Not all Media Coverage is Created Equal

For years, the traditional PR measurement has been to count the number of media hits achieved. It’s a metric that can be compared year over year, but simply adding up the number of media mentions does not assess the quality of media coverage, the reach or whether key messages about your company are being delivered through that coverage.

At Penman PR, we contend that measurements in public relations should move from volumetric, which measures the amount of media coverage, to directional, which measures the realization of objectives and the delivery of messages to target audiences.

We begin this process with an analysis of media content. Quality measurements can be combined with reach measurements to determine the effectiveness of media content.

In order to measure quality, we use a list of impact score factors for media coverage. These are the attributes that affect recall and awareness by customers or end users:

--Extent of Coverage – The more extensive the coverage, the bigger the impression that is made on the reader.  Coverage generally falls into the following categories listed below from lowest to highest-impact

• Mention: Brief blurb
  

• Round-up: Mentioned in the context of competitors
  

• Product feature: Highlight of specific product within the context of a theme
  

• Product profile/review: 250 words or more detailing the product.
  

• Feature round-up: Comparison to other products with a 100 word or more description of product.
  

• Company/multi-product profile: 600 words or more on a specific product or company initiatives
  

-- Front Page/Cover – These stories are the most highly sought after pieces. Having a presence on the front coverage reflects the meaningfulness of a company and its products in regards to its particular industry segment.

-- Headline – Another key indicator of the depth and prominence of coverage is whether the company or product name appears in the headline or subheading.

-- Visuals – Visuals create a deep impression on an audience. If pictures of a product or a company logo are included the value of that coverage increases significantly.

-- Dominance – The company or product name is mentioned extensively throughout the article.

-- Initial Mention - The company or product name is mentioned within the first few paragraphs.

-- Editorial Tone – The tone can be defined by whether the coverage is positive or negative. Editorial coverage, either direction, deeply affects the perception of a brand because of the third-party credibility factor.

In order to illustrate how Penman PR’s public reactions initiatives can optimize the overall marketing mix, we can offer a comparative analysis of media content. The subject of this analysis is quantity of news stories versus quality media coverage.

Hypothetical Example:

The following charts outline an example of media mentions for a gaming PC manufacturer. We can analyze the value of each media mention using the criteria above.

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Determine the effectiveness of media content

Media Placement Score Card

Below we have created a rating system for quantifying the depth and impact of coverage. The segments, in the left hand column, represent the above components and qualities of coverage. The seven categories rate the level, intensity, and impact of a media hit. Each individual component is graded on a scale of 1 to 14 — 1 representing the least desirable and 14 represented the most on target. A total score of 100 represents the most optimal coverage. A 5 point buffer was added on all pieces.

Target Audience

The next step in this analysis is to clearly understand the target audience and ascertain whether or not the media hits had an influence on the company’s revenue generating audiences.

Audience Stats

According to a survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 32 percent of Americans who play computer games are age 35 or older, with 13 percent at age 50 or over. In addition, the study showed that 43 percent of game players are women, and that the average age of women players is 29 years old. Overall, the study revealed that 60 percent of all Americans, or about 145 million people, play interactive games on a regular basis.

The frequency of computer game players are as follows:

• Under 18 years old – 28%
  

• Between 18 & 35 years old – 30%
  

• Over 35 years old – 42%
  

Impact

Of those being measured, the media hits that ranked the highest were GamersDepot.com, PC Gamer, Asian Week, Extreme Tech, and Gamers.com.

Three of the five high rankers are online. Of the three, only one provided a number of page impressions, hits, page views or user sessions. Only GamersDepot.com, PC Gamer, ExtremeTech and Gamers.com provided a demographic outline. Without more information, we are not able to ascertain the size and the quality of the audience reached for the dollars invested.

We can ascertain that the net effect of reach; the media circulation multiplied by the impact score. Asian Week scored 4,450,000 positive potential impressions to English-speaking second and third generation Asian Pacific Americans in the San Francisco Bay area. PC Gamer scored 13,299,003 positive potential impressions to computer game enthusiasts.

Conclusion

The success of any public relations efforts will be met when it influences its revenue generating audiences and changes that audiences’ behavior. Of course, this places a burden on each tactic selected to carry a company’s message to its audience:  does it make a tangible, action-producing contribution towards altering target audience perceptions and behaviors? If not, it should be dropped and replaced with a tactic that does.

By developing an ongoing scorecard that rates your coverage according to the above criteria, you will see an ongoing resource for determining the value proposition of public relations.