Assessing the assessors at AMEC's Summit on Measurment

 After spending 3 days in Berlin talking about measurement, I’m ready to try gardening for the rest of my life. Or maybe politics, at least with gardening and politics things actually change. Don’t get me wrong, I was as delighted as the next person by the fact that 8% more people measure today than they did 5 years ago. But it was the lack of movement in HOW people measured that really got to me. In essence, despite the advances in Dashboard, survey research, and social networking analysis, most PR people are measuring in 2009 with tools that I rejected in 1987 when I started Delahaye, my first measurement company.

When David Rockland asked the 150 or so people how many people used AVE (Ad Value Equivalents) almost everyone raised his/her hand. And while a large number of them also admitted not being exactly proud of doing so, the universal assessment was that “they had no choice.”  They had to deliver what the client wants. And, I asked, if the client wanted heroin or nuclear weaponry or child porn would they also deliver. Sadly, the consensus was yes. The proliferation of AVEs is driven by market demand.
Rockland went on to spend another hour or so discussing a metric that IMHO has no place in today’s measurement discussion. But obviously I was a minority (except, of course on Twitter, where there was a general consensus of WTF – why was so much time being devoted to this topic. )But that’s because people on Twitter tend to be aficionados of social media where AVE isn’t even an option.

I obviously have a radically different outlook than most of my profession. But somehow, I’ve managed to grow two companies, hang on to over 4000 twitter followers, generate  over 2000 subscribers to our newsletters, and happily service 100s of clients that don’t seem to mind me sticking to my principles. So I for one will continue to eschew AVE and welcome any and all fellow supporters into my club.

In fact, the idealist in me wish for a “Berlin Protocol” in which we all agreed to not just promote measurement, but to promote the “right” way of measuring based on outcomes not outputs and based on true science not “assessment by voodoo economics.” 

As a side note, it does make my life easier. As you might imagine, I am frequently asked to judge PR award programs, and my stance makes it for far  easier judging.  I routinely toss  out any entry that even comes within the discussion of AVEs, so as a result I have far fewer entries to judge.

But I digress. At the Amec there were numerous fascinating and elucidating presentations on all aspects of PR measurement and beautifully summed up by Nanette Bresson.   But when it came down to the nitty gritty, in essence, the vast majority of vendors in the room, were still counting hits (How Idiots Track Success) and AVEs.  They were all basing decisions on data that was either patently false or never existed. Don Wright and David Michaelson discussed their  seminal research that proved conclusively that multipliers had no basis in reality, but that doesn’t mean anyone in that room in Berlin has plans to abandon them anytime soon.

So here’s a question and a proposition. First the question: If I drop out of sight for a year, tend my garden, speak no more, and let the industry get on with its day to day issues, and assuming I returned to return to the business in June of 2010, would anything have changed?  

And here’s the proposition: Lets all agree to never again deliver an AVE number, or any other number we don’t believe in. Do you really think our business would collapse? Would clients really leave measurement in droves? . Or would they be forced to actually look at true business outcomes. And if we don’t do this, don’t we lose the business to management consultants anyway?

Comments

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[KDPaine]

Damn you Don, I was getting all pyched for growing the largest tomato in New Hampshire but you've convinced me to keep fighting the fight. My only hope is that the dinosaurs who keep pushing AVEs will become victims of the recessing and be replaced with a new generation of PR people who understand the language of business.

[Don Bartholomew]

Hi Katie,
As the holder of Google search results page 1, positions 1 & 2 for "Advertising Value Equivalents", my position against the use of AVEs is pretty clear. I'm very pleased to see you attempt to hammer them into submission once again.

The core issue IMO is the PR profession's desire for an easy way to put a dollar value on results and show ROI. In doing so, the credibility of the profession is dinged.

Most practitioners, to build on Chuck's point, don't have the knowledge to articulate how PR helps achieve desired business outcomes by adding value in exposure, engagement and influence, nor the research savvy to explain data-driven approaches to measuring ROI.

As to your question, when you returned in a year,sadly I believe there would still be similar usage of AVEs. Katie, I know you are aware that fairly recently, the WOM folks were proposing using AVEs to put a dollar value on peer-to-peer conversations. Totally over-the-top dumb idea. Old ideas, even bad ones, die hard. Let's keep fighting the fight. Postpone gardening for now.
-Don B @donbart

[Cason Lane]

Sad but true: Clicks and hits are often what clients want, and it's an easy way for us to deliver a perceived "quick win." But I explain to clients that clicks and hits are not the endgame. They may help indicate tactical reach, but they don't measure impact on the business. To measure that impact, we have to look at how the audience responds to the communication -- in the form of purchase, loyalty, referrals, productivity, other such behaviors.

Most clients usually get this when I explain it, but they may not completely trust it -- which is a great opportunity for us to show what real measurement looks like. One current client not only understands it, they're excited about it. They can't wait to show senior management how their departmental communications are building market share.

[SM Ho]

@edw3rd is right. The downside of RSS, spiders and SM API feeds is that now everyone wants to count, grade, rate and score simple counts. Google Alerts, The Meltwater telemarketers, and Blogger Alist badges have dumbed down the industry for the rest of us

[@Edw3rd]

The industry has regressed to the mean.

The more important question for you, and others of us like you, is whether we can be Happier people by not engaging with the masses. No more speaking; no more judging or judgment; no more hints, tips, tweets or homilies?

The facts are: THEY are not frustrated. WE are.

[Andrew Laing]

Problem is there's a bug that's been eating away at my arugula and beans, i'm on my third transplant of cucumbers and the basil looks like I'm trying to grow it in Nevada. I think I'm best suited to sticking with measurement.

[Chuck Hemann]

Katie - you and I think very much alike on the value (or lack thereof) of AVE's. None of our clients use them, but I think that has more to do with our ability to dissuade them from doing so. You've obviously been doing this stuff for quite a while and are able to speak with your clients about metrics that would be infinitely more valuable to gauge success. I think the larger problem is that we have account reps who often are not able to speak with their clients about the topic of measurement, and wouldn't have the slightest clue on how to dissuade their clients from using a worthless metric like AVE's.

Anyway, I always appreciate your posts!