LONDON—The International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) has unveiled a new international framework for measuring communications performance, the Barcelona Principles 2.0.

The new framework was developed by AMEC in conjunction with the partners involved in the original Barcelona Principles of 2010: ICCO, the Institute for Public Relations, PRCA, PRSA and The Global Alliance. It marks the first update to The Barcelona Principles in the five years since they were launched as the first global standard of effective public relations measurement.

According to David Rockland, Ketchum partner and immediate past chairman of AMEC, who chaired the international working group, “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.”

Key elements of the revised Barcelona Principles include:

  • Widening the scope beyond PR measurement, changing the language to make it clear that the Barcelona Principles are relevant and applicable to organizations, governments, companies and brands globally.
  • Reinforcing the importance of integration, recognizing 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, recognizing 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.