The term “paid media” is used to define all channels that require monetary investment in order to be used for promotion purposes.
From digital channels for ADS campaigns, think Google or social, to online and offline public relations activities but not only: all media considered more traditional, from print media, TV, radio to billboards, obviously fall within this category.
The concept of “paid media” is closely related to two other concepts:
- owned media: all company-owned channels that as such can be easily and directly managed fall under this categorisation. These can, for example, include website and eCommerce, SEO, APP, email marketing platforms, blogs, point of sale;
- earned media: classified within this category are all the channels in which the visibility of a brand is linked to the level of engagement that it is able to arouse among users. In this case, in fact, the company does not have to buy advertising space but strengthens its visibility, thanks to word of mouth from users (think for example of online reviews, user generated content, etc…).
As can be easily guessed, a successful strategy perfectly combines the three different types of channels.
