Media Strategies for an Ever-Evolving Media Landscape

Written By

Airfoil Group

This insights post is a summary of the original blog post published by Airfoil Group. Click here to view the original, full-length blog post.    

The art of media relations has changed over time, and thus your media strategy needs to change alongside it. Our partners at Airfoil Group share some tactics you can use to develop a media strategy that keeps up with the ever-evolving media landscape.

Today’s media landscape is more challenging and intimidating to navigate. It’s no longer as “simple” as pitching major national and international media outlets that align with your target audiences. Social influencers, streaming videos, podcasts, and new media have made picking the right platform and form of media a serious challenge.

While those options are more vast than ever before, they still fall into three overarching categories that have existed for decades: Earned, owned, and paid media. Let’s talk about how you can create the perfect blend of earned, owned, and paid media programs for your brand across traditional, social, and streaming channels. One thing’s for sure: You’ll need an expert strategic partner to optimize and execute the best possible media strategy for your brand.

Always Start With the Story

Most brands begin their media strategy journey with a few high-profile targets in mind: “We want to be on the front page of the New York Times” is a common objective we hear in initial media strategy meetings with our clients. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

However, putting your brand in (positive) headlines in the most prominent publications around the world begins with a few fundamental questions, an often difficult reality check, and an organization-wide willingness to contribute to the effort.

What does your brand seek to accomplish with high-profile media coverage? Is your brand story really a New York Times story? What makes your brand story truly unique, compelling, and coverage-worthy at that level? Are your leaders and other important people at your company available for extensive story-building and media interviews?

The answers to these questions will create the building blocks of your overall media strategy. The massive readership of a mainstream media outlet may not be the best target if your goal is to drive sales of a niche product or service, expand brand awareness into a new audience demographic, recruit talent in a specific location, or highlight innovations to a niche or industry-specific audience. It’s perfectly OK if your brand story isn’t truly Times-worthy in its current form; an expert media strategy partner can help you develop storylines and angles that will help you crack that code.

However, a partner can’t do it alone: They’ll need to interview people throughout your organization to make those storylines as compelling as they can be, and your team will need to be open to additional media targets and creative decisions that can meet your objectives. A world of opportunities to build your brand exists across earned, owned, and paid media.

To learn more about how you can find and navigate the best platforms for your story, check out the full blog post: Create the Best Media Strategy for an Ever-Evolving Media Landscape. 

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