Choosing the right mix of earned, owned and paid channels
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Earned coverage carries a credibility that cannot simply be purchased, because an audience understands that a journalist or commentator chose to cover a story rather than being paid to feature it, and that independent choice signals genuine relevance worth their limited attention and trust, long before anyone thinks to raise the question aloud.
Owned channels offer something earned coverage cannot promise in return: complete control over timing, message and follow up, along with a direct line to people who have already opted in to hear from the organisation on its own carefully chosen terms, however routine the situation first appears to those involved.
Paid channels supply reach and precision when neither earned attention nor an existing owned audience can be relied upon to reach the right people quickly enough, though that purchased reach on its own says nothing about how warmly the message will actually be received once it arrives.
The strongest campaigns rarely lean on one channel alone for very long, since each carries its own limits. They sequence all three so each compensates for what the others cannot deliver, rather than treating the choice as one decision made once and forgotten, particularly once real money or reputation is on the line.