Frequently used terms in marketing with regard to media – Paid, Owned & Earned. While each kind is required to create brand awareness, a combination of the 3 works best.
Paid Media
A straightforward explanation is where the media is paid for by the brand, whether traditional or digital advertisements, a sponsorship for an event, hoardings etc. These tools while expensive are in the control of the brand in terms of frequency, content and tone are concerned. The brand can decide to air the TV advertisement as many times as it sees fit, based on the budget.
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Owned media
These are tools which are created and maintained by the brand. Some of the examples are brochure, website, email campaigns and social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. The cost of creating and maintaining these tools are moderate and the control is with the Brand. The Brand can be at its creative best to reach its targeted audiences through these.
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Earned Media
This is probably the kind which needs most concerted effort and consistency while it is not very predictable. The best example of Earned media is customer speak, media mentions and WoM. Though it is referred to as ‘earned’ there is a cost involved, which is in terms of:
- Careful identification of the various influencers viz. media, bloggers, analysts, customers etc.
- The time & effort invested to build relations with them
- The effort invested to educate them by creating and seeding relevant and meaningful content
- Customer service to fulfil the promise made in the paid and owned media and also during the sales pitch.
- Ensuring consistent brand experiences across customer touch points
While earned media is the most important and effective kind it needs a concerted effort, patience and careful implementation of the paid & owned media. The underlying principle is the foundation of Influencer marketing and involves a deep understanding of what is relevant to one’s brand.
In most small businesses the CEO also takes the ownership of marketing and due to stretched schedules, marketing takes a back seat. Having a fractional CMO will ensure consistency and focus, which will bring in best results.
However it is important to understand that CMO’s are not one man miracle workers, they will work with your marketing team, directing their efforts to get things done.
