The Three Kinds of Media Attention (Earned, Paid, Owned)

Why this matters

Conflating earned, paid, and owned media leads to misaligned expectations — a press placement and a sponsored post are not interchangeable, and treating them as such burns budget and credibility simultaneously. Understanding the three categories tells you what each can and cannot do for a brand at every stage of growth.

Try it yourself

1. List three recent brand touchpoints you encountered (an article, an ad, a blog post) and classify each as earned, paid, or owned — note which felt most credible and why.
2. For your own product, identify one example of each media type you currently use and check whether the goals you have set for each match what that category is actually capable of delivering.
3. Find a competitor's recent press coverage and determine whether it was earned (journalist-initiated or pitch-driven) or paid (sponsored content label, affiliate disclosure) — the distinction is usually visible in the byline or URL.

References

• PESO Model — Gini Dietrich / Spin Sucks