FAQ’s
It looks hard work and complicated?
It’s really not. Lots of information is provided to guide you and help you know what information is required at each stage. The site is a massive resource library. Use it, do mock examples, play around.
When should I use the framework, is it after running a campaign?
Although the framework can be used to retrospectively evaluate a campaign, the real value comes from using the framework in real time – to use it to plan activity in advance, to refer to as activity develops over time and to use it retrospectively as an evaluation tool to highlight successes as well as opportunities for improvement. The ability to save the data from a framework allows you to refer back to it whenever you want and you can have up to ten active frameworks per user.
Is the IEF a planning tool or a measurement tool?
It’s both! The IEF is designed to help you plan your campaigns more effectively, especially with outcomes as a key driver. But it is also designed to help you think about measurement and showcasing, with relevant metrics, the impact you are having on your organisation/client.
In 2021, AMEC bolstered the planning support resources within the framework. Planning is a critical component of a meaningful measurement programme so the two things really do go hand in hand.
What happens if I don’t have the metrics to include in the report?
A benefit of the IEF is it enables you to think at the outset about what metrics you may need in order to evaluate impact. In this way you can ask the right people or source the requisite data before launching the campaign. So as the campaign unfolds or concludes everyone knows the data they need to provide so you can present the data.
Can the framework only be used for campaigns – what about ongoing activity?
The framework can and should be used for both short term campaigns and longer term comms programmes where you should continually align activity and measurement to the overall organisation and communications objectives.
Is the framework optimised for a specific type of communications activity?
The framework is deliberately designed to be flexible and to work across different comms scenarios and channels: paid, earned, owned and shared, commercial to public sector, consumer to business-to-business, lead generation to brand building, campaigning to lobbying.
I have heard a lot of the ‘theory’ but I am still a bit confused how to put the framework into practice?
The ‘Resources’ section of the framework website features a number of different case studies and tutorials which show how the framework has been used in real life scenarios.