February 27, 2003

Measurement News

PRtrak Adds Internet Data
PRtrak announces a new database that integrates Internet audience data from comScore Media Metrix with media cost information from SQAD Inc. PR professionals can now access Impressions and Media Values for the top 10,000 Web sites instantly. A four-minute demonstration of PRtrak is available at www.brainshark.com/survdata/PRtrakDemo.

Three New Measurement Publications
On 2/19/03, the Institute for Public Relations announced three new publications that deal with the subject of measuring the value of public relations. All are part of an ongoing series, the “Measurement Tree,” created by the Institute’s Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation. These three publications join other non-proprietary studies available at no cost on IPR’s Web site:

• What You Need to Know to Measure Investor Relations by David Michaelson and John Gilfeather. Written as a primer rather than an advanced textbook, the goal of the paper is to introduce the basic concepts of investor relations in language that is clear and simple to understand.
  
• Advertising Value Equivalencies: Nothing to Quiver About by Bruce Jeffries-Fox, takes on the controversial notion that public relations results can be assigned an overall dollar value by measuring column inches in print—or seconds in broadcast media—and multiplying these figures by the respective medium’s advertising rates.
  
• Guidelines and Standards for Measuring the Effectiveness of PR Programs and Activities by Dr. Walter K. Lindenmann, seeks to set minimum standards for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of specific short-term PR programs. This is a revision of a similar publication from 1997.

CARMA Ranks Companies
On 2/18/03, PRWeek UK reported on CARMA International’s ranking of the most and least favorably mentioned companies.

Most favorable:

1. Sony
2. Toyota
3. NBC
4. Samsung
5. General Motors

Least favorable:

1. Enron
2. Andersen Worldwide
3. Worldcom
4. Tyco International
5. Global Crossing

comScore Media Metrix Erred in Measuring Web Use
On 2/24/03, The New York Times reported that comScore Media Metrix, one of the leading companies that measure Web site audiences, has discovered flaws in the methodology it introduced in October, and it has restated its measurements for the last three months of 2002.

comScore estimates Web audiences by projecting the behavior of a panel of presumably representative users. The biggest differences come in its estimates of Web use at the workplace, because large companies in particular do not want employees to install the software that the ratings companies use to track Web site usage. When comScore adjusted its formulas to account for the underrepresentation at big companies, its audience projections increased—in some cases, sharply:

• comScore now estimates that Primedia’s sites, mainly those run by about.com, had 56 million users in the United States in December, rather than the 44 million counted under its previous formula—a 25 percent increase.
• eBay's audience was increased 19 percent, to 54 million.
• The estimate for Terra Lycos was increased 21 percent, to 51.6 million users.

In a related story, comScore Media Metrix analysis revealed that 7.9 million at-work Internet users visited “personals” Web sites in December 2002, accounting for 35 percent of all time spent at the sites. These workplace visitors spent an average of 51 minutes at the category, compared to 37 minutes by at-home visitors.

New articles
in this issue:

Articles with red arrows require a subscription:

PR In the Movies:
The Felix Awards

What is Trust? How Do You Measure it?

Why We Can't Trust the Media

A New Way to Measure ROI

The Experts Predict Measurement Trends

Using Measurement to Gain Strategic Advantage

Articles with black arrows do not require a subscription:

Can Phil Spector’s Reputation be Saved?

The Measurement Funnies

The Monthly Measurement Menace and Maven

Marketing Inspiration for 2003

The PR Weather Report

Measurement News

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