Rethinking PR, Influence, and Strategy in the Age of Earned Experience

What you’ll learn:

What’s the strategy behind strategy?

Strategy is more fluid than ever across a landscape where market signals are more prolific and immediate. Traditional approaches that served us well in a linear, campaign-centric environment are no longer optimal.

Curated by Brian Kaiser, EVP, Head of Strategy, Klick, has launched the Difference-Making Strategy series, explorations that reveal what happens when you dissect your craft… and then rewire it.

These conversations reveal how Klick is adapting its approach to strategy to lead the way in a rapidly evolving marketplace. From gaming to AI and storytelling to experiences, our expectations of strategy are growing to include more than ever before.

Brian met with two of Klick’s leading experts in the PR and influencer space, Amanda Kleinberg, SVP, Strategy, and Jess Botting, VP Group Director, Strategy, to explore how strategy is shifting in a world where PR, influence, and cultural relevance are increasingly intertwined. Though they come armed with different perspectives, Amanda and Jess bring complementary strengths to the conversation: Amanda, a seasoned strategist with deep cultural fluency and an earned-first mindset, focuses on building resilient brands that spark conversation and drive action. Jess is a social and influencer expert passionate about connecting strategy to real business outcomes, and brings a platform-native perspective shaped by cross-industry experience.

Together, they explore what it takes to create ideas that resonate in the wild, why we must move at the speed of culture, and how to earn influence in a fragmented media landscape.

Amanda Kleinberg, SVP, Strategy and Brian Kaiser, EVP, Head of Strategy

From Coverage to Connection 

Brian Kaiser [BK]: Let’s start at the beginning. Amanda, since you’ve joined our Strategy team, you’ve been focused on redefining the role of public relations in the current marketing landscape. How should clients be thinking about PR today?

Amanda Kleinberg [AK]: Brands need to understand there’s a seemingly limitless amount of information and content coming out every day. The real opportunity is for brands to earn attention by being relevant and resonant, not just pushing [out] messages. It’s about breaking through the noise in a meaningful way.

BK: You coined the term “earned experience.” What were some early signs that this idea resonated and was valuable for our clients?

AK: Clients were asking for traditional PR deliverables, but what they wanted but couldn’t always articulate was something that shaped opinion, built trust, and engaged audiences. They didn’t always have the words for it—but they wanted experiences that connected, not just coverage.

BK: Jess, let’s pivot to influence. How do you define “influence” in today’s landscape?

Jessica Botting [JB]: Influence is at the core of everything we do in marketing. It’s about shaping decisions and behaviors. Creators, or influencers, are just one entity with influence. They have real relationships with their communities, but it’s important to recognize that influence can come from anywhere. 

BK: I remember discussing that we should appreciate creators as a way to tap into “zero-party data at scale”—simply because they have built their own brands on an understanding of their audience in a deep, intuitive way. What’s your take on that idea?

JB: Totally agree. Creators help to connect brands with culture—they filter messages through their authentic voices, which makes them powerful when earning influence. You’re not just tapping into their voice, you’re harnessing the insight they’ve developed about their audiences. That’s invaluable.

AK: And I’d add that creators allow brands to show up with more humanity, especially in health. They can soften the edges without sacrificing meaning or clarity.

BK: Jess, how are you seeing earned experience and influencer marketing converging?

JB: They’re clearly not separate anymore. Social, PR, and influence are becoming one. It’s all about earning attention. Take someone like Dylan Page, who started as a solo news creator on TikTok and is now in a Netflix show. He’s earned the ability to influence. Brands must be able to tap into creators who bring value and cultural relevance.

AK: Exactly. We’re often seeing creators break the news faster than traditional media. Legacy outlets like  AP can find themselves falling 30 minutes behind. Everyone is media now, and content is distributed and decentralized.

Jess Botting, VP Group Director, Strategy

The New Rules of Attention

BK: Given that reality, how do strategists need to evolve?

JB: Hot take: they don’t. A strong strategist has always thrived by being curious, adaptable, and plugged into culture. What’s changed is the medium, so we, as strategists, should be pushing to live in it.  

AK: I agree—for a different reason. Strategy is still about bringing the outside world into the room. But now, the “outside world” is shifting, and agencies must develop new ways to interpret this. Media is only becoming more fragmented, meaning attention is harder to earn. The job hasn’t changed, it just continues to evolve.

BK: You both talk a lot about moving at the speed of culture. Healthcare hasn’t always been great at that. How can we change that?

JB: It starts with listening, constantly identifying cultural opportunities, and helping clients stay agile on an always-on basis. This doesn’t work as a once-a-year marketing plan exercise.  

AK: And we’re building systems to help brands identify and activate ideas faster. We’re helping pharma find ways to act on real-time moments, even in a regulated space.

Resilient by Design 

BK: For brands that are in early-stage commercialization, what advice do you have for building brands that embrace earned influence from the outset?

AK: Start by considering your brand’s emotional and experiential offering, not just the molecule being brought to market. Build a corporate ethos with drama and tension. [What are] the things that make [your] brand worth talking about? Pre-launch is a great time to establish credibility through platforms like podcasts and newer media. You can be looking to find ways to become part of the conversation.

BK: Are there common mistakes agencies make when it comes to brand positioning and influence?

AK: Agencies often assume their ideas live in a lab, which is a controlled environment, but brands operate in the wild. Our ideas must survive in messy, real-world contexts where people are distracted. If the message doesn’t hold up there, it won’t hold up at all.

JB: I’d add that brands should be careful not to overlook the creative brief. We’ve seen success when our creative teams are challenged to develop conceptual ideas explicitly designed to earn influence.

BK: Final thoughts: What’s one thing we must keep doing to keep strategy geared towards earning influence?

JB: Be obsessed with the platforms. Live in them. Learn how they work. Influence comes from fluency; it enables you to better anticipate what might drive relevance.

AK: And anchor everything in empathy. Strategy is still about understanding how people think, feel, and act, and then crafting ideas that meet them where they are.

Follow us for more Difference-Making Strategy conversations. To find out more about this topic or how Klick can help you redefine your strategies, contact Brian and his team today.