Anyone who’s heard my measurement analysis advice over the past few years knows that I encourage people to sort their results from worst to best. The most important learning is usually found in the bad news.
I’ve also learned that, although big numbers get everyone excited, the insights and nuggets are often in the small ones. Those are the ones that reveal what didn’t work, or what you have the biggest chance of improving, or the ones that might pose the biggest threat.
Still using AVEs?!
Which is why, when I saw the results of AMEC’s latest PR and Communications Measurement Census, I immediately knew that I had to name and shame the 12% of respondents who admit to still using AVEs. Congrats to you AVE-using Measurement Menaces of the Month. You qualify for our Very Special Offer, see below.
To be fair, the number is down from 16% in 2016, and is an enormous improvement over where we were when we first banned AVEs back in 2009. So all of us who have been beating the drum for the Barcelona Principles for the last decade certainly deserve to take a bow.
But back to the terrible 12%: WTF guys?
Is it that your boss is a troglodyte that doesn’t understand Finance 101? Is he or she a numerophobe that can’t cope with real numbers? It certainly can’t be that you don’t know there’s an alternative. God knows these pages have been full of them for years.
Very special offer for AVE users!
We believe in rehabilitation for even the most hardened of holdouts, so here’s my offer: If anyone who now uses AVEs will commit to banning AVEs in their organization forever and implementing a Barcelona-compliant measurement plan (based on my 6 Steps of Measurement, or AMEC’s Framework, or any other system that measures against business goals and objectives), we’ll give you all the ebooks, tools, and educational materials necessary to accomplish that goal for free.
And—bonus!—when you show me a report with your new good metrics in it, we’ll give you a free pass to Paine Publishing’s next Measurement Base Camp. Really. So make a plan and get in touch. ∞
