Media Coverage ≠ Impact
Headlines don’t prove ROI. Discover why media coverage is a vanity metric, and how to measure communication by real impact: trust, behaviour, and outcomes. Agencies love to brag about “media coverage.” The number of headlines. The stack of clippings. The glossy PDF full of logos. But here’s the truth: media coverage without impact is just wallpaper. It looks nice, but it doesn’t fill the room. If your audience doesn’t think differently, feel differently, or act differently, all you’ve got is noise. Coverage vs. Impact: The Real Difference Coverage = visibility. Did the story run? Was the brand mentioned? Impact = outcomes. Did people shift their thinking, trust more, or act differently because of that story? One gets you attention. The other moves your business forward. Why Counting Headlines is a Vanity Metric No one remembers logos on a PDF. What people remember is how a story made them think differently. Volume doesn’t equal influence. Ten tiny pickups in ...