Jun 25, 2026 · 7 min · 5 segments
In this episode of Embracing Marketing Mistakes, Chris Pharo CEO from 72 Point talks through the controversy that erupted after critics on social media challenged the term guaranteed coverage. What…
Chris PharoGuestChris NortonHostUm, a couple of, a couple of PR people who I, who I sort of know on Twitter, um, talked about the fact that they were cr- they were saying it, that you used the term guaranteed coverage, and how can an, how can somebody guarantee coverage? 'Cause if it's guaranteed coverage, it's an advertorial, it's not earned media.
That is a, a key part of what we do, and we say to a j- we say to a client, "You, you can't just put a story out and it'll get published." That's what...
We've got clients going, "I want you to get me coverage about this story." And we go, "Okay, we need to quick craft a story around that.
It's not just that." And if you want to get that in the press, [chuckles] you're gonna have to pay for an advert or you're gonna have to do an advertorial.
So that story sort of broke, that people said guaranteed coverage is not a thing.
And, um, and PRWeek did an article on the 17th of October, and several people had comments about it.
So that's what we're talking about, isn't it, Chris? So what happened at your end then, in terms of w- how did you deal with that? What, what happened? Just walk me through what happened and then where you're at.
Um, a couple of, a couple of PR people who I, who I sort of know on Twitter, um, talked about the fact that they were cr- they were saying it, that you used the term guaranteed coverage, and how can an, how can somebody guarantee coverage? 'Cause if it's guaranteed coverage, it's an advertorial, it's not earned media.
That is a, a key part of what we do, and we say to a j- we say to a client, "You, you can't just put a story out and it'll get published." That's what...
We've got clients going, "I want you to get me coverage about this story." And we go, "Okay, we need to quick craft a story around that.
It's not just that." And if you want to get that in the press, [chuckles] you're gonna have to pay for an advert or you're gonna have to do an advertorial.
So that story sort of broke, that people said guaranteed coverage is not a thing.
And, um, and PRWeek did an article on the 17th of October, and several people had comments about it.
So that's what we're talking about, isn't it, Chris? So what happened at your end then, in terms of w- how did you deal with that? What, what happened? Just walk me through what happened and then where you're at.
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3 of 3
Staff Outed, Stressful Backlash
Chris remembers how bad things quickly turned
Why Clients Get Sales Replies
A listener's tweet sparks a tough question
Independent Audit Declares 'Ultra Ethical'
They even called in an outside expert
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