Paid and Earned Media Need a Better Partnership

Paid media and earned media are often planned, funded and measured separately. But as media fragments, creators shape influence and AI changes how people discover information, brands have more to gain by bringing the disciplines closer together.

In a new ADWEEK op-ed, Joy Farber Kolo, Weber Shandwick’s Chief Innovation and Integration Officer, and Jonathan Rigby, Global Chief Strategy Officer at Omnicom Media, examine why paid and earned are increasingly interdependent—and what it will take for them to work as genuine partners.

Their argument goes beyond combining channels. It calls for teams with fluency across both disciplines, more comprehensive ways to measure their collective impact, and creative ideas designed to earn attention, with scale considered from the start. Paid can bring reach and precision; earned can shape stories, influence and advocacy. Together, they can help brands make greater impact from their investment.

The full piece explores the organizational, talent and measurement changes needed to make that partnership work in practice.