Paid, Owned, Earned: Maximizing Marketing Returns in a Socially Connected World

Opening with the premise that brands can maximize their marketing impact by strategically combining original content with content generated by others, Burcher widens his lens to examine how communication has changed with the introduction of new media and higher speeds of dissemination%E2%80%94and what this means for marketers. Burcher breaks media into three categories: "paid placements that promote content," owned media ("any asset owned by the brand," whether it be a website or a Coca-Cola vending machine), and earned media ("brand-related consumer actions and conversations"). Using a litany of examples in both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer spaces, Burcher (Head of Social Media and Digital Innovation at ZenithOptimedia) illustrates how trends like Zynga's Farmville and Nintendo's Wii Fit promotion gained ground through a combination of careful planning and, of course, luck. Interweaving technical tips for social media and search engine optimization, in addition to sociological insights into crowdsourcing and the pros and cons of user-generated content, Burcher's study of the marketing and branding zeitgeist is informative, comprehensive, and nuanced. Readers hoping for the magic bullet for achieving viral dissemination of their content won't find it here, but those interested in learning more about how to better engage an audience are sure to pick up applicable insights, regardless of their industry. (Apr.)