In the Brand Marketing mix of Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned (PESO), Earned is the outlier for many reasons. Least predictable, tangible and percentage of overall marketing budgets are three key reasons, of many, for the label. The value of the Third-Party Endorsement (exclusive to Earned), and its’ ability to lift all other marketing channel activities, is what keeps Earned as an indispensable tool for successful brands to wield.
Why can’t Earned Media be predictable, tangible and scalable?
This notion that Public Relations (PR) has to be intangible and unpredictable is at the core of the PR industry’s history. Why?
Innovative brands (and the successful Earned Media marketing minds driving their strategies) are disproving that characterization every day. Nike is an example of the many savvy brands (established or emerging) who are forging paths to success through Earned Media.
Most refer to PR as “art,” but these brands show there is “science” that we all should consider. For some, Earned Media is formulaic (A + B =Third Party Endorsement), predictable and scalable.
Failing before launch in many cases, the daily reality is that thousands of brand PR pitches are being deleted by their intended media targets without being opened. The difference between that reality and achieving successful Earned Media outcomes is in “controlling the controllables.”
Every Earned Media goal a brand can set, has a tangible path leading there. The first step is identifying/creating the unique equation that is authentic to both the brand and the media target.
Learn more on how “controlling the controllables” can benefit your brand's Earned Media equation.