Beyond the Clippings: Why Modern PR Measurement Needs to Evolve

The Problem with Traditional PR Metrics

Traditional public relations measurement—counting media placements and calculating reach—no longer demonstrates real business impact. In 2025, with tight budgets and increased scrutiny, organizations need to move beyond vanity metrics like Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) and raw placement counts to measure outcomes that drive strategic decisions.

What Effective PR Measurement Should Track

1. Narrative Control and Sentiment Analysis

Effective measurement tracks whether your organization controls its narrative through detailed sentiment and tone analysis. This means understanding not just positive versus negative coverage, but whether the tone aligns with your strategic positioning—analytical and credibility-focused for B2B companies, or consumer-focused for retail brands.

2. Message Penetration

Count how many media mentions actually include your strategic messaging, not just your company name. Being featured as the headline story delivers exponentially more impact than a passing mention in a roundup article.

3. Qualified Reach Over Volume

Five thousand decision-makers reading your profile in a specialist trade publication delivers more business value than five hundred thousand people scrolling past a generic mention. Weight media channels based on audience relevance, not just circulation numbers.

4. Competitive Share of Voice

Track how your media presence compares to competitors in your sector. In New Zealand's concentrated media landscape, competitive positioning through strategic media coverage becomes a critical business lever.

The GEO Factor: Preparing for AI-Powered Search

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how content gets discovered. AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews synthesize and cite authoritative sources differently than traditional search engines.

Key GEO considerations for PR strategy:

• Authority matters more than volume: AI systems weight sources based on perceived expertise and trustworthiness

• Structured, quotable content wins: Clear, authoritative statements get cited by AI systems; corporate jargon renders you invisible

• Long-tail value increases: AI systems cite quality coverage months after publication

• Message consistency is algorithmic essential: Inconsistent narratives across sources create incoherent AI-generated summaries

Building a Measurement Framework That Drives Decisions

Effective PR measurement requires organizational culture change. Set clear success metrics, maintain consistent measurement frameworks across campaigns, conduct regular strategic reviews, and integrate communications metrics with broader business KPIs like web traffic, lead generation, and customer acquisition.

Modern PR measurement isn't about creating impressive-looking reports—it's about demonstrating genuine commercial value and making evidence-based strategic decisions that drive business outcomes.

About Heft: We help New Zealand organizations move beyond vanity metrics to measurement frameworks that demonstrate real business impact and drive strategic decision-making in an evolving media landscape.

Building Trust in NZ Business: 5 Strategies for Volatile Times

With political instability and declining institutional trust, New Zealand businesses must step up. Recent conferences on housing, energy, and geopolitics reveal a troubling trend: misinformation, polarisation, and eroding social cohesion threaten organisational resilience across Aotearoa.

The Optus triple zero outage—which saw three deaths and regulatory fallout—shows how quickly reputational credit evaporates. For Kiwi businesses urged to boost productivity amid volatility, the question is clear: how do we build consensus and trust when political leaders can't?

1. Treat Misinformation Like a Communicable Disease

Prevention beats cure. Protect your organisation through early detection systems—platforms like Reddit flag emerging reputation risks. Disinformation requires coordinated response across government, business, and civil society.

2. Prioritise Human Connection

People trust people, not algorithms. New Zealand's 2023 local elections proved this: Chatham Islands hit 68.34% turnout, Kaikōura 59.37%—versus Auckland's 28%. Smaller communities leverage personal relationships, demonstrating a national superpower we can all harness.

3. Strengthen Governance Structures

Stakeholders distinguish between unavoidable crises and governance failures—the latter destroys trust faster. Build systems enabling rapid response and meaningful stakeholder collaboration.

4. Design for Worst-Case Scenarios

Average-case planning fails in extreme times. Build redundancies for edge cases: localised energy systems, citizens' assemblies like Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira's Porirua initiative, and iwi housing partnerships create resilient infrastructure.

5. Maintain Always-On Trust Building

Trust compounds—positively and negatively. Organisations need consistent, active trust-building strategies. This requires focus and humility, not just resources.

Key takeaway: Arrogance kills influence. Your current actions matter more than past achievements. Build trust actively to create organisational resilience against uncertainty.

New Zealand's Energy Crisis: What the Frontier Economics Report Means for Kiwi Households and Businesses

The government's response to the Frontier Economics report has sparked debate across New Zealand's energy sector. While addressing key concerns like dry year risk, gas shortages, and Lake Onslow, the tepid political reaction overlooks a critical reality: electricity bills are forcing Kiwis to go hungry and businesses to close.

Energy industry expert Vic Crockford identifies eroding social license as the sector's biggest challenge. With power costs now the second-largest financial stressor after rent for vulnerable New Zealanders, and consumer prices outpacing income growth, public skepticism about our energy system is intensifying.

However, promising developments emerge from the announcement. A strengthened Electricity Authority with greater monitoring powers, combined with government investment in community energy projects and locational generation solutions, signals potential for innovation. Iwi-led and community-governed energy initiatives are already demonstrating how local power generation can reduce costs and grid demand.

For New Zealand's energy future, three priorities emerge: transparent stakeholder engagement, strategic positioning for government funding opportunities, and regulatory readiness for enhanced Authority oversight.

Learn more about how energy policy impacts New Zealand communities and businesses.

"How many people work for you?" This is a question I get asked frequently. My response is always the same: "How many do you need?"

Read Vic's full thoughts on why, in a world of constant change, flexibility isn't just a business strategy—it's the ultimate competitive advantage.

Heft is proud to announce the appointment of Sarah Johnson as our new General Manager.   

Sarah steps into this leadership role with a mandate to drive Heft's continued growth, strengthen its position as a bold and strategic industry leader, and expand the firm's influence across New Zealand's communications landscape.