A creator can deliver every asset on the brief, smash performance benchmarks, spark lively comment threads, and still leave your PR team holding an empty hand.

That doesn’t mean the engagement was a bust. It simply means earned media was treated as a hopeful afterthought rather than built into the foundation of the work. We have all sat in that planning room where someone invariably asks right before wrap-up: “Can we get some press out of this?”

That question needs to be in the room on day one.

If earned media is truly part of the remit, an influencer strategy cannot begin and end with message delivery. It has to focus on narrative substance. That means looking for voices who can help uncover an untold story, bring genuine lived experience to an issue, or frame a conversation so compellingly that editors actually want to dig in. The goal is never just paying an influential voice to champion a logo. It is crafting something that holds its own weight long after the sponsored post scrolls off the screen.

Start with the Story, Not the Shortlist

Before anyone opens a spreadsheet of follower counts or starts horse-trading over deliverable tiers, pause and ask a fundamental question: What makes this interesting to someone who has never heard of the brand and does not follow the creator?

A splashy partnership announcement might occasionally make the rounds, but staking an earned media plan on a signature on a contract is a gamble at best.

A far sturdier foundation is an authentic audience friction point, an unexpected industry shift, or a tangible cultural insight that warrants a closer look. The creator’s role is to sharpen that narrative, not serve as a proxy for the lack of one.

Look at the editorial landscape. In Cision’s survey of more than 3,000 journalists globally, 86% noted they instantly pass on pitches that do not directly serve their beat or readership. A verified handle does not magically create relevance.

Here is a simple test before locking the brief: write the dream headline without using “partners with,” “teams up with,” or “taps creator.”

Strip those away. What is left?

If the story collapses without the transaction, you have an ad, not an editorial hook. That distinction separates what a brand wants to announce from what an audience will voluntarily read.

Choose Someone Who Adds Substance, Not Just Footprint

When earned coverage is on the table, vetting creators solely by reach is an easy trap. The real calculation is what they bring to the table as a subject-matter voice.

Can they break down a nuanced operational headache? Do they possess deep, credible roots in the discipline? Could an editor interview them about the broader industry landscape without them constantly glancing down at brand-approved talking points?

This is where public relations and creator strategy need to align. Organizations like PRSA have consistently pointed out that creators bring the most enduring communications value when treated as long-form storytellers, subject sources, and dynamic event speakers. Their contribution does not need to expire after a 24-hour story cycle.

Consider the contrast between paying someone to say a piece of software saved their workday versus partnering with a seasoned operator who can articulate the systemic inefficiencies plaguing their trade. The former provides an endorsement. The latter gives a reporter a credible source, a compelling human case study, and an actual reason to investigate.

That changes how we vet. Brand affinity and safety screenings are non-negotiable baselines, but we also have to evaluate whether a partner’s background withstands scrutiny. Being charismatic on camera does not make someone an authority. Credibility requires expertise, an intuitive feel for audience dynamics, and the poise to handle nuanced conversations.

Build Something an Editor Can Actually Use

Consider a B2B platform partnering with a creator who owns and runs an independent neighborhood restaurant.

A standard marketing brief asks for a slick walkthrough showing the owner balancing books on an iPad before dinner service. That is fine for a paid social campaign.

An earned-media brief pushes deeper: What does this person’s day-to-day reveal about the invisible labor required to keep a local establishment solvent?

Imagine the restaurateur chronicles the administrative grind that starts after the kitchen lights go down at midnight. The brand commissions a robust, methodologically sound study surveying independent operators on that exact administrative burden. The creator provides the tangible, human perspective; the research establishes the broader macro trend.

Suddenly, an editor has a legitimate story about the unvarnished realities of the small-business economy, backed by credible data, an articulate interview subject, and compelling visuals.

The brand has an authentic, defensible place in the conversation, but it does not need to force its way into every paragraph to make the effort worthwhile.

A word of caution on rigor: a handful of passionate comments on a sponsored post do not constitute an empirical trend. Anecdotes spark curiosity, but they are not representative data. Methodologies and funding must be transparent, and findings should never be massaged to fit a talking point.

Furthermore, the mechanics must be buttoned up before pitching begins. That means confirmed interview availability, clear photo assets, and transparent commercial disclosures. An editor’s interest evaporates fast if basic access requires a week of approvals. Make the story frictionless to report, not just easy to share.

And let’s be unequivocal about labels: a paid partnership does not transform into earned media simply because the aesthetic feels candid. Earned media is coverage an editor chooses to assign on editorial merit. Full stop. A creator can serve as an articulate expert, but they cannot be positioned as an unattached bystander, and regulatory guidelines on commercial disclosures must be ironclad. The integrity of the program relies on total transparency.

Measure the Outcomes Beyond the Feed

When earned visibility is an explicit campaign goal, evaluating the work requires distinct scorecards for creator metrics and PR outcomes.

Engagement rates, reach, and video completion rates assess content resonance. For earned outcomes, the lens must shift to where the story landed, who read it, and whether the strategic context was preserved.

Returning to the restaurant example: the benchmark for earned success is not the creator’s view count. It is whether coverage in a respected industry trade reached actual operators, prompted meaningful site traffic, or sparked conversations around the core business challenge. A passing mention in an advertising trade about a “creative activation” is a vastly different and far less durable outcome than an in-depth feature in a business publication examining the problem you set out to solve.

Look at the downstream impact: Did the piece bring qualified traffic? Did it drive informed inbound interest? Did it shift the way prospective clients understand the operational challenge?

This mindset mirrors AMEC’s framework for outcome-based measurement. The objective is to understand whether the narrative moved the needle on a real priority, rather than cataloging vanity metrics and declaring victory.

Give the Work Room to Travel

Earned media can never be promised as a guaranteed rider on an influencer agreement. But what we can do as strategists is build the work so thoughtfully that the story commands attention on its own terms.

Bring communications into the room early. Choose partners who contribute hard-earned perspective. Back claims with research that holds up to scrutiny. Give reporters unfettered access to articulate voices without trying to dictate the resulting column inches.

The sponsored post is simply the asset you bought. The earned media is the enduring narrative you built around it. When designed with intention, a partnership doesn’t have to choose between driving immediate brand visibility and contributing something substantive to the broader industry dialogue. It can easily do both.

By José Gálvez

In a marketing landscape obsessed with overnight virality and algorithm-chasing, it’s tempting to look for the quick win. We see it all the time: two brands execute a transactional, short-term marketing campaign, secure a quick burst of buzz, and move on to the next transactional moment.

It’s the corporate equivalent of buying pre-distressed clothing. It might look the part on day one, but it lacks the structural integrity and authentic history that actually makes something valuable.

When it comes to building truly impactful strategic partnerships, there are no shortcuts. You have to put the miles in yourself.

The Trap of the Pre-Aged Partnership

Recently, my colleagues at Double Forte have written about the dangers of falling into a transactional rhythm with media relations and the growing reality of algorithm fatigue. The exact same principles apply to brand partnerships.

Consumers are incredibly savvy. They can spot an artificial, forced collaboration from a mile away. When a partnership is built entirely on a short-term metric rather than a shared ethos, the resulting campaign often feels hollow. It’s a transaction, not a relationship. And while it might generate a momentary spike in engagement, it rarely builds long-term brand equity or consumer trust.

Earning the Patina: What Structural Alignment Looks Like

The most resilient partnerships – the ones that weather cultural shifts and actually move the needle –   are built like quality heritage goods. They require an upfront investment, they take time to break in, and they only get better the more you use them.

Here is what it takes to build a partnership designed for the long haul:

  • Shared Values Over Shared Audiences: It’s not enough to simply have overlapping target demographics. True alignment happens in the whitespace between brands. What core philosophies do you share? If the foundation relies on quick trends rather than a shared ethos, the partnership will eventually crack.
  • Willingness to Iterate (and Stumble): When you commit to a long-term collaboration, not every single activation will be a home run. But the shared experience of launching, learning, and refining is exactly what builds institutional trust between two organizations.
  • Deep Integration Over Surface Placements: A logo swap is easy. Integrating your services, co-developing a product, or fundamentally sharing resources requires vulnerability and operational effort. That effort is exactly what signals to the consumer that this collaboration is authentic.

Putting the Miles In Across Industries

We see this need for deep, structural alignment across our entire portfolio at Double Forte, regardless of the industry.

Take our work in the wine and spirits category. Winemaking is the ultimate long game; you cannot artificially rush a good vintage, just like you cannot fake a heritage brand. When we look at partnerships for them, or for category staples in other industries we aren’t looking for fleeting, flash-in-the-pan viral moments. We are looking for alignments that reflect their enduring quality and commitment to their craft.

And  the best  l partnerships aren’t just a marketing campaign; they are deep, operational integration. Connecting financial ecosystems requires a massive upfront investment of time, security protocols, and shared resources. It is the definition of “putting the miles in.” But once that structural foundation is built, the partnership yields compounding returns for both the brands and the end consumer for years.

Playing the Long Game

As a Strategic Partnerships Manager, my goal isn’t just to find brands that look good next to each other on a billboard. It’s to find organizations willing to roll up their sleeves and build something durable.

In an era where everything moves at breakneck speed, taking the time to slowly and intentionally align with the right partner is the ultimate competitive advantage. Don’t settle for the quick, superficial win. Find the right partner, invest in the relationship, and start putting the miles in. The results will speak for themselves.