POEM is an English acronym that refers to the various ways a brand can be exposed to consumers through media. It consists of the terms Paid, Owned, and Earned Media. This concept emerged in 2009 on an American blog before being popularized by the Forrester Research Institute. The POEM approach can be considered in a strictly digital context or more broadly.

Within the POEM framework, Paid Media refers to advertising space purchased by the brand on digital or traditional media. Owned Media encompasses the points of contact and assets owned and controlled by the brand. The brand’s website is often the central element of owned media, which may be supplemented by Facebook and Twitter accounts or a dedicated blog. Beyond digital, physical points of sale, point-of-sale displays, and signage can also be considered part of owned media.

Earned media refers to the exposure a brand obtains for free on personal or professional platforms it doesn’t directly control. This primarily includes mentions on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), customer comments, press articles, and viral content. Public relations and endorsements can also be considered earned media. The classic POEM model is sometimes extended to include shared media, particularly within the PESO model used for public relations. In this context, earned media focuses more on the audience generated by press or media coverage, while shared media refers to social media shares made on individual accounts.

For Forrester, POEM manifests itself through various typologies, such as the one used during the launch of a mobile application.