Several marketing companies are choosing to focus exclusively in owned or earned media.
Owned media are the platforms where the brand has total control and some will argue a stronger influence. Theses include your website, mobile app, social presence (although you can easily loose control without a plan in place), email marketing and advertising.
Earned media is also known to the public relations industry as media relations. It is the art of securing placements in editorial outlets such as the news media and blogs.
As to which one has the most influence depends on the audience. To some a high Google ranking for a website and a strong social media presence is enough to convince them of the product. Others find an endorsement of an objective journalist to be more of a value.
At CarusoPR we take a different approach. We believe owned and eared are equally important and compliment each other. It is critical for brands owned media presence to be in line with the earned messages being delivered. We take a holistic approach to marketing on all channels, with the goal of reaching the largest audience.