institute for agencies and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research. The yearly AMEC Awards aim to recognise and promote best practice in communications planning, research and evaluation. More information: www.amecorg.com

Eine Übersicht aller Gewinner und mehr Informationen zu den Awards finden Sie hier.

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