It has long been held by public relations practitioners that public relations media
placement have a relative value advantage over advertising when the messages employed by
both are similar. Those arguing for such an advantage claim a “multiplier” of perceived
impact on readers and report the magnitude of such a multiplier has reportedly ranged
anywhere from 2.5 to 8.0 time that of an equivalent advertisement (Weiner & Bartholomew,
2006). There is no available documentation of this multiplier and a review of extant
literature calls into question not only the range of such a multiplier but also whether the effect exists at all.