Impressions

Impressions are a measure of how many potential readers, viewers, or listeners were reached by a placement in media. It is usually equivalent to the circulation number in the case of print (i.e., newspaper, magazine), estimated viewership or listeners for broadcast outlets (i.e., television, radio) or page views and unique visitors for Web content (i.e., online publications, blogs). With broadcast, audience numbers vary depending on the time of the newscast. With print, pass-along rates are often extrapolated and taken into account in addition to merely relying on circulation numbers. Most good media databases (i.e., Vocus, Cision) and monitoring services (i.e., TV Eyes, Critical Mention) provide these numbers. As no service is completely comprehensive, directing inquiries directly to the media outlets is sometimes still necessary. Media buyers also are a good source for these numbers.

The exact number of people reached can never really be determined, but impressions are the closest estimates available, keeping in mind they do not gauge an actual “impression” that individual audience members retain of the media clip and its message. Therefore, while impressions are a good tally of potential audience reach, they cannot definitively predict the actual imprint left by the coverage. Sometimes tone of the piece helps to determine the likelihood of the latter.

Impressions usually come into play as a tool used in the evaluation stage of a public relations campaign or initiative when trying to determine reach. While impressions are considered a good measure by many communicators, other professionals in the field do not consider it to be a valid account of reach due to its decidedly quantitative [Page 442]nature. A more qualitative approach comes through measuring the actual effect of a news clip, such as inquiries received as a direct result, or measuring a marked improvement in sales, business, or traffic. However, from a statistical standpoint impressions are a useful evaluation tool as potential audience numbers can give practitioners an idea of reach, with higher numbers increasing the odds of message dissemination.