SABRE Innovations 2025 Measurement Winner
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PRFX, a proprietary earned media measurement model developed by Hahn (formerly the Hahn Earned Lift Model), is transforming the way brands evaluate the real impact of PR and earned media on sales. The model, a product of Hahn Labs, demonstrated a staggering 23X return on investment (ROI) for a leading national quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand, setting a new industry standard for PR measurement. It was recently recognized with the prestigious SABRE Innovations 2025 Measurement Award.
“For decades, brands have struggled to quantify the true value of earned media. Traditional measurements have focused on the media’s response to PR efforts,” said Michael Griebe, chief data officer at Hahn Labs. “PRFX changes the game. We measure the public’s response to the media. By applying advanced data analytics, behavioral economics, and economic geography we measure how the media buzz translates into changes in customer behaviors.”
The Proof: PRFX Solves PR ROI Dilemma for Growing National QSR Brand
Hahn Labs partnered with a national QSR brand’s corporate communications team, data engineers, and financial analysts to implement PRFX. By analyzing a full year of brand sales data and online media mentions, the model uncovered an additional 6.8 million consumer transactions driven by earned media, resulting in $87.8 million in net sales attributed to PR mentions during the designated measurement window and methodology.
“PRFX replaces guesswork with a rigorous two-step methodology of sales impact measurement and sales impact modeling, estimating how different mentions affect sales outcomes,” said Jeff Hahn, principal at Hahn. “Our solution, PRFX, delivers instant estimates, enabling brands to forecast the potential impact of media coverage with unparalleled accuracy—within 5% of actual sales performance—which gives brands an entirely new capability to make data-driven PR investment decisions.”
The development of PRFX all started when singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson promised to have actor Jamie Dornan try Whataburger, her favorite fast food. Not long after, Whataburger set up an in-studio kitchen to help hand-deliver on Kelly’s promise. Objectively, this is a big PR win, involving a national audience, respectable stars, and a dedicated segment. But, when finance looked at the top line revenue the following week, they could not separate the signal from noise. We developed PRFX to do just that. By disaggregating PR reach across geographies and comparing time series to track changes in a population’s purchase behavior, we showed the Clarkson segment generated over 20X the cost of execution in net sales, across 900+ stores and 3 months.
About the Award
Hahn was selected as the Data-Driven Agency of the Year in the prestigious 2025 Innovation SABRE Awards North America. Chosen from over 900 entries across categories such as digital marketing, content creation, brand narratives, integrated social media, video production, and more, this competition honors the most cutting-edge campaign elements. A jury of more than 35 industry leaders evaluated the submissions, making this recognition a true testament to Hahn’s excellence in data and measurement.
About Hahn Labs
Hahn Labs is the research and innovation arm of Hahn, a leading agency specializing in marketing, communications, and earned media analytics. Through cutting-edge measurement solutions like PRFX, Hahn Labs helps brands turn media coverage into quantifiable business success.
For media inquiries, contact:
Tim Weinheimer, Chief Marketing Officer, Hahn
[email protected]
hahn.agency
Media Contact
Tim Weinheimer, Hahn, 1 202-297-1444, [email protected], hahn.agency
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