Most companies evaluating a PR agency ask some version of the same question: What do I get? They hear about the number of placements, unique monthly visitors, and media lists, but those don’t tell the whole story. Fifty articles in the wrong publications matter less than three in the right ones.

A better question is whether your media presence beats your competitors’. Share of Voice (SOV) measures that, tracking how much of the industry conversation belongs to you instead of your rivals.

Our research has found that more than 9 in 10 enterprise buyers weigh coverage from the past 90 days when they assess a vendor's credibility. That makes your first quarter decisive, though not because of a placement quota. The first 90 days build the messaging, media relationships, and news pipeline required for sustained visibility.

Share of Voice Is a Relative Number

When your SOV is 5%, buyers find your rivals far more often than they find you. At 60%, you are the company that keeps showing up. You appear in trade publications, analyst commentary, and the AI-generated summaries that now shape vendor research.

You can land 20 articles in a quarter and still lose if your closest competitor lands 40. SOV puts your media presence in context against the companies fighting for your deals.

From Last Place to First

In a recent year-long engagement with Treble, a cybersecurity client started at a 5.5% SOV, dead last in its category. Even with a strong solution and real traction with customers, the company was basically unknown to the media.

Over four quarters, its SOV climbed to 28%, dipped to 15% during a quiet product cycle, recovered to 22%, and finished at 61%, ahead of the market leader that had opened the year at more than 50%.

In that final quarter, the program produced 72 unique media hits, a 260% jump from the prior quarter. A single feature in a major national publication drove a 42% surge in website traffic.

That final quarter was not due to more pitching but the payoff from a foundation built over months: product launches, a proprietary research report, executive bylines, analyst briefings, and a killer awards program.

Each win built the next. A product launch gave reporters a reason to know the company, research data kept them engaged in industry trends, executive commentary positioned leaders as experts, analyst briefings added third-party validation, and awards delivered social proof. This is how PR compounds.

Why the First 90 Days Set the Trajectory

The Q2 dip from 28% to 15% is just as instructive as the Q1 breakout. Coverage fluctuates. Successful PR programs rarely climb in a straight line, and the first 90 days establish the foundation. That initial period proves whether the program has the right positioning, the right media targets, and enough newsworthy material to survive a slow news cycle.

A strong first quarter creates lasting relationships. Journalists who cover your launch are the ones who open your research report three months later. Analysts who take your briefing start citing you. The company stops being new and starts being familiar.

A weak first quarter signals deep cracks: bad positioning, a lack of milestones, or a story the market ignores. More pitching will not fix that.

Why Continuity Wins

Companies that hold SOV leadership treat PR as a continuous signal rather than a campaign. Buyers need repeated exposure, and so do the AI systems that now summarize vendors from recent earned media.

Sustained presence beats a short burst of coverage. Instead of trying to win a single quarter, aim to become part of the baseline conversation that buyers, analysts, and AI systems encounter when they evaluate your market.

If you want to know where your Share of Voice stands, reach out to Treble. For our full findings on AI-driven vendor discovery, download The AI Shortlist: The New Rules of B2B Buying.