Source: Influence Communications

Cost-effective on all fronts

Montreal, November 3, 2009 – Having received special permission from its client Cirque du Soleil, Influence Communication has been authorized to release the results of its financial assessment of the media coverage generated by Guy Laliberté’s spaceflight. The total advertising value of the news item’s worldwide media coverage (radio, television, Internet and newspaper) between June 4 and October 14, 2009, stands at CAN$592,425,679.34. It has also been evaluated that 92% of this value was realized between the peak period of September 30 and October 14, during which the One Drop Foundation show was broadcast. This is a conservative estimate, because despite the fact that a media article or report carries much more credibility than an advertisement, the analysts at Influence did not assign added weight to the news value, applying instead a 1 to 1 ratio.

In general, all major media outlets reported the news, giving it a moderate amount of attention. Based on the readership and audience monitoring of the various media, it is estimated that approximately 878.8 million people may have been exposed to the news in 71 countries. Of these, 23% were Americans. The news item carried by the electronic media represented more than 28,300 minutes of airtime, the equivalent of 19.6 days of continuous broadcasting.

With 92.5% of the coverage value, television was the primary witness to the event, broadcasting reports averaging 1 minute 57 seconds in length. It was calculated that 73.5% of the televised coverage value originated abroad.

The average length of newspaper and Internet articles was 270 words. However, in all of the large markets, certain major dailies published articles of a half-page or longer.

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