Free publicity
Free publicity is positive attention for which no payment has been made by the recipient of this publicity. Organizations that benefit greatly from free publicity often have outlined a strategy for using the media to pursue business or organizational goals, for example.
Receiving free advertising or free publicity requires a lot of creativity. Sending a press release alone is usually not enough. To receive free publicity, for example, there will have to be a playful or newsworthy message. The publication should serve not only the commercial interest of a company or brand, but also the social purpose of the public.
An example of a company that has used free publicity successfully is Unox. The company decided to hand out Unox hats at the 1997 Elfstedentocht and during New Year's dives. Of course, this campaign was not without cost, but the many photos and moving images in the media provided the brand with a lot of indirect free publicity.
Free publicity has also been called earned media since the rise of the Internet and social media. When consumers share messages about a company, the company gets what it deserves. Herein lies also a risk, because in the world of the Web a brand has little influence anymore on (possibly negative) news coverage.
