Earned media is exploding. Born from traditional public relations (PR), its rapid adoption by marketers is being driven by new opportunities to drive word of mouth through social media. But earned media cannot be treated as a standalone sideshow to the main event of building the business. As chief marketing officers (CMOs) start to pay more attention to this fledgling media, they must demand that it is integrated with online and offline paid media as part of a holistic brand-building strategy, with success measured in terms of business results, not just Facebook likes.