It’s been a hot and sweaty summer so far in the public relations and social media measurement industry…
Merger Means Integrated Online and Offline Word-of-Mouth Measurement
One of the most interesting mergers of the year probably went under your radar screen, but it is well worth paying attention to: Engagement Labs, a social media analytics company that I’d never even heard of, has purchased the word-of mouth measurement company the The Keller-Fay Group.
I’ve written about my friend Brad Fay and his company numerous times, as he is a founding member of the Conclave and the author of one of my absolute must-read books for marketers, The Face-to-Face Book (read my review here). Brad and his partner Ed Keller pioneered word-of-mouth research years ago. I’ve relied on their expertise ever since, and recommended their Talk Track research to countless clients.
My guess is that Engagement Labs will look to combine Keller Fay’s off line word-of-mouth research with their eValue scoring methodology, which measures a brand’s engagement level based on engagement, responsiveness, and reach. They could then offer clients a true integration between online and offline engagement. Pretty exciting stuff.
They’re Putting the Standards to the Test
In related Conclave news, the IPR has undertaken a research project that will test and validate the standards established by the Conclave in 2013. Specifically, they’ll be validating the standards around sentiment and engagement, using the process established by David Geddes, Julie O’Neil, and Marianne Eisenmann for traditional media in 2014.
The media monitoring and measurement company CyberAlert has stepped up to sponsor the project, offering highly trained and experienced coders (I’m a bit biased because I hired and trained them in a former life) to read and code the content using the standards outlined in the Conclave documents. They will be testing the standard coding methodology on a consumer company (Southwest Airlines), a government agency (US National Fish & Wildlife), and a non-profit (Goodwill Industries.) Look for preliminary results to emerge around the next conclave meeting in October. You can read all the details here.
After Five Years, the Principles are Getting an Update
In case you missed the news: The Barcelona Principles, which helped kick-start the movement towards measurement standards, turned five last month. In honor of their birthday the Institute for Public Relations, PRSA, ICCO, the Global Alliance, and AMEC (the founding coalition that wrote the Principles back in 2009) are regrouping and revisiting them to reflect new developments in both communications and technology. Read the press release here.
Once the working group completes its task (which we hope will be done in time for the Measurement Summit and Conclave meetings in October), look for a major new PR push around the Principles and the Standards.
Get Ready: Measurement Month Starts in Just 33 Days
Look for all kinds of measurement webinars, meetings, and conferences to happen in cities near you wherever you are… Katie Paine is already committed to reprising her webinar with Johnna Burke on the topic of standards, and look for other very special opportunities to talk measurement with the Queen of Measurement. ∞
