(This post is an excerpt from an earlier Measurement Standard post "The State of Measurement Standards January 2013: It’s a Bridge, it’s a Bridge!" It is provided here to provide a quick way for readers to find standards on how to calculate impressions. See the earlier post for more background, detail, and standards.)
The Coalition has released two standards-setting papers for the PR industry. The first, “Proposed Interim Standards for Metrics in Traditional Media Analysis," by Marianne Eisenmann, offers recommendations for how to calculate some of the most commonly debated data points in traditional media analysis.
How to Calculate Impressions
- Reach The scope or range of distribution that a given communication product has in a targeted audience group; broadcasting, the net unduplicated (also called “deduplicated”) radio or TV audience for programs or commercials as measured for a specific time period.
- Circulation Number of copies of a publication as distributed.
- Impressions Number of people who might have had the opportunity to be exposed to a story that has appeared in the media (aka opportunity to see (OTS))
- Impressions do not equal awareness Awareness needs to be measured using other research tools. Impressions are indicative of the opportunity to see (OTS). Consider OTS as an alternative nomenclature to better clarify what impressions really means – [the] potential to see/read.
- Multipliers Should never be used.
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Please note: We encourage you to comment on these developing standards. However, we suggest you go to the IPR site and read the entire paper first, then post your comment there.
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many… Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders... But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” 
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