Media Relations Evaluation: The Success of the MRP System in Canada

medla nodes upl zmodel newz log servic uple imag

Media Relations Evaluation: The Success of the MRP System in Canada

By Tracey Bochner on February 11th, 2008

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

For years, measurement was often an afterthought in public relations campaigns, viewed in the same way as eating tofu, or going to the gym–something you knew you should be doing, but just couldn’t make the effort. As the role of public relations evolved over the past 10 years so did the need for practitioners to better measure PR’s impact. Suddenly “ROI” was the hot buzzword and the industry started more actively exploring different ways to show its value.

One area of focus for this exploration was the measurement of editorial media coverage. In 2002, a group of Canadian public relations industry professionals met to see if they could answer this question: was it possible to standardize how the PR industry evaluated media relations campaigns?

Fast forward to 2008 and the CPRS Media Relations Rating Points (MRP) system has become the Canadian standard for the measurement and evaluation of editorial media coverage. The MRP system has more than 250 users subscribing from over 50 public relations agencies, plus major corporations and all levels of government. And it is endorsed by IABC and the Canadian Council of PR Firms.

How did this happen?

Measurement and evaluation is playing an increasingly important role as clients and stakeholders require PR to better prove its value. One small but significant way that practitioners are showcasing the results of tactical elements, like media relations, is through reach and content analysis of editorial coverage.

Previously, unless a company was willing and able to pay for sophisticated third-party analysis, the evaluation of a media relations campaign was often achieved through methods like ad values, which applied a dollar value to editorial coverage–a practice that is now considered by the majority as tenuous at best. Or, practitioners resorted to simply reporting cumulative circulation and relying on a practice called the “thud factor”—the noise a binder full of coverage makes when dropped on the CEO’s desk.

With the launch of the MRP system, the Canadian PR industry now had an affordable, accessible, easy-to-use solution that saves users time and money. This qualitative and quantitative system measures editorial coverage resulting from proactive media relations campaigns, crisis communications or unplanned media attention. It is supported by audited data for thousands of media across Canada, including daily newspapers, radio and television stations and 4,000 of Canada’s top high traffic media websites.

The MRP system was designed by the PR industry for the PR industry and as a result, the industry’s feedback during the development stage through to today has been instrumental in shaping the system and its future. Several new features have been added recently to meet users’ needs, from increased functionality in reporting to roaming options that allow users to share reports across offices.

It is just a start. Ongoing feedback from the industry will be key to the MRP system’s ongoing growth and success. To provide your feedback, learn more and subscribe, visit www.mrpdata.com.