I would see a lot of value in cross-referencing and breaking down the MRP score against competitive ‘analysis’ information–such as key issues, reporters, media outlets, stakeholders, and regional breakdowns, etc. I think this would help tell the real story behind the final number being presented.

In the end, I think this illustrates that measurement and analysis do have different purposes–and perhaps the best thing to do is marry the two for a more complete picture.

The MRP system can absolutely be used to benchmark and evaluate both you and your competitor’s media coverage.

Any competitive analysis requires the monitoring of a competitor’s media coverage (using your favourite monitoring company). This coverage can then be plugged in to the MRP system to generate an MRP “score” out of 100. Knowing the budget is not necessary for this type of analysis.

The MRP “score”, as referred to by you, is calculated using average tone and average rating; again the budget is not required for this calculation. Budget only comes in to play if you want to determine the ROI or Cost-Per-Contact calculation.

Thanks for becoming a part of the dialogue on MRP. It’s through this type of interaction that we continue to educate the PR industry.