This Election Cycle Shows That Media Strategy Must Adapt to Changing Media Landscape 

If you have ever been through media training, you may have been told that when a reporter is interviewing you, you are speaking through the reporter directly to the outlet’s audience. And while this recent election cycle has given us the gift of many learnings, one question that I am getting asked is: what have both campaigns taught us about earned media? 

Here are five earned media learnings from this election cycle: 

1. Keep the end audience in mind.

While many prospective clients tell us they must be in the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times, that may not be the best way to reach your audience and move them to take an action—be it buying a product or voting. If you want cardiologists to learn about your new heart medication or policymakers to see the latest study on converting trucks to EV, your CEO’s time is better spent with Cardiology News or The Washington Post. 

2. Niche media vs. mainstream media.

There is a whole new world of “media” from Substack to podcasts to streaming news and yes, even TikTok. One result of this election cycle is that clients are more open to these media outlets than ever before. Hyper-targeting is the new press release. Whether you want to play to your base or expose a specific audience to a new point of view, you can be very precise in your media targeting.  

3. Amplify your earned media successes.

Whether it is an earned placement or a live stream or a blog post on your own website, you can draw more stakeholders to that content through paid amplification and it may be a lot less expensive that you think. Also, do not miss the opportunity to utilize your own social media channels, third-parties, partners, employees, customers and influencers to amplify your media successes. 

4. Your message must resonate.

You may be doing everything right when it comes to media targeting, but if your message does not resonate with your audience, you are not going to “win.”  That may mean you have to take the time and money (again, less of both than you may think) at the start of your campaign for message testing. 

5. Increasing media polarization has led to alternate truths.

More than ever the media is polarized, and people stick with the media outlets that share the narrative they want to hear. A recent Stanford University study finds that the public tends to value partisanship over truth when consuming news. The influence of political alignment over truth held true across political spectrum, education levels and reasoning ability.  In the weeks leading up to the election, I was saddened by the absolute lies being told about some clients in media outlets that looked completely legitimate. Deciding how to respond, if it all, and navigating these new land mines is going to continue and increase. And it is why non-partisan fact-checking organizations like the Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact are so important.  

Over the past few days, many have predicted the complete demise of mainstream media while others have questioned its relevance. The lack of confidence and mistrust of the media is real. But I believe there will always be a place for telling truthful, relevant stories—but where and how these stories are earned and shared will continue to evolve.