PR ROI Calculator

Public relations has always carried a reputation for being hard to measure. Unlike a paid campaign, coverage does not come with a neat cost per click. That does not mean PR resists measurement. It means you need a consistent way to translate coverage, credibility and influence into numbers a finance team recognises. This calculator gives you a simple, repeatable frame you can run every month.

The model works on two sources of value. The first is earned media value, an estimate of what the reach and credibility of your coverage would be worth. The second is influenced pipeline, which is the number of enquiries PR helped bring in multiplied by your average deal value. Adding these together gives a total attributable value. Dividing that total by your spend gives the ROI ratio.

We frame every output as an estimate on purpose. Attribution in PR is directional, not forensic. A journalist mention, a founder quote in a national title or a citation in an AI answer all shape how buyers see you, often weeks before they enquire. Because the influence is real but diffuse, the honest move is to treat the numbers as a planning guide and to watch the trend over time rather than a single month in isolation.

Used that way, the calculator becomes a conversation starter. If your ratio is climbing, your programme is compounding. If it is flat, it points you towards the levers that move the number, whether that is higher tier coverage, sharper messaging that converts more enquiries, or focusing spend on the channels your buyers actually trust. In India, where discovery increasingly runs through Google, AI Overviews and large language models, the enquiries you influence are shaped as much by where you are cited as by where you advertise.

To get a useful reading, keep your inputs honest and consistent. Use the same method to estimate media value each month. Only count enquiries you can reasonably tie to PR activity. Use a realistic average deal value rather than your largest ever contract. The point is not a flattering headline number. It is a stable signal you can act on.