If anything, the death of the Advertising Value Equivalency (AVEs) points to the slow demise of print media as a means for brand communications. Column inches, the once cherished commodity, have been all but meaningless to the PR industry since the recession began four years ago.

Now, the CIPR is rendering AVEs an inappropriate metric for an industry that has moved beyond newsprint and into new technology. The professional body has ruled that it’s Excellence Awards judges will no longer accept AVEs when considering entrants to the ‘best use of research, planning, measurement and evaluation’ category.

Judge and CEO of Echo Research, Sandra Macleod, says, “I'm delighted to see that the public relations industry is gaining in professionalism as it increases in credibility and importance. As judges, we are looking for demonstrable best practice in making communications core to the organisation’s success - impacting attitudes and behaviours. AVEs are truly a thing of the past and no longer relevant at this level.”

The international association for the measurement and evaluation of communication, or AMEC, determined at its 2012 Barcelona conference that AVEs are not a relevant measure of the value of PR. It points to quality metrics determining the quality of coverage not merely its cost.

The value of public relations can be measured in a variety of ways, including through social media analytics and the effect of PR activities on business. The continued prevalence of AVEs as a standard measurement of PR has been determined to be no longer relevant.