The Death of the Funnel: Rethinking Earned Media in the Messy Middle

Raise your hand if you’ve used the traditional marketing funnel in the past 5 years. Many of us are familiar with the classic inverted funnel detailing the levels of the customer journey: awareness, consideration, conversion, etc.

Friends, it’s time to let it go.

In 2020, Google research introduced the “Messy Middle", revealing what we all have been feeling of late: the consumer decision-making process these days feels more like a child’s scribble on paper rather than a neatly-tiered funnel.

So when I ran across this blog post from A88Lab, “The Marketing Funnel is Dead”, I was inspired. The article beautifully interprets this concept, and I highly recommend reading it for a deeper dive. While it’s geared toward the B2B SaaS industry, the implications for consumer brands are just as valid.

But first, what is the Messy Middle?

The Messy Middle

Google’s research uncovered that consumers bounce between two mental states: exploration (expanding their options) and evaluation (narrowing them down). This loop continues, round and round, until a decision is made. In other words: no one smoothly descends down the ranks from awareness to advocacy. These days, we are all zig-zagging back and forth between pieces of content, social proof, reviews, recommendations, influencers, brand mentions, articles—anything that helps make a confident decision.​ 

This chaotic, non-linear journey is what we publicists have always understood: trust is built over time, and purchase decisions are influenced by an accumulation of touchpoints, from whispers to billboards.​

Why This Matters for Earned Media

In the Messy Middle, reputation is everything. Your consumers are influenced by what they see and hear about your brand when they’re not on your site or socials. This is where earned media—PR, influencer marketing, and the elusive realm of what A88Lab calls “Dark Social”—become essential.​

As Darth Vader-y as it sounds, Dark Social simply refers to the sharing of content and opinions through private channels: DMs, texts, Slack groups, private Facebook groups, Reddit threads. You can’t track it in Google Analytics, but it’s where reputations are made or broken.​ 

A New Context for PR and Influencer Marketing

Too often, PR is judged by metrics: impressions, UMVs, and media hits. Under the Messy Middle model, we need a new lens. PR’s role is no longer just to generate awareness—it’s to influence the endless loop of exploration and evaluation.

In practice, that means:

• Building a persistent, trusted presence across third-party channels.​

• Partnering with third parties who align with your brand values (and who show up in those micro-moments of evaluation).​

• Seeding your narrative in a way that sparks conversation—even if you can't track every share or mention.​

• Embracing the unknown—understanding that influence often happens in invisible, unmeasurable ways, and being okay with not having all the data.

Long-Fused Marketing Wins

The A88Lab article makes a powerful point: the only way to earn true customer loyalty is through long-fused, persistent marketing efforts. It’s wonderful when PR and influencer campaigns deliver instant ROI, but their real power lies in shaping the environment where conversions become inevitable.

Marketers: if you’re rethinking your strategies for 2025 and beyond, consider this your permission slip to stop chasing funnels—and start investing in reputation.

7 Common Myths About Public Relations

Look me in the eyes.

You have no idea how PR works, right?

Say it. SAY IT.

Whew. What a relief. Do you feel better? I feel better.

Because I know the discomfort. I’ve been that person at the dinner who gets tentatively asked, “So ....you wrote the article?” To which I replied, “No Dad, I PITCHED the article.”

All kidding aside, PR is a career I adore, but for as long as I’ve been in it, it’s been shrouded in mystery and misconception. So let’s bust some myths.

Myth #1: All you need is a press release.

Oh, the worshiped and dreaded press release! Somehow we have been romanced into thinking that putting a press release on the wire will have the New York Times beating down our door. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Think of the press release as a billboard for your business. When you drive by a billboard, it makes an impression, but just momentarily. You drive by it, and it’s out of sight, out of mind. It works well to help boost SEO, but to generate true earned media coverage, it has to be customized for each and every audience. A press release can be a great starting point, but it is just one tool in the toolbox.

Myth #2: National coverage is more effective than local coverage in generating awareness.

Not necessarily. Local media speaks directly to your target audience in your specific area and can actually be a very laser-focused and a budget-friendly starting point. The local media understand the interests and concerns of the area, potentially making your message resonate more deeply than a broad national story. Also, people tend to trust local news sources more. They see them as familiar and relevant to their everyday lives, making them more receptive to information from a local paper or TV station.

Myth #3: Investing in PR will guarantee results.

I wish, wish, WISH this were true. Many variables go into launching a PR campaign and ensuring its efficacy: crafting the right message, targeting the right media, timing the news. But it’s called “earned” media for a reason. When deploying a publicity campaign, your news is fed through a filter of scrutiny by the press, and it is up to them how that news may (or may not) get covered. This is why crafting a compelling, specific, and persuasive story is so important.

Myth #4: PR is an essential part of a marketing strategy.

False. Not every business benefits from public relations. In fact, some business models may be able to generate more attention through social media, advertising, or working with influencers. Others just aren’t ready for PR at their stage of the business. I frequently turn away clients because they haven’t reached the appropriate point in the lifecycle of the business to make PR worthwhile. It’s not just a question of “Am I ready for PR?” but also “Am I ready for PR right now?”

Myth #5: PR should only be executed by a professional publicist or agency.

Unpopular opinion…and with all due respect for my industry friends…the truth is you can DIY publicity. And sometimes that’s the best way to go. Startups, entrepreneurs and small marketing teams don’t often have the budget to engage with professionals. But with the right guidance and knowledge, it’s absolutely possible to bootstrap a publicity effort. Another option is to work with a freelancer on an hourly or project basis to outsource some of the legwork, and execute what you can internally.

Myth #6: PR coverage should be measured just like any digital marketing effort.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have been romanced by data. We are awash in data. We are gluttons for data. And while it’s so great that we now have many more metrics in place for measurement than ever before, analytics don’t necessarily provide the full picture of the message absorption, impression and resulting action. When I work with clients, I encourage them to look at both data-driven metrics (UVM, circulation) and sentiment-driven metrics (article tone, comments, customer feedback). Also consider the value and impact of the connections that a publicist or agency brought to the table. Working with a publicist who knows how to engage with journalists, business partners, like-minded organizations, and influencers can turn those media hits into something much more powerful, with long-lasting ripple effects.

Myth #7: PR is expensive.

It doesn’t have to be. Most agencies will have a minimum retainer of 5 figures, which is why working with a freelancer often makes more sense for small businesses. Freelancers can provide pricing on an hourly, project, or small retainer basis. Some freelance publicists (hi there!) even offer flexible DIY pricing models, where the planning and research is done by the publicist, and then transitions the project to the client for the execution stage.

But now that you know the truth about PR, the next question becomes (cue Taylor Swift): Are you ready for it?

When I’m talking to client prospects, I go through a checklist of indicators for “PR Readiness.” I’ve created a PR Prep Checklist that breaks down all the elements of a foundation of a publicity campaign, so that you can plan your campaign or engage with PR help confidently.

Oh, JLo.

I hesitate to think of a celebrity who is having a worse 2024 than Jennifer Lopez. In my PR groups there has been some serious collective shuddering going on when her name comes up. Nothing is worse when the story just isn’t landing.

From a PR standpoint, she and her team have worked the playbook to the letter: album, SNL, movie/music video, interviews, documentary, tour.

So why isn’t it working?

JLo, quite simply, has failed to evolve into today’s version of a celebrity, one who is hyper-focused on audience identity and subcultures.

When JLo rose to stardom in the early 2000s we were in an age of mass-appeal celebrity when beauty, body, a slick music video, and some B-level pop music cross-pollinated with interesting artists was the formula for success. But unfortunately, the JLo of 2024 hasn’t found the connection to her fans in the new attention economy. Creatives, artists, musicians - anyone who is in an entrepreneurial role - all want to produce work that speaks to them. It isn’t fulfilling otherwise. But to properly promote that work, engage with an audience, and sell music and tours, knowing your audience is more crucial than ever. 

JLo’s latest round of projects are centered on HER. 

HER love story. 

HER heartbreak. 

HER healing journey. 

HER reunion with the love of her life. 

And somehow she’s created an image of singing about it from high upon her pedestal, without connecting it to any kind of relatable experience that might appeal to a wider audience. Indeed, JLo’s biggest feat appears to be how deftly she creates distance between the public while at the same time begging for their attention.

And who is “her public”? For the life of me, I can’t define JLo’s audience. I don’t know who she’s trying to connect with, other than the early 2000 version of herself. And I bet you anything her PR team is trying desperately to figure that out too.

Consider other celebrities who have achieved audience relevance much more thoughtfully:

Beyoncé‘s recent albums have tapped into both mainstream and sub genre audiences, speaking to the LGBTQ+ community with Renaissance, or the country community with Cowboy Carter. 

Taylor Swift hooks us with themes of love and heartbreak that make you adopt her songs as your own anthems. 

Lady Gaga gives us all permission to release the little weirdo monster we have inside. 

I hope she figures it out. For now a retreat and regroup is in order. (Especially if the breakup rumors are true.)

Know Thy Audience, Jo Koy

What if he got the chance to do it again?

I never laughed so much as when I saw Jo Koy in concert last year. He OWNED the Moda Center in Portland, a crowd of nearly 20,000 doubled over and crying with laughter. He worked the crowd and ad-libbed effortlessly, so much so that I wondered if he even had set material, or if he just going to riff the entire time.

So what didn't translate to the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel?
- An uninvested crowd
- Lack of preparation (he got hired 10 days prior)
- Incredibly ambitious (ahem, unrealistic) expectations

When I counsel creatives on how to promote their work, we start with establishing an understanding their work environment, their target audience, and their ideal creative process. But what most creatives get that Jo never got, is the freedom and time to experiment, which is where true creativity is born. The ability to try and fail privately at first, and then increase the circles of awareness over time.

The fact of the matter is that Jo Koy had months to perfect his seemingly relaxed crowd work before ever stepping on a tour bus. He tested jokes on his comedian friends, his team, then small clubs, then larger rooms, and so on. He never got that chance with the Globes. Hosting the Golden Globes, or any awards show really, is like being an archery champion who gets hired to play a game of lawn darts and is expected to get a perfect score the first round.

We owe Jo Koy, like all creatives, the chance to try and fail, experiment and play, and the TIME it takes to adjust, fine tune, and try again.

It’s pretty certain that Golden Globes will never ask him to host again, but what if they did? What if they asked him to start prepping for 2025? I bet he’d crush. And job number one? Make Taylor double over with laughter.