Real-Life Math
While strong communication skills are essential if you plan a career
in publicity, there also comes a time to figure how much your publicity work
is worth in monetary terms.
You must show your client just how much
your work for him is actually worth, as measured by standard media prices.
"Clients
who don't understand public relations need to hear about numbers," says
publicist Kim Bayne. "You can talk about the ethereal aspects of PR after
you've gotten their attention with math."
"We call it 'media
measure,' or how much it would have cost the client if he or she had
to go out and purchase television or radio time on their own," says publicist
Leann Phenix. She says she guarantees her clients "a minimum of $200,000 of
advertising."
You are working for Leann Phenix as an assistant and
she has asked you to estimate how much exposure on a national television show
is worth to one of your clients in monetary terms so she can present those
figures to the client.
Here is what you need to know:
Your client's
4-minute interview aired on a national television show 2 times in 24 hours
in 300 television markets at a total price of $32 million.
For each
airing, how much did each minute of airtime cost your client?