Communicate magazine's October 2009 issue carried a story about PR measurement where a competitor made the prediction 90% of his clients will not use AVE's (from the current claimed 60%). My reaction was: huh?! It's one thing to inflate figures -- something the region is notoriously known for -- but to even make predictions based on made-up figures? Having been an integral part of the measurement industry in the Middle East, I would have to admit that these figures are nothing short of an impressive science fiction movie.

The problem with AVE's is not that they are evil. The problem is that they are often misused. The other even bigger problem is, no one has been able to come up with a viable alternative yet. We tried. We came up with RAVE (Real Advertising Value Equivalent) sometime back in 2006 and despite the interest it generated, agencies preferred higher figures for their clippings. I maintain the following: unless you are able to find an alternative, AVE's will remain a part of the PR equation. Making outlandish claims and predictions doesn't help anyone.

According to the Global Survey of Communications Measurement 2009, published by AMEC (Association of Measurements and Evaluation of Communication), AVE's ranking in measurement tools moved from #5 in 2004 to #3 in 2009. It doesn't stop there. Of all the tools, AVE's are the absolute favorite for those who use it.

I continue to maintain that AVE's are a part of several metrics that together tell us the big picture. It is not always relevant and depends on the type of research you are conducting. However, I am very weary of wild speculations and unfounded claims.

MEPRA awards claimed that a 'surprising' third of the entries used AVE's as a metric to determine the success of the entry. I don't find this surprising at all. In fact, I suspect that of the other 2/3rd that were not AVE-centric, the campaigns entered were also not centered around media relations and may have been more events-driven.

I also agree that there are no common agreed upon metrics in the industry to help us move away from AVE's. I have had this discussion with others in the industry and I was simply laughed at. The reality is, until MEPRA and media monitoring and evaluation companies agree on a set of metrics that qualifies a PR program, agencies will continue to blissfully use AVE as proof of their worth. We know this because we work with in-house PR departments across government institutes regionally, multi-nationals, family-owned businesses, etc. and we see it used far more than not. Thankfully, we're not in the business of making up numbers just to say all is well.