The PRToolFinder tools database is updated regularly, and occasionally I like to highlight tools that take a different approach. One such tool redefining media metrics in the media monitoring and measurement category is Memo.co. After a recent demo, I’ve added Memo to both the media contact database and market research categories due to its versatility.
Founded in 2019, Memo is the only platform reporting unique visitors to earned media coverage at the article level, directly from publishers. For years, PR has struggled to prove ROI, relying on impressions and volume metrics that fail to demonstrate true impact. Memo’s focus on readership redefines media metrics to provides accurate, actionable insights for PR and communications teams while proving earned media’s value to publishers.
Memo addresses a core issue: PR and communications often lack the data to prove real bottom-line ROI. Without Memo, professionals can only claim “potential” reach in the billions—numbers that often mean little to stakeholders. In contrast, Memo empowers PR teams to say, “We earned one million readers,” offering clarity and credibility.
Why Readership Matters
The media industry is often undervalued due to outdated measurement practices like impressions. Memo aims to reshape how brands assess earned media by accurately measuring readership. Partnering directly with publishers, Memo provides unique visitor data at the article level, redefining how PR professionals evaluate impact.
Beyond Volume and Impressions
Metrics like volume and impressions treat all coverage equally, masking critical performance insights. Memo illustrates this through a comparison: one section of a major daily had 571% more readers than another, yet impressions reported them as equal. This disparity highlights the limitations of traditional metrics, which can mislead and undervalue PR efforts.
Memo introduces “Share of Readership” (SOR) to uncover the true impact of earned media. For example, in a three-month analysis of two enterprise giants:
- Company A’s 5,125 articles garnered 24.6M readers across 230 publications.
- Company B’s 4,618 articles reached 34.4M readers across 253 publications.
Though Company A had more coverage, Company B attracted 16% more readers, securing 58% SOR compared to Company A’s 42%. These insights prompt deeper analysis: which topics, publications, and reporters drive higher readership? What strategies can close gaps or extend leads? Volume and impressions only tell part of the story.
Accessible to All
Memo works with major brands like Google and Walmart but has also introduced options for smaller agencies and solo practitioners. Programs can start as low as $2k annually and typically include a full reporter database and a topic dashboard. The combination of the database and the topic dashboard enables agencies and brands of all sizes to provide actionable insights into which publications, reporters, and topics attract readers. Which should be the goal of all PR.