Owned Media is an entity such as a store front, newsletter, website, and brand, among others, which the company has essentially control over. These entities work as a channel to market the brand to their target customers. A big advantage of an owned media is that the company exercises complete control of what goes out with no additional cost.
Most balanced Media Mixes utilize the Owned Media placement as the hub of advertising. This is most notably seen in something like a local automotive dealerships advertising, where the Manufacturer (i.e. Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, etc.) is providing coop advertising funds to advertising locally. These advertising efforts are largely using Paid Media, but that paid media can be used to leverage the local dealer’s position with the media companies locally and to garner a larger social media following (both Earned Media positions). Furthermore, the local dealership can heavily feature their dealers brand in the paid adverts, positioning their Owned Media in front of an audience.