Why Measuring Progress Is Just as Important as Measuring Outcomes

As a marketer, you’d never expect that a single interaction with a prospect or existing customer would drive a conversion. Progress is usually measured across several stages, from awareness to action.

In media relations, however, we tend to think differently because success is often judged by one single outcome: a piece of coverage. But that logic is too narrow and misses how relationships, reputations and ultimately, impact are built.

This is especially true in times where media landscapes are rapidly changing, and the combination of a great story and a good relationship is more important than ever.

A familiar logic applied to media relations

Models like AIDA or the customer journey exist for a reason and play an important role in any marketer’s training. Both models recognise that influence develops over time.

Each stage reflects progress and creates value.

At Tyto, we believe the same principle should be applied to media relations. That’s why our Golden Circle approach to building relationships with the media and the measurement of this work reflects exactly that.

Relationships with journalists evolve over time: from initial awareness, to interest, to engagement, through to action (media coverage) and ultimately re-engagement.

In short: progression in building relationships is something to be actively tracked and measured, including setting KPIs.

What does success look like?

In my experience, many PR professionals (agency-side and in-house alike) still treat coverage as the only meaningful outcome. Every other activity is simply seen as a step towards that.

We take a more progression-based view. When you do that, journalist interactions are not just inputs towards the ‘one true’ outcome – they become outcomes in their own rights.

Yes, a CEO interview that doesn’t result in coverage immediately straight away is often questioned. Was it worth the CEO’s time? If you look at this from a purely output-driven perspective, that’s a valid concern. But within our Golden Circle, that interaction has (very likely) moved the relationship forward.

Going back to the model, this could mean it has moved a journalist from simply being aware of a business to being genuinely interested in it and much more receptive to future news. Or it could have moved the relationship from an occasional engagement to a much deeper understanding, resulting in proactive outreach from the journalist. It might also be the final interaction (in a series of many relationship-building and information-sharing exercises) that leads to the desired coverage outcome.

The shift in measurement through the Golden Circle might not always be visible in a coverage report but it is critical for long-term impact.

Making progress measurable

Measuring success within the Golden Circle means tracking where each relationship sits and how it evolves over time. In practical terms, it means understanding whether those identified for the Golden Circle are:

• Aware of the company
• Showing interest in its perspective
• Engaging more consistently and meaningfully
• Reporting about the business
• Actively collaborating and seeking input

Movement between these stages is the key success metric. It shows whether relationships are progressing in the right direction, even without immediate output. And what’s more, it provides a clear view of momentum.

Introducing a new layer to impact measurement

This approach doesn’t replace traditional metrics. Audience reach and fit, message pull though, domain authority – all of these remain essential because they show the potential impact that a story can have when it lands. But on their own, they don’t explain why certain outcomes happen or why they don’t.

By adding Golden Circle progression, you introduce a second layer of measurement. For marketing and sales, this logic is intuitive because it closely mirrors how performance is measured across a funnel, rather than as a single moment or interaction.

Impact, but more realistic

We all know very well that impact in media relations is not created in a single moment. Some interactions may lead to direct coverage, other may not. Measuring Golden Circle progression makes this visible and creates a more complete definition of success.

It reflects how influence really develops – interaction by interaction – rather than being judged only at the point that coverage appears.