ICCO, PRCA and AMEC launch first global measurement audit at International Summit

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) UK and the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) are together launching the first international audit to enable members to certify their expertise in PR measurement.

The optional module which now forms part of the PRCA’s internationally recognised Communications Management Standard (CMS) will audit PR consultancies and in-house teams for the measurement of their work. It is the first international measurement standard.

The module is being launched at the AMEC International Summit in Amsterdam, the leading global event for communication measurement, on 11th June 2014.

ICCO Chief Executive and PRCA Director General Francis Ingham said: “Effective measurement is fundamental to best practice in PR. That’s why we are launching this module, to provide a framework around which agencies and in-house teams can grow and develop their skills in this all-important area. We are very pleased to be launching this module with AMEC, the leading authority on measurement in communications.”

AMEC Executive Director Barry Leggetter said: “It is a pleasure to launch this measurement audit with the PRCA and ICCO at the AMEC International Summit. Our aim is to give the industry just the guidance it needs to improve the way it measures its work.”

CMS is the mark of communications professionalism worldwide. Independently audited on a regular basis by Redfin Management LLP, CMS is the accepted kitemark of PR excellence and professionalism. It combines elements of ISO9001 and Investors in People with criteria specific to the PR world. CMS has been adopted internationally through the ICCO network. ICCO is also currently working on creating an online version of the audit which will be available to all its members internationally.

During the audit, a consultancy or in-house team must prove to the assessors that it has the systems in place to ensure the effective planning and measurement of all programme work in the organisation; that its staff understand the organisation’s commitment to programme measurement; and that clients and colleagues are made aware of this programme approach.

To qualify for the CMS certification in measurement, members should score 40 points in this element.

The PRCA and ICCO endorse AMEC’s ‘Valid Metrics’ approach for the measurement of PR programmes, which was formally adopted by the PRCA at the London Measurement Conference in November 2010. The PRCA and ICCO also endorse AMEC’s ‘Barcelona Principles’ for the measurement and evaluation of PR.

Last year, the PRCA, ICCO and AMEC launched the PR Professionals Definitive Guide to Measurement, which can be found here.

 

About ICCO

ICCO is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comp rises national trade associations in 29 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, thesis associations representing over 1,700 PR firms. ICCO is a proud sponsor of the Young PR Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

About AMEC

AMEC is the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, the global trade body and professional institute for agencies and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research. AMEC currently has more than 120 members in 41 countries worldwide.

For further information contact:

Barry Leggetter

Executive Director, AMEC

Email: barryleggetter@amecorg.com

Tel: 44 1268 412414

www.amecorg.com

Analytics and measurement critical to new PR industry model

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Key finding in new AMEC international study

New international research shows that as PR firms move to adopt a new integrated model they are also recognising the importance of measurement and analytics more than ever before.

It is one of a number of key trends in new International Business Insights research published today (9th June, 2014) by the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), based on a survey of AMEC members.

The findings come ahead of AMEC’s International Summit on Measurement in Amsterdam (11/12th June), attended by 240 delegates from 36 countries.

More than seven in ten AMEC members (72%) agree that PR consultancies are increasingly recognising the importance of measurement and analytics.

David Rockland, a Ketchum Partner and Chairman of AMEC, said: “We have been working hard with PR firms and PR member organisations, and most importantly our clients, over a number of years to elevate the importance of measurement in modern communications and marketing practices.

“As various disciplines are increasingly integrating to deliver optimum value to the client, it remains critical to be able to not only demonstrate results of each discipline, but how they work together to drive business performance.

“We are encouraged by the results of this survey that shows significant growth in the use of measurement by agencies and their clients.  The findings suggest that there is now wider spread recognition of the importance of measurement in not only being accountable and relevant, but also of the use of measurement as a predictive tool and one from which compelling insights can be drawn. We are making progress.”

Phil Lynch, Research Director for Kantar media and Chairman of AMEC’s Business Development Committee, said: “What is good to see coming through is the recognition that clients recognise the value of using measurement and analytics to demonstrate communications effectiveness to the C-suite and senior management.”

He added: “The results prove that AMEC’s commitment to education is having a measurable impact on the raising of measurement standards. Our next challenge is to help corporate clients implement new strategies for proving the business benefits of communication.”

The study showed industry growth of 9% in 2013, building on 12% growth in 2012, with the strongest growth in mid-sized firms (€751K-€2m revenue). Healthcare and energy sectors are forecast to offer the strongest growth potential in 2014. More than two thirds of AMEC firms (71%) said their company’s total revenue increased in 2013

The new insights study from AMEC also shows that explosive client-led growth in measuring social media is behind overall international industry growth with 81% of members reporting increased demand.

There was strong support for AMEC’s work in education, with 87% saying that that AMEC has a critical role to play in educating the marketplace about the importance of measurement as part of its Global Education Programme.

 

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AMEC is the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, the global trade body and professional institute for agencies and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research.

AMEC currently has more than 120 members in 41 countries worldwide.

For further information contact:

Barry Leggetter

Executive Director, AMEC

Email: barryleggetter@amecorg.com

Tel: 44 1268 412414

www.amecorg.com

ICCO celebrates PR industry at Cannes Lions Festival

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) today unveiled its plans to celebrate and promote the public relations industry at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with the launch of its ICCO Guide to Cannes Lions website.

Supported by GolinHarris, H + K Strategies, Ketchum and Ogilvy PR, ICCO is the only international PR trade body to have an official presence in Cannes this year.

The unofficial ICCO Guide to Cannes Lions website will be constantly updated in the run up to and during the Festival. It will include information about the most interesting events from the Festival programme, profiles of the contestants and eventual winners in the PR Lions and Young PR Lions categories. There will also  be blog posts from Cannes Lions Jury members, competition entrants, journalists, academics, and PR agencies represented on the ground.

ICCO will also be exhibiting at the Palais des Festivals in stand 12.01, all delegates attending the Festival are welcome to visit the stand to meet with prominent representatives of the PR industry and learn more about the ICCO international activities.

On Monday 16th June, ICCO and its partners will be hosting a pre-Awards reception at the Palais des Festivals to celebrate the Young PR Lions and PR Lions winners.

Francis Ingham, ICCO Chief Executive, said: “We are very excited to be in Cannes this year, and are very grateful for our sponsors for making this opportunity possible. Our goal is to make the PR industry stand out at the Festival, and to make all PR professionals a part of this amazing international event.”

ICCO is the sponsor of the inaugural Young PR Lions contest, which will see 16 national teams of two PR agency representatives aged 28 or under competing for the title of the best creative young talent in the world.

If you would like to contribute to the ICCO Guide to Cannes Lions website, please contact ICCO General Manager Anastasia Demidova at anastasia.demidova@iccopr.com.

www.iccoguidetocannes.com

#iccocannes  #welovepr

 

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About ICCO

ICCO is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comp rises national trade associations in 29 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, thesis associations representing over 1,700 PR firms. ICCO is a proud sponsor of the Young PR Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

 

PRCA beats Newspaper Licensing Agency at Court of Justice of the EU

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The ICCO member association PRCA UK today won a landmark ruling against the Newspaper Licensing Agency at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), handing Internet users the right to browse online freely without the threat of infringing copyright law.

The CJEU accepted all of the arguments of the PRCA and Meltwater against the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA), that browsing and viewing articles online does not require authorisation from the copyright holder, following a battle through the UK courts that began in 2010. The judgment means that Internet users are now protected by the temporary copy exception of EU copyright law when they read or browse content online.

PRCA Director General Francis Ingham said: “We are utterly delighted that the CJEU has accepted all of our arguments against the NLA, which represents eight national newspapers. The Court of Justice, like the Supreme Court before them, understands that the NLA’s attempts to charge for reading online content do not just affect the PR world, but the fundamental rights of all EU citizens to browse the Internet. This is a huge step in the right direction for the courts as they seek ways to deal with the thorny issues of Internet use and copyright law.”

“We are pleased that we have stood up for the PR industry –along with Meltwater – when everyone else rolled over.”

Jorn Lyseggen, CEO of Meltwater, said: “We are pleased that the European Court of Justice has stepped in to set an important precedent for Internet freedom across the European Union. This ruling serves the interests of business, technology and millions of Internet users and ensures protection from being accused of copyright infringement. Meltwater is a strong believer in copyright and a strong supporter of a sustainable, independent press. However, we are pleased that the Court has interpreted the copyright law in a way that allows citizens to use the Internet without fear of unintentional infringement.”

In April 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that anyone should be free to visit and read or browse a newspaper website without fear of infringing copyright law. In his judgment, Lord Jonathan Sumption explained it was desirable that any decision on the point of accessing such content be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In a previous UK Copyright Tribunal ruling, the PRCA and Meltwater were successful in reducing the fees for all businesses, saving millions for UK businesses.

For further background on this case, please read here.

The Court (Fourth Chamber) rules:

“Article 5 of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society must be interpreted as meaning that the copies on the user’s computer screen and the copies in the internet ‘cache’ of that computer’s hard disk, made by an end-user in the course of viewing a website, satisfy the conditions that those copies must be temporary, that they must be transient or incidental in nature and that they must constitute an integral and essential part of a technological process, as well as the conditions laid down in Article 5(5) of that directive, and that they may therefore be made without the authorisation of the copyright holders.”

 

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About ICCO

ICCO is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comp rises national trade associations in 29 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, thesis associations representing over 1,700 PR firms. ICCO is a proud sponsor of the Young PR Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

GolinHarris and Hill+Knowlton Strategies Support Young PR Lions Competition in Cannes

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“We are the first and the only professional public relations body to have an official presence at the Cannes Lions Festival, which is becoming an increasingly important event in our members’ calendar.We could not have done it without the support of our sponsors, and we are very grateful to GolinHarris and Hill+Knowlton Strategies, who have once again proven their industry leadership.”

Francis Ingham, ICCO Chief Executive
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Today the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) announced GolinHarris and Hill+Knowlton Strategies as official supporters of the Young PR Lions competition at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The Young PR Lions programme was launched earlier this year to celebrate the brightest talent in the global industry. The competition itself will see national teams of two PR professionals aged 28 or under who will prepare and deliver a 5-minute presentation for a non-profit organisation client in 24 hours that will be judged by a select jury. Unlike its larger PR Lions equivalent, only professionals working in PR consultancies will be eligible to enter. Both Young PR Lions and PR Lions Award ceremonies will take place on Monday, 16th June.

The national Young PR Lions competitions are currently under way in over 20 countries around the world. The ICCO member association PRCA has been selected to run the competition in the UK.

In February 2014, ICCO was announced as the official sponsor of the Young PR Lions competition, making it the first public relations professional body to establish close links with the Festival. As part of its Cannes sponsorship, ICCO will produce an online Guide to Cannes, highlighting best events for PR delegates; exhibit at the Palais de Festival during the Festival week; hold a social event before the PR Awards on Monday, 16th June; and host post-Festival events and webinars showcasing Cannes best practice and winning campaigns.

 

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“GolinHarris is passionate about young talent and finding new ways to challenge and develop tomorrow’s communications leaders. We’re delighted to be part of this inaugural Young PR Lions competition and look forward to seeing what the UK’s best can deliver.”
Matt Neale, President, international, GolinHarris
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“Cannes Lions is the largest celebration of marketing and communications and it is important to recognise the role that many young people play in our industry. H+K is proud to sponsor the Young PR Lions Competition to showcase the creativity of PR’s brightest emerging stars.”
Richard Millar, Global Chair, Creative Strategy and CEO London
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As official Young PR Lions co-sponsors, GolinHarris and Hill+Knowlton Strategies join Ogilvy PR and Ketchum who have pledged their support earlier.

 

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About ICCO

ICCO is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 29 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, these associations represent over 1,700 PR firms. ICCO is a proud sponsor of the Young PR Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

www.iccopr.com