‘Earned media’ is bad branding for good PR

I’m just going to come out and say (actually, write) this – I can’t stand the term “earned media”. Coming from a PR person, shocking I know. It may be an unpopular opinion, however, there is method behind my disdain.

The term ‘earned media’ is emblematic of a PR industry that has become self-entangled in marketing-speak and corporate nonsense, and nor does it represent what goes into achieving coverage for your client.

Of course, this industry loves an acronym and ‘earned media’ fits neatly into how media exposure has now become defined – POEM (Paid, Owned, Earned Media) and the more recent PESO (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned). Paid media I get – that’s called advertising; owned media – yep, that’s a company’s website or online newsletter; shared – of course, that’s social media, but ‘earned’? Nope. (Ironically, the PESO model is attributed to Gini Dietrich, founder of communications firm Arment Dietrich…through her PR blog Spin Sucks).