PR Week’s Proof campaign received a boost this week when the IPR,

the PRCA, the Public Relations Standards Forum (PRSF) and the

Association of Media Evaluation Companies (AMEC) agreed to join forces

to produce definitive best practice guidelines for the use of research

and evaluation within the industry.

At a forum hosted by PR Week to bring together various initiatives

already in existence, it was decided that the campaign’s main objective

should be to show how measurement can improve the value of PR and its

return on investment.

All parties will work together to produce a workbook or ’toolkit’ which

defines legitimate methods of R&E and best practice for a range of

campaigns and budgets.

A working party will next meet on 23 November to approve initial

guidelines.

It has been proposed that a client panel should be formed as part of the

consultation process.

The deadline for the publication of guidelines has been set for May

1999.

They will form the basis for a second initiative by the PRSF to

establish a quality standard or ’Proof’ mark for PR.