Question:
Which of the following is an example of earned media?
- A word-of-mouth buzz initiated by a group of satisfied customers of a hotel
- An artist’s Pinterest page where she shares her paintings
- An ad placed in a magazine
- A company’s salesperson
- A company’s website that is both informational and interactive
How does earned media create challenges for a company or brand?
- The promotional messages posted are not considered trusted information sources.
- The promotional messages created by customers are out of a marketing manager’s control.
- Earned media does not help a firm attract a potentially large audience.
- Earned media lets customers easily avoid company-generated messages.
- Earned media attracts customers to websites.
Answer:
1: An artist’s Pinterest page where she shares her paintings
Earned media refers to free publicity gained by promotional efforts other than paid media. Hence Pinterest is a promotional effort and gives free publicity to the advertiser. Word of mouth buzz is not an effort of the advertiser. Remaining options are paid advertising.
2: The promotional messages created by customers are out of a marketing manager’s control.
Since this is a free medium the customers can create message which cannot be monitored by the manager. The earned media is created by the advertiser and hence is a trusted source. It may attract a large audience and is unrelated to company generated messages. Attracting customers to websites is an advantage rather than a challenge.