Earned media is where it’s at because:
- It’s the most valuable (we all know that word of mouth is the most effective form of advertising)
- It’s free! No need so spend ad dollars to get your message out because your loyal consumers are doing it for you.
And how do we get earned media? Quite simply, by creating ideas worth sharing.
This being said, its rare that a company would generate a significant share of earned media on its own without some convergence or integration with either paid or owned media.
Here are some examples of marketers doing it right and really leveraging their own media to gain a large share of earned media.
“I’m sorry” video – In 2009, O.B. tampons went missing from store shelves due to a temporary supply interruption leading to a national outcry. When the tampons eventually came back, O.B. was armed with an apology song accompanied with a cheesy video of a handsome musician serenading the audience on his piano. Even better, the song could be customized to the viewer – before watching the video the viewer is asked to type their name in and then see it appear all throughout the song (tattooed on the singer’s arm, written across the sky, etc.) in an over the top, but incredibly charming and uplifting video. While the apology video no longer runs, you can see the video below to get a sense of the campaign. Imagine your name in place of “Heather”!
“Booty Break” interactive website – When L’oreal launched its new line of Vichy products, CelluDestock, it launched it through its “Booty Break” campaign which featured an online interactive website of different men stripping down to their boxers and allowing you to select a man (and watch them shuffle down a line as you evaluate each booty before picking one) and then clicking buttons like “wiggle”, “dance” and “flex” to truly enjoy their bootys! While bootybreak.com is no longer accessible, you can check out the teaser below to get a sense of the concept.
By spending the money upfront to create creative media, both L’oreal and O.B. were able to capture a huge portion of earned media. Both of these are great examples of how to tactically converge owned and earned media to get an attractive return on your marketing initiatives!