Paid, Owned and Earned Media Research: A Mixed Review, Reflections and Agendas for Future Research

This study aims to advance the understanding of POEM (paid, owned and earned media) literature through a mixed-review approach, comprising bibliometric and thematic analyses. VOSviewer was used for the bibliometric analysis of 816 articles from the Scopus database, while thematic analysis identified five themes and 17 sub-themes. The major thematic clusters are (a) brand communication and engagement via social media; (b) dynamics of media engagement and marketing strategies; (c) advertising, cross-channel synergy and branding; (d) mediated diplomacy and advertising literacy; and (e) the role of different media types in brand communication. This study presents the current state of research in POEM marketing and provides actionable recommendations for marketing practitioners and policymakers. Practitioners can use these findings to adapt and integrate emerging communication strategies, while policymakers can develop guidelines to enhance marketing practices and regulatory frameworks. Additionally, the study outlines five future research directions: (a) the integration of AI technologies, (b) ethical considerations, (c) cross-media synergy, (d) interdisciplinary approaches and (e) robust research methodologies.