How to Use the PR Coverage AVE Calculator
Earned media doesn't cost ad dollars directly, but if you can't put a number on its impact, PR results are hard to get credit for. Advertising value equivalency (AVE) converts the exposure from press coverage into what that same space or airtime would have cost as a paid ad. This calculator takes coverage count, average outlet reach, ad CPM rate, and a PR multiplier, and returns base ad value, final AVE, and average value per piece of coverage.
The math: coverage count ร (reach รท 1,000) ร CPM gives the base ad value, which is then multiplied by the PR multiplier to get final AVE. The multiplier exists because editorial press coverage is seen as more credible than paid ads and assumed to carry greater real impact - most practitioners use somewhere between 2x and 5x.
AVE isn't a direct revenue metric, but it's widely used as a supporting number to explain PR performance to leadership or clients in terms they can compare against ad spend.
Frequently Asked Questions
It converts the exposure earned from press coverage into what that same space or airtime would have cost as a paid ad. It's a widely used metric for explaining PR results to leadership in terms they can compare directly against ad spend.
Editorial press coverage is generally seen as more credible than paid advertising, so it's assumed to have greater real-world impact - the multiplier reflects that. A multiplier of about 3x is common, though it's often adjusted between 2x and 5x depending on the outlet's credibility and the tone of the coverage.