Two weeks ago I had the privilege of presenting digital media at Disney Interactive in partnership with the Washington Technology Industry Association. As expected, we sold out the event and had a variety of executives from Washington businesses in attendance.

Three of the largest “wrap your mind around it” items are covered on slide three, four, and sixteen (detail below) – along with a partner brainstorm and diagram sheet on slide twenty. The full deck is included below.

SLIDE THREE: Growth of Conversation. Is a simple visual really: from 2007 to 2009 we have seen 342 million conversations grow to 588 million. That percentage shift is noteworthy, but the larger trend to look at is how much of the conversation shifted from being “on site” to “off site”- this is the magic shift that identifies how the audience has seized control of communication channels.

SYNDICATED MEDIA
In the digital world, anything and everything will end up in places you never expected: copies of white papers will be indexed by search engines, aggregation sites will attempt to categorize your information, and even employee data will reside on hundreds of different sites.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
For the past decade it has become generally accepted that having certain information on services like Google and Yahoo exposes your information to internet users who would otherwise have never seen it. When understood properly; every piece of owned, bought, and earned media can be resurrected as syndicated media. Continue Reading »

EARNED MEDIA
This includes “word of mouth” and many public relations efforts, typically focusing on inquisitive niche experts reviewing products or “buzz” around a product. Examples of earned media can be seen with noteworthy actions, causing unforeseen shifts to the market, reaching out to the community, or simply doing something “cool.”

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
As earned media is almost always from a third party, it has the side-effect of producing an authentic and transparent message (examples include testimonials and consumer reviews.) Continue Reading »

BOUGHT MEDIA
Includes any type of paid advertising or communication materials. It includes traditional campaigns in television, radio, outdoor signage, paid search, and print. It also includes typical celebrity endorsement and community sponsorship agreements.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
Bought media has traditionally been the easiest segment of promotion to deploy with a scalable structure (for the most part, there are always more channels of advertising.) As it is historically the segment with the largest budget, it also has the benefit of being the most understood and studied of the four media types, effectively producing the historical framework of what works. Continue Reading »

OWNED MEDIA
This includes physical, creative, historical, and intellectual property that the business owns. In the brand space this includes such assets as the brand name and trademark. In the employee space this includes internal communications and customer relations. It also extends into the core business assets: website, signage, letterhead, business cards, production, packaging, and other collateral material.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
Owned media is exclusive to direct employees of the company (including contractors/subcontractors) that have the ability to create and affect exposure opportunities for the company. Because the company has direct legal rights to the material, control of owned media is the highest of the four types. Continue Reading »