Why Your Media Coverage is Worth 3x
More than Your Ad:
Ad Value vs. Publicity Value

You have worked diligently to get a story published by a magazine, newspaper or reputable blog. You have undergone media training, memorized your talking points and nailed the TV interview. Now what is that hard-earned coverage worth? Why is your media coverage worth 3 times more than your ad?

Advertising is valuable… but costly. Measuring the return on your advertising investment is an ongoing task. Advertising allows complete control of location and messaging. You can also strategically place a call to action to provoke customer response, but what’s better for your ROI? A paid advertisement or editorial coverage?

Let’s discuss ad value vs. publicity value. Ad value is the cost of your ad. Publicity value is a combination of that ad’s rate and the immeasurable value of editorial coverage by a reputable media outlet.

Media monitoring services place ad values on stories picked up by media outlets, taking into account audience numbers, advertising rates and length of stories. They then use advertising rate cards to calculate that number. Once the ad value amount is determined, the publicity value is calculated, and it is traditionally three times the ad value. But why?

The best way to explain the psychology behind the figures is to understand the importance of social influencing. Customers consume specific media based on trust. Savvy enough to recognize a paid advertisement as a biased angle, viewers, readers and listeners place confidence in the reports from favored media personalities at a much higher level.

In other words, paid advertising is effective, though approached with caution by consumers. Publicity is free editorial content received with less-filtered discretion when delivered by credible sources, thereby increasing the publicity value. And most importantly, increasing consumer action.

This is where marketing and public relations professionals express opportunities for greatness. A good press release can inspire information dissemination, story packages, live television or social media coverage.

With each printed line and second of broadcasted news worth so much, hiring the right team to get your message across is key.

Need help crafting a compelling pitch or press release and securing media coverage? Contact Point Taken today.

Curious How Much Your Media Coverage is Worth?

"We still get very positive comments on the coverage Point Taken Communications secured for First Coast Home Pros. It was probably the best ROI I have ever had on a marketing campaign. Major kudos to Point Taken Communications, that is a big compliment."
"We hired Point Taken to help us develop innovative ways to promote our comprehensive pet service company. Point Taken consistently creates unique and creative campaigns to help us engage the media and social media influencers. Their work has led to coverage and helps us drive more customers."

Point Taken Communications, a boutique Jacksonville public relations and marketing firm serving brands nationwide, creates engaging campaigns that ignite positive change and move audiences to action. We go above and beyond, ensuring each client gets the best return on its investment. Our team of senior professionals has decades of experience bringing bold, creative ideas to life to help companies and nonprofits grow and evolve. At Point Taken, our clients inspire us to fuel progress for your organization, your industry and our world.