Start-up company PR Audit has launched a tool which it claims can
evaluate PR effectiveness right down to the attitudes of individual
journalists, at a lower cost than offerings from other companies.
The Editorial Impact Report, focuses initially on the IT press -
measuring positive, negative, neutral and ’recommended’ mentions in
editorial - and scores journalists’ favourability towards brands.
A monthly report will cost pounds 2,500 for a year. By comparison,
evaluation company Mantra charges over pounds 7,000 a year for monthly
reports. The charge takes into account the PR Week/PRCA recommendation
that clients spend ten per cent of their PR budgets on evaluation.
The company was set up earlier this year by Richard Laven, formerly
managing director of the Register Group, which provides advertising
information to media owners and ad agencies, and Will Arnold, former
publishing director of Emap Media.
Laven said he hoped to extend the tool to other sectors in around six
months.
He said: ’It depends on the take-up of the product and the backing, but
financial services is an obvious area.’
Both Laven and Arnold have invested their own money into the venture,
and are expected to announce a major backer next week.
