Canadian Public Relations Society debuts media relations measurement standard
By Adnews Staff
The Toronto-based Canadian Public Relations Society has introduced a new standard for measuring editorial coverage and return on investment called Media Relations Rating Points. According to the society, the standard is intended to be a tool for the qualitative evaluation of a media relations campaign. “Our members tell us that one of the greatest challenges communications practitioners face today is measuring editorial media coverage,” said Karen Dalton, executive director of the society. “Media Relations Rating Points will allow us to use for the first time a consistent, official system of measurement that can compare media relations activities, as well as accurately calculate return on investment to stakeholders. MRPs will soon become as important in the PR industry as GRP ratings are to the advertising sector.” The reporting system has been designed to accommodate editorial coverage in any media, whether it was generated by a media relations campaign, crisis communications or unplanned coverage. The system includes a report template, a rating system and a subscription-based website containing reach numbers for Canadian media outlets. The rating system provides metrics by which to evaluate media coverage, track total reach and cost per contact, as well as to evaluate editorial tone and article content. A website for the standard has been constructed at <http://www.mrpdata.com>.