The PESO Model
Gini Dietrich’s model (codified in Spin Sucks) treats owned content as the raw material of an integrated system: Paid amplifies it, Earned validates it through media and influencers, Shared spreads it through social and community, and Owned houses it. The insight is in the overlaps, sponsored content is paid plus owned, an amplified review is earned plus paid, and in the goal: run all four together long enough and the brand earns authority no single media type can buy.
Integrates Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media into one distribution system.
Paid × Earned × Shared × Owned → Authority
When to use this
- When distribution amounts to "publish and pray", PESO forces a deliberate plan for every media type.
- When PR, social, and content operate as silos with separate plans for the same launch.
- To justify budget: the model shows how each media type feeds the others instead of competing for spend.