AMEC Awards 2026
Best use of new technology in communications measurement (non-AI)
Earned media is just that: earned. PR professionals are able to deliver their messages through storytelling and relationship building. This is in contrast to other marketing disciplines, where attention is bought.
In this deep dive article, we will firstly explain what our Attention metrics are and how they are calculated - then show how to add them to a Releasd report.
1. Available attention metrics in Releasd
Releasd measures attention in two ways:
Attention Earned (hours)
This metric answers the following question: "How much attention did our online coverage capture?" For example: 950 hours.
Attention Cost Estimate, or ACE (£, $ or €)
This metric answers the following question: "How much would need to be spent on digital ads to buy the same amount of attention?" For example: £38k.
Taken together, PR professionals can demonstrate their ability to capture audience attention at scale - without the need for a media budget.
2. How attention measurement works
See Releasd's attention metrics in action below:
Why is measuring attention in PR so important?
PR and advertising differ in many ways, but both have to capture attention. Without it, messages cannot be conveyed and audiences cannot be driven to action.
Most online ads are sold on impressions (the number of times an ad is served). Two ads served 1,000 times each cost the same, even if one captivates its audience, and the other is ignored.
That business model is changing. Large eye-tracking studies have been measuring how much attention different ad formats actually capture. As a result, ad platforms are starting to sell attention rather than impressions.
It's an important shift that the PR industry should be aware of.
Phone cameras and webcams can be leveraged to accurately track eye movements.
Source: The Challenge of Attention, Ebiquity
Attention now has a market price, and we can estimate how much attention your coverage earned. Together, those tell us what it would cost to buy the same attention through ads.
This in turn enables the PR industry to better demonstrate its USP: to capture audience attention purely through art and skill - rather than paying for it.
How Attention Earned (hours) is calculated
We measure the length (word count) of each online article in your report
We source the average amount of focused attention given to editorial articles of that length, based on data from third party studies
We multiply the amount of focused attention per article by that article's Coverage Views
This gives us the Attention Earned per article
This can be totalled across all online coverage in a report and displayed as an overall Attention Earned figure
How ACE (£, $, €) is calculated
We multiply Attention Earned by the average cost of 1,000 seconds of ad attention, based on data provided by ebiquity.
This gives us the ad spend needed to purchase the same amount of attention, shown in £, $ or €.
How ACE differs from AVE
AVE (Advertising Value Equivalency) is discredited.
ACE (Attention Cost Estimate) is a modern, credible metric that has been recognised by AMEC.
Here's how the two metrics differ:
Attention, not dimensions
AVE prices the column inches or dimensions of coverage, which say nothing about whether anyone noticed it. ACE prices the attention that coverage earned.
Named, published sources
Attention and cost benchmarks come from published third-party research and are updated as new data emerges.
No multipliers
AVE is often inflated by an arbitrary multiplier, commonly 3x. This implies that PR is three times 'better' than advertising.
ACE has no multiplier.
A cost comparison, not a value claim
ACE estimates what the attention captured by earned media would cost to buy.
It does not claim that is what your coverage is worth, or that reading an article and seeing an ad are the same experience.
How attention measurement helps prove the power of PR
Clients still ask agencies for AVE because they want a commercial number. In-house teams need data that holds up next to paid media.
Attention Earned and ACE give both, without AVE's flaws.
They also show what PR does that ads can't: earn meaningful attention at scale, with zero media spend.
Video: our CEO's talk on attention measurement at the global AMEC conference
3.How to add attention metrics to a Releasd report
Follow these steps to activate attention measurement and add metrics to a report.
i) Add online coverage
Drag the Online Coverage widget into your report and enter your URLs.
ii) Add at least one chart to trigger article scraping
Add at least one of the following from the Charts & Graphs widget onto your report:
Mentions
Prominence
Key Message Penetration
Sentiment
Perception
Recall
iii) Add a Summary Metrics widget
Drag the Summary Metrics widget onto your report.
iv) Select your attention metrics
Attention Earned is shown in hours.
For ACE, choose £, $ or €.
v) Save the widget
Figures update automatically as you add online coverage.
