How Much Is Publicity Worth?

July 12, 2011


What’s worth more advertising or publicity? An age old argument that will probably never be won. Let’s be honest, there is no industry standard in either camp on how to measure the value of a 15-second TV spot or making the front page of the Wall Street Journal. I came across an article entitled, “Publicists Pump Up Value of Buzz; Don’t Believe the Hype” that did catch my eye, especially this paragraph:

Meanwhile, Front Row Marketing Services calculated that American Airlines’ foresight in buying the naming rights to the home arenas of this year’s two NBA finalists, the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, was worth about $64 million during this month’s championship series. Front Row’s analytics branch came up with the number by logging every instance in which the logo appeared in television coverage, and then assuming that a second of exposure to the company name was worth a second of ad time.

The argument still does hold a lot of merit as we try to put a dollar value on an agency’s service and more importantly their value-add to a brand. In many instances it is hard to have a successful brand without paying special attention to both advertising and public relations. After all, “if a tree falls in a forest, does anyone hear?” Or in other words, if you have a great product but don’t tell anyone, is it really a great product?


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Dave Forde


Dave “The Connector” Forde has been involved in the marketing, public relations and technology industry across Canada for over 15 years in various sales and marketing roles, he launched The Connected One network of business sites which connects buyers to the right sellers. Profectio and PR In Canada covers news about the marketing and public relations industry each day helping professionals advance their career and businesses.
He also serves as an advisor to a number of businesses across the country. Find Dave on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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