How one tech outlet sees the future of paid media partnerships

The interconnectedness of paid and earned media is only growing for PR managers.

As traditional media outlets continue to innovate to find new audiences and revenue streams, fresh opportunities for sponsored content have sprung up across various business mediums. It’s a crucial part of the model for Protocol, the outlet launched in February 2020 to cover the technology sector, from workplace to policy.

Protocol, which was launched as a sister site by Politico (both were acquired by Axel Springer in the fall of 2021), makes no bones about its efforts to partner with brands to tell their stories.

“In 2021, brand content and different kinds of sponsored content was one third of our business,” shares Protocol’s president Bennett Richardson. In his view, that success was driven in large part by “thought leadership”—the effort to establish company leaders as subject matter experts for a wider audience.

“There is a real craving among brands, big and small, in tech and outside of tech, to truly own the issues that they care about and position themselves as real experts in those issues,” says Richardson.

Whether audiences see you as an authoritative source can affect your ability to attract customers, build reputation with investors and drive government policy.

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