The media still has the power to define reputations - Daniel Kennedy

Print circulations of magazines and newspapers have dropped off significantly since then, but the adaptability of the great British media has never been called into question. There are apps, websites and digital editions of publications that only used to be available in print. And when you throw social media channels into the mix, it’s fair to say more readers than ever before are being reached by newspapers and magazines.

What’s important to recognise about this digitised media landscape is that the breed of marketing it’s spawned; whether it be PPC, SEO or paid digital; doesn’t build or define a brand, it’s simply advertising dressed up for the 21st century.

Social media also leans heavily towards this advertising ethos, with self-written claims littering the feed of the majority of businesses on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and the like.

If you’re looking to generate leads for those searching specifically for a company, its products or services then yes – that’s certainly the way forward. But it’s not the way reputation is born and sealed.

PR, and in particular the media relations element of it, has always done that, but today it’s done in a way that gives it a shelf-life of virtually magical proportions.

Online versions of print publications ensure PR stories don’t end up as fish and chip wrappers. Instead, they stay accessible on the internet for ever more – providing layer upon layer of brand authentication for any business. And it’s the authentication that media coverage delivers that makes all the difference when building a reputation for a client.

Stories reported in newspapers and magazines and written by a journalist on the back of a press release or an interview don’t just deliver news to readers, but credibility to the company whose news is being reported.

Consider an advert in a newspaper for a completely fabricated business – let’s call it Bloggs Bakery. Just one look is enough to know that it’s been paid for in order to inform those who see it just how good its new line of doughnuts are and persuade them to buy some. In contrast, an article in the same paper, by-lined to a respected journalist won’t tell you how good the doughnuts are but may talk about the investment that went into creating them, the markets they’re being rolled out into and the jobs their projected success will create. All of which goes towards establishing Bloggs’ reputation and, at the same time, gets across that yes, they do have some new doughnuts. And the power of PR doesn’t stop with media coverage. News stories and articles written and the press coverage achieved provide a rich source of content that can be adapted for social media, Google Ads and, when added to company websites, can and do provide a massive SEO boost.

Daniel Kennedy is a director of the Leeds-based agency Source.