Paid vs. Earned Media

There are two types of media PR agencies strive to secure for their clients, paid and earned. While it may seem self-explanatory, it’s important for clients to understand the difference in the types of media coverage available.

Paid | Paid media is when PR agencies work with a magazine or freelance journalist to create a story about the brand for a fee. These articles are generally single-brand stories and the client can control the article narrative. When magazines and freelancers publish paid media stories they often have to put a disclaimer on the article denoting the paid content. Paid media stories can come off as less genuine because the magazines and freelancers are earning a profit and it doesn’t always mean that they genuinely like the brand or product. While most of the time the journalist likes the brand/product it can be unclear for readers.

Earned | Earned media is when PR agencies pitch journalists about their clients. If journalists are interested in the brand/product they may ask for samples for testing. Once testing is complete and the journalist likes the product they may write about it in an upcoming piece. This is different from paid media because the journalist gets to decide when they write about the brand/product and the content because there is no payment involved. The finished article generally includes the author’s raw feelings and may result in a positive or neutral review. Negative reviews are very rare because if journalists don’t like the brand/product they won’t spend time writing about it. Earned media can result in a large brand story or a mention in a product round-up. The fate of the brand inclusion is in the hands of the journalist. Article placements are all about timing. Journalists periodically get assigned stories and PR agencies must catch them at the right time.

*If you are interested in getting earned and paid media placements for your clients connect with us! Contact SPARKS here.