Tuesday, 25 October 2011


"The term has been around since 1988, but it's not truly understood by many.

You can't buy earned media.

It doesn't arrive on schedule.

Earned media isn't free media, because the amount of time and energy and risk you have to expend to get it is hardly free.

It's like all the other things we earn. It is worth more precisely because you cannot simply command it to comply.

[An aside: throughout the history of advertising, ad agencies have rarely, if ever, bought ads for themselves. Worth noting that those that would seek to help you generate earned media are much better at taking their own advice."]

Via Seths Awesome Blog

My 2 cents...

It's always a struggle selling the 'concept' of earned media in to clients. We all do it, we have all experienced it. When a brand offers such a good product or service, we are compelled to tell others ans when others recommend, it is likely to effect our decision making process. But in a world where paying for 'reach' is the norm, things like influence and engagement are sometimes expected to be a consequence of awareness. Not so.

As consumers Social media technology offers us all a platform of influence. We are no longer voices in the wilderness. We all now have the potential to be media outlets in our own right. Whilst buying earned media is somewhat of an oxymoron it IS possible to stimulate earned media by activating and empowering brand advocates. At Testify we have found brand engagement to be much more pro-longed and valuable in terms of conversion when traffic is generated from an advocate as opposed to more traditional paid channels. In fact in many instances we have generated traffic and Facebook Likes for our clients with no paid media whatsoever...

Wednesday, 19 October 2011


AKQA is widely renowned as one of the most respected agencies in the industry and with a HUGE trophy cabinet for campaigns with brands such as Nike (Trainer/Grid) and Fiat (Eco-Drive) it's easy to see why. Founder Ajaz Ahmed offers his view of the industry where it is, where it has been and where its going. Enjoy.