Chapter 13
Owned, Interactive, and Earned Media
uCHAPTER CONTENT
CHAPTER KEY POINTS
1. What do we mean by owned media that organizations control and manage?
2. What are the interactive owned media that are also managed by organizations, and
why is that interactive element important?
3. What are earned media, and how do organizations relate to brand discussions that
are beyond their control?
4. How does multiplatform brand communication work, and why is it important?
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
In this chapter, we will discuss the important developments in digital media and how
online media has changed the face of marketing communication. In particular, we will
discuss the implications of media owned and controlled by the brand, as well as a number
of interactive media forms shape-shifting media and both the challenges and
opportunities they create for marketing communication.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Beyond Paid Media
We will review a wide variety of media forms and organize them into three categories:
owned, interactive, and earned.
Owned media are created and controlled by the organization.
The interactive owned media include two forms—media programs designed by the
organization to unlock two-way communication between the brand and consumers
and social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Earned media, historically has been a public relations concept, and refers to
mentions in the news media. However, in this day of digital media, the concept of
earned mentions has been expanded to include comments in social media. So we’ll
talk about social media both as a type of interactive owned corporate medium in the
sense that a company can have a Facebook page that creates a profile for a brand,
similar to any user, and as an interactive earned medium where users engage in
conversations that can be monitored for brand mentions.
Owned Media: We Own It; We Control It
Owned brand messages are delivered from a company to consumers through channels
controlled by the company. The biggest advantage of owned media is control, but there
are other reasons to consider using this category of media. They are versatile and can be
created for diverse audiences, contact points, and time frames. They can be used to
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address various objectives, but one of the most important is loyalty and the development
of consumer–brand relationships.
Principle: These media represent a constellation of contact points that can be
strategically designed to present a consistent brand image.
A limitation of owned media is that, although you may own the publication or
website, you have little or no control over consumer exposure to it. Supplemental
efforts are needed to drive traffic and get your audience to come to you. For that
reason, some online programs, such as websites, are supported with offline traditional
advertising.
The sections that follow are not inclusive; rather, we compiled a variety of different ideas
to inspire you to think broadly about brand communication opportunities.
Corporate Presence Media
By corporate media, we are talking about things such as the design of a building
or a delivery truck. In IMC planning, we recognize that these are important
contact points that create the visual face of an organization or brand. How they
present the brand image sends an important message.
Environmental Design
What a building looks like—both inside and outside—may reflect the image of the
company and make a brand statement. The point is that design, decor, and physical
appearance send messages about the style and personality of the brand.
Buildings merit recognition for their visual branding. The highly recognized Chrysler
building in New York City, for example, is a classic skyscraper with its dramatic
art-deco crown and spire. It often appears as a logo or graphic image that represents
New York.
It’s not only the exteriors that speak to corporate image; the interiors of buildings and
public spaces also convey messages. McDonald’s is updating its image. In the past
few years, the company has achieved success both in updating its look and feel and
expanding its target market without losing core customers. McDonald’s immense
brand equity makes it possible to update its interior design, from kiddy classic to a
destination for all ages, without taking a hit to its brand persona and hence to its
market share.
Signage
A form of out-of-home media, retail and corporate signs are owned rather than paid.
On-premise signs that identify stores have been with us throughout recorded history
and are today the most ubiquitous form of brand communication. In this complex
environment, an effective sign may be relatively simple, like McDonald’s giant “M,”
or more complex, like those found on the strip in Las Vegas with their large
illuminated and animated visual extravaganzas.
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Some on-premise signs also act like billboards. On the opposite end of the signage
continuum are inexpensive forms, such as yard signs, bumper stickers, and buttons—
the media of political campaigns. Yard signs are temporary and used by real estate
agents as well as politicians. Although they can be tacky, yard signs are public
statements and perform an important function as either a reminder or a motivation to
action.
Appearance
Uniforms as well as delivery trucks are a type of communication media.That’s why
many companies with their own fleet of trucks use unique designs and insist that
drivers keep the trucks clean.
The appearance, attitude, and conduct of staff, who in many businesses are the front
line of customer contact, send other types of messages—both positive and negative.
That’s why most companies have training programs for new employees. Training is
reinforced by ongoing employee relations programs, usually run by either public
relations or human resources.
Branded Media
To take advantage of the value-added power of branding, companies find endless
opportunities in media tools that bear the brand’s name. Using entertainment, for
example, to engage consumers with brands is referred to as branded entertainment.
The goal is to associate the brand with a fun, entertaining experience that creates
positive feelings for the brand.
Film, Fun, and Games
Promotional video networks run sponsored programs and commercials, such as the
channels you see in grocery stores, doctor’s offices, and truck stops, that distribute
commercials by video or satellites to in-store televisions.
McDonald’s is creating its own M Channel with exclusive news, informational, and
entertainment content that will play in McDonald’s stores nationwide. In some cases,
companies may produce films for the Internet where the brand is integrated into the
story line, such as an award-winning and groundbreaking series of eight mini-films
for BMW titled “The Hire.” Similar to television programs with recurring episodes in
a developing story, these webisodes created a new form of Web advertising.
Branded games, in addition to product placement and ads, can showcase a brand
name—an actual video game that is designed around a brand experience. The game is
created and owned by the company.
In addition to films, other media carrying the brand name of a sponsor include events
such as lecture series and exhibits. Samsonite has produced high-quality photographic
desk diaries. Nestlé created a “Milkybar Kid to the Rescue” mass-market paperback
for the children’s market.
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Principle: Branded entertainment associates the brand with a fun experience that
creates positive feelings for the brand.
Naming Rights
Another high-visibility area of branded media is naming rights for events and
buildings. The objective is brand visibility; the benefit to the organization or
municipality is a hefty payment. Naming rights dominate football bowl games and
sports arenas. Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and Coors Field in Denver connect their
towns with local companies, which makes a logical fit for the brand. Universities
name buildings, as well as classrooms, conference rooms, and academic
programs, after alumni and local leaders who give sizable donations.
Principle: Naming rights deliver high visibility for a brand and an association with
an important gathering point, such as sports arenas and public buildings.
The Media of Retail
The retail store is a world of promotion. Packages proclaim brand identities and
merchandising materials attract attention and deliver motivating sales messages.
Packaging
A package is both a container and a communication vehicle. It is the last ad a
customer sees before making the decision to buy a brand. In an attempt to win over
undecided consumers at the point of purchase, many manufacturers create innovative,
eye-catching packages. Even if you can’t afford a big advertising budget, you’ve got a
chance to grab shopper attention if your product has a compelling image on the shelf.
Although the industry has never developed a standard for measuring impressions
from a shelf, advertisers are aware of the billboarding effect of a massed set of
packages, a practice that Pepperidge Farm uses to good effect. Once on the shelf at
home or in the office, the package is a constant brand reminder.
Packages can also deliver customer benefits. For example, recipes for Quaker Oats’
famous Oatmeal Cookies, Nestlé’s Tollhouse Cookies, Chex Party Mix, and
Campbell’s Green Bean Bake all started as promotional recipes on the product’s
packaging and turned into longtime favorites in homemakers’ recipe boxes. There is
even a website for these classic recipes (www .backofthebox.com) that features more
than 1,500 recipes found on packages.
Sometimes, the package itself is the focus of the advertising, particularly if there is a
new size or innovation. Some packages, such as CD covers, can be artwork in and of
themselves. The “A Matter of Principle” feature explains the principle of culturally
specific design as it is used in promotional communication.
Principle: A package is the last ad a customer sees be- fore making a purchase
decision.
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Merchandising Materials
Merchandising materials are the media used in promotions for a store, product, or
event. Manufacturers often provide brand-related window banners, posters, and
freestanding displays. In addition to posters and banners, other media used by
retailers include shelf talkers (signs attached to a shelf that give brand information
and also can invite the consumer to take away some piece of information, such as a
recipe or coupon). Point-of- sales materials, sometimes called point-of-purchase,
provide a special reason to buy.
Other store-based media include end-of-aisle displays, display cartons, banners, signs,
and mechanical product and sample dispensers. All of this is important to motivate
impulse buys.
In terms of store-based merchandising, think about all the different materials that
carry the brand logo and maybe even other information— tray liners, table tents,
coffee cups and sleeves, napkins, and coasters. Posters, signs, or other art are usually
on the walls—sometimes art may be a part of the store’s environmental design, but
signs may also be used to announce special promotions.
Bags and sacks—grocery bags, shopping bags, and other retail bags—are important
brand reminders. Even the stuffers that you find when you open up a pizza box
delivered to your home are part of the merchandising program.
Department stores will sometimes have theme or seasonal promotions where they
bring together related products and create settings in which to display them, such as
beach parties or graduation celebrations. All these props and supporting signage
become theme-related media for the merchandising event.
Principle: The objective of point- of-sale materials is to increase brand visibility, but
they also bring together all the elements of a sale, including the consumer, the
product, and often price deals.
The Owned Media of Public Relations and Promotions
There are a variety of promotional media that are used both in public relations and sales
promotion programs. Here are a few of them:
Videos and Publications
DVDs, flash drives, podcasts, and online video can be used to distribute corporate
videos and films for public relations and promotional programs. Costing $1,000 to
$2,000 per minute to make, videos are not inexpensive. However, they are an ideal
tool for distributing in-depth information about a company or program.
Some companies have taken stock of the YouTube phenomenon and are using online
video to reduce costs and draw attention to messages on corporate websites.
Companies produce huge amounts of publications and literature of various kinds.
Corporate publications include books, magazines, newsletters, special reports, annual
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reports, catalogs, and collateral materials, such as brochures. They may be sent to key
stakeholders as part of a corporate communication program. High-quality brochures
are often produced for new car lines or high-end real estate developments.
oThey can be used as promotional tools and corporate reputation builders. A
number of advertising and marketing communication agencies have published
corporate history books that focus on the thoughts of their founders and the
philosophies of their agencies. Traditionally, books have been printed, but
with the advent of simplified electronic publication, e-books are now being
produced for tablets as well as Nook and Kindle readers.
Publicity Media
Publicity media is designed to encourage news media coverage and is used to support
all types of brand communication programs. Press releases and video news releases
(VNRs) are prepared news stories and features sent to print and television news
media.
Public relations offices assemble press kits that contain such pieces as news releases,
fact sheets, histories, maps, photos, artwork, and position papers, among other
collateral materials designed for different audiences and prepared, perhaps, in
different languages. These pieces may also be on DVDs, flash drives, or online.
Brand Reminders and Rewards
A premium is a tangible reward for a particular act, usually purchasing or
repurchasing a product. Common premiums that reward behaviors are the
matchbooks and mints given away in restaurants. Events use T-shirts as well as an
endless list of freebies, such as cups, caps, stuffed animals, and other souvenirs, most
of which carry the brand’s logo. These are rewards, but they are also brand reminders.
Premiums and prizes also recognize relationships. If you work on a Habitat for
Humanity work site, for example, you may receive a T-shirt or a cap or maybe an
energy bar. Premiums are also used as incentives to add value to a product or event.
Corporate communication and public relations programs, as well as high-end sales
programs, may use gifts. Industry data, for example, may be given to a B2B prospect
on a logo-decorated flash drive. Executive gifts, which are usually high-end
expensive items, are used as special recognition for good B2B customers and sales
contest winners. Sales programs often use competitions to increase excitement among
the sales staff. The prizes can include big-ticket rewards, such as trips to resorts,
beaches, and islands.
Place-Based Media
Place-based media like street-based media and guerilla marketing, create unexpected
personal encounters with a brand, such as painted messages on streets, or people
employed in places with a lot of foot traffic to hand out sales materials, such as
coupons or samples. Sign spinners, or “human directionals,” are hired by local
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businesses to stand on street corners with signs and banners that promote their stores
or special marketing events. To get drivers’ attention, they may appear in costumes or
do little dance routines.
Another form of human media is the flash mob, which began as rehearsed groups of
performers who show up in unexpected places and put on concerts and dances. Some
of these are for fun, but some are commercial.
Owned But Interactive: Let’s Talk
Interactive media are those forms that invite users to participate in or respond
personally to the message. The media format, such as e-mail and Twitter, allows the
organization to initiate communication with consumers, customers, and other
stakeholders. Engagement beyond just exposure is the goal when organizations use
interactive media. Some media, such as texting, are just naturally more interactive
and thus more engaging than owned media.
There are also experiments with traditional media, such as television, that make it
possible for viewers to interact with television messages through a set-top box or
computer-accessible television. Television is not just limited to viewing programs but
has become the center of the digital living room with viewers enjoying new
experiences, such as games and exercise via their Wii players and other video games
that now can be seen on the television screen.
Principle: With interactive media, engagement is the goal.
Corporate Interactive Media
A useful and sometimes exciting type of owned but interactive medium is the digital
display, which invites viewers to interact with data represented graphically on a screen in
front of them on kiosks in public places and lobby walls.
Interactive electronic kiosks with LCD touch-screen computers, databases of
information, full graphics, maps, product photos, and online access are moving into
the aisles in many stores—and malls—where they provide information about more
products than the store can ever stock on its shelves. Viewers can sometimes order
merchandise directly from these kiosks.
New kiosk advances add cameras, and, using facial-identity software, can estimate
the user’s age and gender, making it possible to do more customized responses.
Direct Response Media
The first marketing communication area to recognize the value of interactivity in
brand communication was direct-response marketing (also called direct
advertising). The traditional media of direct response have been mail (letters, flyers,
and catalogs), phone, and now online messages, all of which have some kind of
response device built into the message delivery.
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Most direct-response programs are designed to generate transactions. The goal is to
motivate customers to take action and place an order. Advances in digital technology
make it possible to personalize messages and target tightly to prospects who are
known to be interested. Even some advertising in print and television carries offers
and reply forms to generate a sale.
The big technological changes that made personalized communication possible was
online media combined with databases of consumer information. Such advances
make it possible to target prospects based on their past behavior (what they bought
and what sites they visited).
Technological innovations bring all kinds of new media into direct-response brand
communication. Wi-Fi connected billboards can be interactive and create one-on-one
brand communication opportunities. Tablet and smart phone users can interact with
companies via electronic posters and quick-response (QR) codes. For example, bus
stops can offer users free Internet access to download apps, games, video ads, or
coupons and may even lead to on-the-spot product sales.
Principle: Direct-response media are designed to generate a transaction without a
sales person by motivating a customer to take action and place an order.
Personal Contact Media
Employees and other stakeholders can deliver brand messages. When a friend, family
member, or someone you respect tells you something about a brand, you are likely to
believe it. That includes employees who are often asked for their advice or opinions
on a product or brand. Employee communication programs are designed to help
employees convey strategic information in these critical personal conversations.
Other important avenues for personal communication in business are found in sales
and customer service operations.
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