Tourism Australia’s ad is the perfect reminder of why AVEs don’t work
Despite claiming its Crocodile Dundee Super Bowl campaign earned ‘$30 million in free media’, Zendesk’s Marissa Tree is here to offer a friendly reminder that no one in the PR industry has actually figured out how to accurately calculate such a number.
As a PR person, there’s something about ads generating earned (aka free) media coverage that has always made me chuckle quietly to myself, while also wanting to high five my creative cousins for making clever content that creates buzz.
I’m not alone – Malcolm Auld of The Content Brewery also gets a kick out of seeing marketers using good old-fashioned public relations to promote their ads.
However, this week, my chuckles turned to eye rolls when I read the ABC’s article on Tourism Australia’s hugely successful Crocodile Dundee Super Bowl ad, quoting trade minister Steve Ciobo saying that the ongoing $36 million campaign to double US tourists’ annual spending over the next three years represents value for money, with the 90 second ad alone watched by an audience of over 100 million Americans (the six official YouTube clips have amassed an additional 7.8 million views), and so far generated “$30 million in free media”.
Not sure what is more tired – this “AVEs don’t work” puff piece specifically or insufferable self-promotion by bored PR “pros” with way too much time generally.
I’m definitely not bored, and I wish I had “way too much time”. What is tired are trolls who hide behind cliched titles with nothing nice, let alone constructive, to say. Have a great weekend.
What are the alternatives that you might suggest?
I’d reckon throwing a question out there is good, but throwing a question and suggesting ways of improvements much better (also with reasons and case studies perhaps?)
To be totally frank with you, (I’ve read the piece three times in full) , this piece doesn’t add any value to me. I’m left thinking, so what do you do/want to do about it? I haven’t learnt anything apart from the fact that you don’t like AVE.
Hi What Are,
There are plenty of recommended alternatives in AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework, which I linked to above so people could check it out themselves, as it is quite comprehensive.
I am of the view that measurement is not a one-size-fits-all approach, as it depends on the campaign architecture – whether it’s media relations, social, or content driven – and then what the business objectives are as to what would be the most effective metric.
It’s not a matter of whether I “like” AVEs, it’s more that it’s impossible to truly validate whatever dollar figure is calculated. What I want the industry to do, which I believe I said in the final paragraph, is stop using AVEs.
Thanks for reading three times!
Great article…..at least Musk is ‘giving it a go’, pushing the boundaries, ..inside the lines, the rest of you ‘moaners’ are just carping from the sideline