What is AVE and how do you calculate it?
AVE, or advertising value equivalency, expresses the value of editorial coverage as what the same space or airtime would cost as advertising. The formula is the size of the coverage multiplied by the outlet's advertising rate. It gives a fast, recognizable number, but it is contested because editorial attention and advertising are not truly comparable.
Written by Timon Hendriks · Last updated on 21 October 2026
How it works in practice
The formula is AVE = size of the coverage × advertising rate. In print, an article filling half a page in a paper that charges $20,000 for a full-page ad has an AVE of $10,000. Online, agencies use the site's CPM instead: 40,000 estimated views at a $25 CPM give an AVE of $1,000. Add up every clipping for one total per campaign or period. Some agencies multiply that total by two or three, arguing that editorial coverage is more credible than an ad, but AMEC's Barcelona Principles reject both AVE as a measure of PR value and these multipliers.
Use AVE as a rough indication and a comparison over time, not as absolute truth. The metric says nothing about the article's tone, whether your audience read it, or what it produced. Combine it with reach, sentiment, and share of voice, and where possible with website traffic or inquiries that publications generate.
Example
A Wisconsin cheesemaker lands a large feature in a national paper, two trade articles, and a radio segment in one quarter. The PR agency calculates what equivalent ad space would have cost and reports that AVE to the board, alongside the reach and sentiment of the publications. The board sees at a glance that the campaign returned more than it cost.
Common mistake
Presenting AVE as earned money. It is a comparison metric, not revenue; whoever sells AVE as a hard result undermines trust in every following PR report.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate AVE?
Multiply the size of the coverage (column space, seconds of airtime or online views) by the outlet's advertising rate for that format. Half a page at a full-page rate of $20,000 gives $10,000; 40,000 online views at a $25 CPM give $1,000. Add up the clippings for a campaign total.
Why is AVE contested?
Because editorial coverage and advertising differ fundamentally: you do not control the message, and a critical article weighs as heavily in AVE as a glowing one. Modern PR measurement combines several metrics instead.