Applying the AMEC Framework to Measure PR Campaigns
Over time, measuring PR campaigns has emerged as a significant challenge in the industry. PR professionals consistently face the responsibility of demonstrating tangible ‘value’ derived from their efforts for the organization
To be effective in PR, we as PR professionals need to move beyond measuring just content or ‘media outputs.’ Doing this only counts as elements of our activities; and activities without meaningful outcomes or impact to the overall business objectives is irrelevant.
PR professionals cannot afford the risk of being perceived as activity-driven ‘busy fools.’ Instead, we must progress beyond metrics centred on activities, and showcase how PR and communication efforts have actively contributed to the organization’s crucial objectives.
AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework serves as a valuable guide, enabling PR professionals to plan strategically, and supporting them to tell a meaningful measurement story. It provides a blueprint to ‘operationalise’ the Barcelona Principles, translating them into actionable steps , and to prove the value of PR in a meaningful and credible manner.
What Does the AMEC Framework Involve?
The approach covers four areas: Preparation, Implementation, Measurements and Insights, and Impact.
- Preparation
The preparation stage starts with aligning a clear Organizational Objectives, whether they be awareness, advocacy, adoption, or demand related. Following on from the organizational objective is the Communications Objectives. These should reflect and mirror the organizational objectives. When setting communications objectives, it is important to ensure they have a measure of impact (e.g. 20% increase in brand awareness) and not an aspirational goal (increase in brand awareness). Ensure the objectives are SMART.
Next under the preparation stage is the Input. This sector covers two important areas.
- First thing is to define your target audience for the campaign.
- The second area is highlighting your strategy and other inputs including situational analysis, resources required to carry out your campaign such as budget, staff, time, and materials.
- Implementation
This area outlines the activities carried out, and testing or research, content production, etc.
Activities are the actions and tactics that you use to execute your PR campaign, such as events, media relations, content creation, social media, and influencer outreach.
Importantly, this area recognizes the importance of paid, earned, shared and owned (PESO) and gives users the ability to tag accordingly.
- Measurement and Insights
This area of applying the AMEC Framework is to measure the Output, Outtakes and Outcome.
Outputs: Outputs are the direct results of your PR activities, such as the number of media placements, social media posts, website visits, or downloads. For example, what was the reach of your paid advertising, how many visitors to the website, how many posts, tweets or retweets, how many people attended the event, and how many potential readers of the media coverage.
Outtakes: This refers to the immediate reaction and response of your target audience to the activity. How attentive were they to the content, what was their recall, how well understood is the topic, did the audience engage with the content or did the audience subscribe to more information.
You should measure your outputs and outtakes using various tools and methods, such as media monitoring, web analytics, social media analytics, or email marketing analytics.
Outcomes: This measures the effect of the activity or communication on the target audience.
Have the target audience increased understanding, has it changed their attitude to the topic, has it increased trust and/or preference, has it had an impact on the intention to do something (e.g. trial, subscribe, register) or increased online advocacy.
Basically, Outcomes are the changes in the behaviour, attitude, or perception of your target audience as a result of your PR outputs and outtakes, such as the level of trust, preference, satisfaction, or advocacy.
Impact
This final area is where Impact is evaluated. It is the contribution of your PR Outcomes to your organizational objectives.
Here, the Impact is looking to cover reputation improvement, relationships improved or established, increase in sales or donations, change in policy, or improved social change
You should measure your outcomes and impact using various tools and methods, such as surveys, interviews, case studies, or econometric models.
Ibukun Oluwafunmi is a PR/Comms professional specializing in entertainment, consumer and lifestyle PR with a sprinkle of corporate communications. In her leisure time, you can often find her immersed in a good book, exploring new knowledge on the internet or simply café-hopping :-)
