Channel Strategy (PESO)
A downloadable AoM tool for classifying, mapping, and prioritising media channels across Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned, including tool notes and references.
Tool Notes
The Channel Map (PESO) is built as a three sheet sequence: Understand, Explore, and Activate. Work through them in order. Understand establishes how each channel type, Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned, behaves before any channel selection happens, so a business agrees on trade-offs before debating specific platforms. Explore then maps the full inventory of channels available within Digital Platforms, Physical and Environmental, and People, letting a team select what's actually relevant rather than defaulting to familiar channels. Activate, once available, prioritises the selected channels against effort and impact.
PESO is often treated as a media planning exercise, sorted out after strategy and messaging are set. Use this tool earlier than that. How a message can credibly reach an audience shapes what that message can say, so channel decisions belong in Brand Messaging, not downstream of it.
Part 1: Understanding PESO
Framework Content — Understand (Sheet 1 of 3)
Each PESO channel type is defined by how an audience is accessed, and carries its own role, common disciplines, and trade-offs.
Paid Media. Paying to access someone else's audience. Role: "We want to reach people quickly, predictably and at scale." Pros: scalable, reliable, fast. Cons: low trust, expensive, ephemeral.
Earned (PR) Media. Earning the right to access someone else's audience. Role: "We want trusted people and platforms talking about us." Pros: authoritative, cost-effective reach, long-term benefit. Cons: unreliable, hard to scale, expensive.
Shared Media. Accessing an audience via a third party controlled platform or partnership. Role: "We want people to share, engage with and advocate for our brand." Pros: high trust, low cost. Cons: unreliable, unpredictable.
Owned Media. Accessing an audience via a wholly controlled company channel. Role: "We want to build long-term business assets and customer relationships." Pros: low risk, long-term asset. Cons: slow, requires support.
Disciplines often operate across multiple PESO areas depending on how a channel is activated.
Part 2: Exploring Channels
Framework Content — Explore (Sheet 2 of 3)
This sheet crosses the four PESO media types against three channel environments, Digital Platforms, Physical and Environmental, and People, so a business can identify which specific channels within each environment are relevant to it.
Digital Platforms. Channels accessed through digital devices, platforms, and online environments. Examples span Paid Search and AI Platform Ads (Paid), Organic Search and AI and Voice Search Citations (Earned), Company Social Pages and Community Platforms (Shared), and Websites, Apps, and AI Assistants and Chatbots (Owned).
Physical and Environmental. Channels experienced in the physical world, including spaces, print, and in-person presence. Examples span Out-of-Home Media and Print and Publishing (Paid), Industry Conferences and Press Coverage (Earned), and Partner Retail and Distribution (Shared).
People. Channels activated through individuals and the networks they reach. Examples span Paid Influencers and Brand Ambassadors (Paid), Organic Influencers and Industry Leaders (Earned), and Leadership and Employee Networks (Shared and Owned).
References
The PESO model, Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned, was introduced by Gini Dietrich in Spin Sucks (Que Publishing, 2014) as a framework for integrated communications. The AoM adapts PESO specifically for channel classification, researching and structuring the full channel inventory against digital, physical, and people-based environments, informed by IAB global standards. This inventory and its application within the AoM were developed by Kieran Antill and Ross Hastings, Ne-Lo.
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