If the PR industry measured its work properly it would be able to charge more and pay better.

Talent remains the number one challenge for the public relations industry. At every level of the industry, and in every region of the world, there is a challenge in recruiting and retaining talent.

This is the headline from the ICCO World PR Report 2020.

ICCO consists of national PR trade associations in 55 countries. Its report provides an international perspective on the challenges facing the PR business.

43% of respondents reported that there is a lack of talent in PR. Almost half said that the industry failed to recruit from outside.

“The reason we fail to recruit the very best is simple – we do not pay enough. We do not pay enough because we charge clients too little,” said Francis Ingham, chief executive, ICCO.

“At the heart of this is our consistent failure to measure the effect of our work. And our failure to charge appropriately for the results that we deliver,” he adds.

The AVE battle

Ingham points to the use of advertising value equivalent (AVE) as the sharp end of this issue. According to the ICCO World PR Report, this continues to be used by 46% of respondents.

Use of AVEs is reported as 16% in the UK and 18% in North America. It remains a dominant form of measurement in Asia Pacific (56%), Africa and the Middle East (70%), Latin America (74%), Eastern Europe (56%) and Western Europe (58%).

It’s not all bad news. Measurement and analytics are cited as the leading area of investment in 2020 ahead of influencer marketing (36%), content creation (34%) and research (31%).

Ingham points to AMEC’s work in helping drive change. Over a sustained period of time, AMEC has raised standards of evaluation all around the world, he said.

“Year after year, the numbers show that it is eroding poor measurement practice. That its tools are being adopted by an increasingly large number of practitioners. And that its message is being heard and understood,” said Ingham.

The Integrated Evaluation Framework provides a consistent and credible approach that works for organisations of all sizes, but which can be tailored to very specific user cases and objectives. I’d urge you to check it out for yourself.

Progress is slow

“Moving an industry that just ten years ago was using AVEs in more than 80% of all global measurement programmes is not something that can happen overnight,” said Richard Bagnall, chair, AMEC.

“It will be a long and hard battle where we all need to speak with one consistent voice and demand and expect meaningful measurement,” he added.

The ICCO World PR Report is based on findings from an online survey conducted between July and September 2019.

Almost 300 leaders were surveyed from Africa and the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, Latin America, and the UK.