This story was first listed in PR Week.
Nearly four in five marketing leaders (78 per cent) say earned media is now more effective than traditional advertising when it comes to creating a point of difference, according to a new survey.
Over four-fifths (84 per cent) of UK marketing leaders are turning to earned-first campaigns to achieve differentiation, new data from MHP Group shows.
The integrated agency commissioned market research firm Censuswide to conduct an anonymous survey of 301 in-house senior marketing professionals in February this year. The respondents were qualified as “senior manager” level or above in a cross-section of industries, from manufacturing and utilities, media and publishing to IT and telecoms.
According to the study, 83 per cent of respondents said brand differentiation is more important than ever before. Almost half (45 per cent) said they don’t think the brands they work for are truly differentiated.
On average, respondents said they plan to ramp up budgets by 38 per cent for earned-first campaigns this year.
Alongside the report, MHP Group has launched a specialist “masterbrand differentiation” offer, focused on earned-first campaigns.
According to the agency, it will identify “differentiation themes that unite disparate audiences”, and offer “creative, long-term campaigns delivered across multiple channels and platforms, including paid media”.
The service will be led by senior director Sam Holl, who said: “Differentiation is not a new concept but the need for it – as shown in our research with industry leaders – is greater now than it’s ever been.”
MHP Group is the country’s 12th-largest agency, with UK revenue of £40m in 2024, according to PRWeek’s latest UK Top 150 Consultancies ranking. Its 220-strong team works for clients ranging from HelloFresh and Ocado Retail to AstraZeneca and Spotify.
Learn more about Masterbrand Differentiation here, or get in touch with our Masterbrand Differentiation lead, Sam Holl.
