In a constantly changing media landscape, audiences move between advertisements, news articles, and social media content without a second thought. For brands to cut through the noise, their messaging must be consistent and cohesive across every channel. This is where an integrated communication strategy becomes essential, and the PESO model provides the perfect framework to build one.
The PESO model was introduced by Gini Dietrich in 2014 and has since become a standard in the communications industry. It offers a comprehensive approach that blends Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media to build brand reputation, credibility, and authority. This overview will break down each component of the model and explain how they work together to create powerful, unified campaigns.
The Importance of Integrated Communications
Audiences today don’t consume media in silos. They might see a sponsored post on Instagram, click on a link to a news article, and then visit a company’s website—all within minutes. If the messaging is disjointed across these platforms, the brand’s impact on their audience is weakened.
Integrated communication strategies ensure that you deliver a consistent message everywhere it counts. The PESO model acts as a unifying framework, empowering companies to create impactful messages that resonate, regardless of the channel. As digital tools like social media and website capabilities evolve, the opportunities to leverage this model have only grown, making it a crucial tool for building a solid brand reputation.
Paid Media: Amplifying Your Reach
Paid media refers to any content you pay to promote. This includes everything from social media ads and sponsored posts to search engine marketing and influencer partnerships. The primary goal of paid media is to amplify your message, increase visibility, and target specific demographics with precision.
To execute a successful paid strategy, you must know your audience inside and out—this is where a full-service marketing company comes in handy. Media buyers, creative teams, and data analysts collaborate to ensure that ad spending is directed effectively, reaching the right people with the right message.
Paid Media at Work:
For example, a senior housing consulting firm could use targeted social media and retargeting ads to promote its webinars and services. This approach helps them generate leads and build brand awareness among their specific target audience, establishing them as a top choice for consulting services.
Earned Media: Building Credibility
Earned media is the publicity you gain through organic means, such as media coverage, positive reviews, and word-of-mouth endorsements. Unlike paid media, you don’t purchase this exposure—you earn it through strategic public relations and building a strong reputation. Its purpose is to build credibility and establish your brand as a trusted authority in your field.
Experienced PR practitioners and media relations specialists are key players here. They work to pitch stories, position spokespeople as experts, secure award nominations, and draft thought leadership content such as op-eds.
Earned Media at Work:
Consider a nonprofit focused on helping veterans experiencing homelessness. Their PR team could pitch their leaders as experts on issues relevant to the organization to news outlets. By securing media placements and awards, they solidify the organization as the go-to expert in its field, raising awareness and enhancing its reputation without a large advertising budget.
Shared Media: Fostering Community
Shared media encompasses the content that is shared on social platforms, both by your brand and by your audience. It’s about more than just broadcasting your message; it’s about fostering interaction, building engagement, and creating a community around your brand.
Success in shared media isn’t just about what you post, but how your audience interacts with and shares your content. In an agency setting, social media managers and content creators are responsible for developing posts that spark conversation and encourage user participation.
Shared Media at Work:
A nonprofit behavioral health provider, for instance, might use its social media channels to promote outreach events and share valuable resources. By engaging with followers and encouraging them to share posts, the organization establishes itself as a trusted community resource, building a loyal following that advocates for its mission.
Owned Media: The Foundation of Your Story
Owned media includes all the content and platforms that your brand controls directly. This is your website, blog, email newsletters, case studies, and white papers. Owned media serves as the foundation for your brand’s storytelling, allowing you to attract and engage your target audience with content you create and manage.
With a full-service marketing agency, copywriters, designers, web developers, and SEO specialists can work together to create and optimize this content. Everything your brand controls directly is the hub where you can fully express your brand’s expertise and value proposition.
Owned Media at Work:
For example, a financial planning firm wanting to attract new clients can establish a dedicated blog on its website. By regularly publishing articles about wealth management and financial planning, they demonstrate their expertise. They can then promote this content through monthly email newsletters to current clients and prospects, driving traffic back to their site and nurturing leads. If the brand writes it, it’s owned media.
Synergy and Integration: How It All Works Together
The true power of the PESO model lies in its intersectionality. The four quadrants are not meant to exist in isolation; they are designed to work together, creating a campaign that is greater than the sum of its parts. When teams collaborate across the PESO model, they can leverage each channel’s strengths for maximum impact.
Here’s how content can flow across the quadrants:
- Owned: A brand starts by publishing a detailed blog post on its website. This is the core piece of content.
- Shared: The blog post is then shared across the brand’s social media channels to reach its existing followers.
- Earned: Key insights from the blog post are pitched to journalists, which results in a feature article in a trade publication.
- Paid: To expand its reach, the brand promotes the social media posts through paid advertising, targeting a wider, relevant audience.
Yes, it’s still the PESO model we know and love, just backward. This OSEP (Owned, Shared, Earned, Paid) flow shows how one piece of content can be amplified across the entire model. An integrated approach like this ensures consistent messaging that reinforces brand values and narratives, ultimately leading to a more effective campaign.
Driving Success with the PESO Model
The PESO model provides a powerful and essential framework for modern communication strategies. By strategically leveraging Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media, brands can create cohesive, multi-channel campaigns that resonate deeply with their target audiences.
Embracing this model encourages collaboration, strengthens brand reputation, and ultimately drives greater marketplace impact. It ensures that every piece of content works harder and that your message is heard loud and clear, no matter where your audience encounters it.
Getting Full-Service Marketing Support
Partnering with Devaney & Associates means maximizing your brand’s impact in each quadrant of the PESO model, so you know you’re getting the cross-industry support you need to reach your audience through every method.
D&A’s collaboration across PR, marketing, and advertising fosters creativity, as diverse perspectives from different teams come together to build stronger, more innovative strategies.