Media Relations

What We Learned at Coco Con

We attended Coco Con: Media, a panel discussion featuring industry leaders that focused on the ever-evolving media landscape (and the work we do) as it relates to the digital age.

The shift from traditional marketing to digital marketing, tools and resources necessary for earned tactics like media relations and the rise of paid tactics like influencer marketing all play a role in dictating the future of marketing and communications as we know it.

With every great panel, we received valuable tips and advice from ELLE Canada’s Editor-in Chief, Vanessa Craft, on how to make it in the industry we’re in right now.

Here are our top 3 takeaways from the discussion:

Be flexible and willing to pivot as the media landscape continue to change.
Adopting new tactics that are sculpting the media industry will allow brands/marketers to keep up with the advances being made. Sometimes this is necessary in order to stay afloat and relevant in the industry. This includes a heavy emphasis on the pay-for-play model, i.e. digital influencer marketing.
Is the “end of media” due to the rise of content creators/ digital influencers?
Simply put, no. And media isn’t going anywhere – how we consume news is changing.

Thanks to the shifts we’re seeing in the media landscape, what has changed most drastically is the revenue model (specifically in Canada). However, there is still room for both traditional media and digital influencers to live together and co-exist – but, it’s just as important to understand which lane to stay in. For instance, advertorial revenue is significant, which is the model that traditional media follows (i.e. ads keep magazines/publications alive); however, digital influencers are the new and more prominent version of that revenue model.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket: as a brand and/or a marketer, be strategic about where to allocate your budgets, and what methods will drive greater impact/ ROI for the task-at-hand. More often than not, each world brings value to the end-consumer, reaching them on channels and platforms that they already frequent. Food for thought: bring earned and paid tactics together when possible.
With numerous tools and resources to analyze data (engagement, conversion, reach…), anything can be measured!
Pro tip: it’s crucial to know the audience you’re trying to reach. Don’t underestimate the power of authentic and relatable storytelling. This goes for both earned and paid strategies. Be sure to balance emotional and functional messaging.