Earned by CreatorIQ Podcast | Featuring Chase Fitzgerald, SVP of Strategy at Archetype
Earned media used to mean pitching reporters, landing coverage, and measuring impressions. Today, audiences get information from creators, newsletters, podcasts, YouTube channels, TikTok, and independent journalists — and the traditional PR playbook no longer reflects how influence actually works. The 171% YoY increase in creator marketing budgets from our 2025 State of Creator Marketing report backs this up. Big time.
In the latest episode of Earned, Ashley Waxman sat down with Chase Fitzgerald, SVP of Strategy at Archetype, to unpack how creator relationships are reshaping public relations, brand communications, and modern earned media.
One of Chase’s biggest points: brands need to stop thinking of creators as transactional distribution channels and start treating them like long-term business partners.
“You’re not paying for a post when you’re paying for a creator.”
That means brands aren’t just buying content. They’re investing in audience trust, production expertise, strategy, community connection, and cultural fluency.
And increasingly, those relationships matter just as much as the content itself.
Check out highlights from the episode below, or or tune into the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen!
One of the clearest themes from the conversation was that “media” itself has fundamentally changed.
Many journalists are leaving traditional publications to build creator-led businesses through Substack, YouTube, podcasts, and independent media brands. That shift changes how brands need to approach relationships.
Instead of simply pitching stories, communications teams now need to think about:
As Chase explains, creators and independent journalists should be treated like businesses — not just channels for distribution.
That mindset shift also changes how brands evaluate success.
Traditional metrics like impressions or engagement rates only tell part of the story. Chase emphasized the importance of softer signals too:
Those qualitative factors are becoming increasingly important as creator marketing evolves from campaign-based execution into relationship-driven strategy.
This closely aligns with themes explored in our recent Earned episode with Monica Khan, who described creator marketing as moving beyond “renting attention” toward building long-term trust and fandom.
Chase also shared how CES evolved its creator strategy from a small experimental initiative into a much larger creator ecosystem.
Rather than over-structuring the experience, CES initially invited creators to attend, experience the event organically, and provide feedback. Over time, that feedback directly shaped the event itself:
The key insight: creators want collaboration, not just participation.
According to Chase, creators want to feel their fingerprints on the strategy.
That lesson extends far beyond events. The strongest creator programs today are increasingly built around:
It’s also why more brands are moving toward always-on creator marketing programs instead of relying solely on one-off campaigns.
Toward the end of the conversation, Chase discussed where creator relations inside agencies are headed next. His answer wasn’t just “more creators.” It was infrastructure.
As creator partnerships become more embedded across marketing and communications, agencies now need systems for:
At the same time, creators are becoming more integrated into campaign development itself — contributing ideas, shaping narratives, and helping brands understand audience behavior in real time.
And in a media landscape increasingly shaped by automation and AI, that human element may become even more valuable.
As Chase put it:
“Keep it human.”
That mirrors what we're seeing across our customer base. The brands winning in the AI era aren't the ones automating the most — they're the ones using AI to make their people, and their creator relationships, more impactful. Because ultimately, the future of earned media won’t be built on placements alone. It’ll be built on relationships.
And explore more conversations with the leaders shaping creator marketing on the Earned podcast hub.
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