Glossary/Brand & Performance Marketing/Paid, Owned, Earned Media (POEM)
Brand & Performance Marketing
Paid, Owned, Earned Media (POEM)
A way of classifying channels into media you buy, media you control like your site, and coverage or sharing you earn.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
Paid, owned, earned media (POEM) is a framework that classifies marketing channels into three types. Paid media is advertising a brand buys, owned media is channels it controls such as its website, and earned media is coverage or sharing it earns. Marketers use the model to balance investment across channels.