In a cluttered media landscape where attention is harder to win than ever, tourism marketers are being pushed to rethink how they drive awareness, influence travelers, and build long-term demand. That’s the core message behind Stronger Together: How Earned and Paid Media Work Better in Tandem, a recent webinar hosted with Southeast Tourism Society (STS), Advance Travel & Tourism, and Pineapple Public Relations.

While earned and paid media have often been treated as separate tracks, the webinar made one point clear: DMOs gain the greatest lift when they plan, measure, and activate PR and paid media as a single, integrated system.

Why Integration Matters Now

Travel planning behavior has shifted dramatically. Consumers move fluidly between inspiration, research, and booking. A single traveler may see a TikTok video, read an article, follow a creator, click a retargeting ad, and sign up for a newsletter—all before ever booking a trip.

In that world, earned and paid media can’t afford to operate in silos.

Earned media builds cultural relevance, trust, and third-party validation. Paid media builds reach, frequency, and conversion. Together, they create a loop: PR sparks interest, paid helps scale it; paid campaigns surface new angles, and PR amplifies them through storytelling.

What DMOs Should Expect from Earned + Paid Collaboration

1. Shared goals and shared data

PR teams often chase impressions and editorial value, while paid teams chase conversions and CTR. When those KPIs stay separate, opportunities get missed.

When teams collaborate, earned media becomes a top-of-funnel engine that feeds paid media with new audiences, research insights, and high-performing content themes, while paid media shows PR teams which messages and stories actually move travelers to action.

2. Consistent storytelling across channels

When paid and earned media share a unified narrative, travelers experience a seamless story:

– PR sparks the idea

– Social creators make it relatable

– Paid extends reach and keeps the story in circulation

– Retargeting brings audiences back when intent is highest

It’s not about more content, it’s about more consistent content.

3. Amplifying PR wins with paid media

A single strong article or TV hit shouldn’t live and die on its own. Paid amplification ensures that good press becomes great reach, especially with travelers who didn’t see the original coverage.

DMOs increasingly use paid social to extend the life of earned stories, creator content, or broadcast features to high-value audiences.

4. Preparing for unpredictable moments

Weather events, unexpected travel trends, or breaking news can shift demand overnight. When PR and paid work together, teams can respond faster—aligning messaging, protecting brand reputation, and redirecting dollars toward what travelers need right now.

How Marketers Can Start Building a Combined Strategy

The panel offered a simple roadmap:

• Align early. Bring PR, paid media, and social teams into the strategy phase, not just execution.
• Share dashboards. PR insights should inform paid campaigns, and paid performance should influence PR pitches.
• Map your funnel. Know what role each channel plays in Dreaming → Planning → Booking.
• Make measurement a team sport. Look at collective outcomes—visitation, brand lift, economic impact—rather than siloed metrics.

The Big Idea

Travel marketers don’t win by choosing earned or paid media. They win when the two operate like a single engine, PR creating meaning and momentum, and paid ensuring that momentum scales and sustains.

The future isn’t “either/or.” For DMOs, the future is stronger together.