Cision Webcast Proceeds After Brief Earthquake Disruption

The dynamic of paid, earned, and owned media was discussed during Cision’s webcast about the future of media on Tuesday. The format included a rapid-fire session with fifteen questions and thirty speakers in sixty minutes. To shake things up a bit more, the webcast took place shortly after the East coast earthquake hit. Discussions during the webcast confirmed recent media trends that relate to PR.

Paid media no longer wholly dominant: “Earned media must be part of your marketing plan from the start. You can only get so far by talking to your customers through paid and owned media,” Andrea Foote, senior PR manager at PepsiCo said.

Owned media has many benefits: “Creating owned content shows that a company is tapped into the market and is a good way to get customers to rally and take action,” said Deirdre Breckenridge, president and executive director at fashion brand Mango.

“Owned content needs to evolve, and the best content is ‘how to’ or informative and helps people with different aspects of their lives,” Sam Rosen, co-founder, ThoughtLead added.

Social networks increase two-way interaction with media: “Social media is breaking down the barriers and providing more access to journalists since anyone can follow reporters on Twitter and Facebook,” Amanda Miller Littlejohn, founder of Mopwater PR said.

PR more accountable through digital media tools: “Until now PR has been less accountable for direct sales. Now with analytics tools, you can track conversions and leads and better account for revenues,” Jason Falls, founder of Social Media Explorer stated.

“Metrics vary according to the campaign, such as the number of user-generated videos or product submissions. It is important to be able to track results during a campaign to see if it is achieving the desired result,” added Heather Whaling, founder of Geben Communication.

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