In this episode of PR in the Real World, founder of Experienced Media Analysts Steph Bridgeman returns to unpack what has changed - and what stubbornly hasn’t - since her first appearance.

She explains how the refreshed Barcelona Principles 4.0, discussed at this year’s AMEC Summit in Vienna, align with the Integrated Evaluation Framework so communicators can set objectives, map outcomes and connect activity to real behaviour and business impact.

Steph shares a candid take on AI in measurement, arguing that over-hype and opacity make it hard to trust black-box outputs when you need to ‘show your workings’. For her, good evaluation still relies on curiosity, transparency and the human judgement to question data rather than worship it.

The heart of the conversation is about embracing small numbers. Steph urges teams to stop kidding themselves with inflated site-wide reach and to recognise that article-level audiences are almost always lower than the headline figure. She explains why defensible, smaller numbers tell a truer story - especially when they link to what people did next.

Drawing on judging and winning experience at the AMEC Awards, Steph outlines what strong entries share: simple storytelling, clarity on learning and the courage to show how data drove change mid-campaign.

Steph leaves listeners with quick wins they can apply. She recommends using Google search data to evidence behaviour change and capturing Google Autocomplete before and after a launch to show shifts in demand - a ten-second tactic that lands in the boardroom.

This episode is for in-house teams and agencies who want credible, outcome-focused measurement that helps PR make better decisions.

Links & references

AMEC - Barcelona Principles 4.0: https://amecorg.com/barcelona-principles-4-0/

AMEC - Integrated Evaluation Framework: https://amecorg.com/amec-framework/

Experienced Media Analysts: https://experiencedmediaanalysts.com/

CoverageBook: https://coveragebook.com/

Releasd: https://releasd.com/

Google Trends: https://trends.google.com/

Everybody Lies (S. Stephens-Davidowitz): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everybody-Lies-Internet-about-Really/dp/0062390856

RAJAR: https://www.rajar.co.uk/

CIPR CPD: https://www.cipr.co.uk/CPD

AMEC Awards: https://amecorg.com/awards/awards-2025/

Steph's first episode: https://www.vivapr.co.uk/pr-in-the-real-world-with-steph-bridgeman/

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