4.1
Distribution platforms and media
A finished product nobody can open is a finished product nobody sees. Distribution answers are marked on whether you used the scenario — the audience, where they are, what they are carrying and whether there is any signal.
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What you need to know
- Tell online platforms, physical platforms and physical media apart.
- Explain an advantage and a limitation in the scenario you were given.
- Connect the distribution choice to the file formats it forces.
Start here
Platform, or medium?
Distribution is how the product gets to the audience. An online platform delivers it over a network — a website, an app. A physical platform is a device someone uses to experience it — a computer, a kiosk, a phone, an interactive television. A physical medium carries the content itself — a memory stick, a DVD, paper.
They stack in one visit. Someone opens the museum website on their phone, uses a touchscreen kiosk inside, and takes a printed map home. The website is the online platform, the phone and the kiosk are physical platforms, and the map is paper as a medium. Same museum, three routes.
| Category | Examples | What to weigh up |
|---|---|---|
| Online platforms | Websites, apps, online multimedia | Network access, updates, interaction, downloads, supported formats |
| Physical platforms | Computers, interactive televisions, kiosks, mobile devices | Screen size, controls, portability, whether it is available where the audience is |
| Physical media | CD/DVD, memory stick, paper | Whether they have a reader or port, capacity, printing and replacement costs |
Try it
Which category?
Eight things. The one that catches people is the phone — it is a device, so it is a platform, not a medium.
How it works
Online: reachable and updatable
A website reaches people wherever they are, through a browser they already have. Change the event start time once and everyone sees the new one — no reprinting. It can carry interactive maps, video and links. What it needs is a connection, and large files on a limited one either load slowly or get abandoned.
An app can give a more focused experience and can hold downloaded content where it supports that. The costs are installation, storage space and operating-system compatibility. Do not claim every app works offline, or that a website needs constant internet once its content has loaded — say what this one actually requires.
Finish the sentence
“A website is easy to update” is half an answer. “…so the organiser can correct a changed start time without reprinting every visitor leaflet” is the other half, and it is where the mark is.
How it works
Physical: dependable, but fixed
A kiosk is a shared, fixed display at the venue. It works for visitors with no phone or no mobile data, and it plays content stored locally. In exchange you take on its location, queues at busy times, maintenance and accessibility.
Paper needs no battery, no signal and no compatible software, and you can hand it directly to someone. It cannot play audio or video, and updating it means reprinting. A memory stick delivers large files without a download but needs a port and compatible software. A DVD needs an optical drive — and plenty of laptops no longer have one.
In the exam
Choosing for a heritage trail
Match the recommendation to the brief. If the council only needs a simple route map, proposing a full app adds cost for something nobody asked for — and saying so is worth more than proposing the most impressive option.
Worked answer
4 marks
A council wants visitors to follow an outdoor heritage trail where mobile reception is unreliable. Recommend a distribution method and justify it.
Tempting, but this does not score
They should make an app because apps are modern and everyone has a smartphone, so visitors can use it to follow the trail easily.
It ignores the one detail the scenario gave you — unreliable reception — and assumes an audience rather than using the one described.
Worth writing
A printed map, because reception is unreliable and paper needs no connection or charged phone, so visitors can still follow the route the whole way round. Its limitation is that it cannot play the recorded stories, so I would pair it with an audio guide the visitor downloads before they set off, with clear instructions on the map about downloading it in advance.
Where the marks come from
- Uses the constraint the scenario supplied — unreliable reception.
- Explains what the property gives the visitor, not just what the property is.
- Names the limitation honestly rather than pretending the choice is perfect.
- Solves it in a way that still respects the constraint: downloaded in advance.
Avoid absolutes
Online does not mean free, universally accessible or secure. Physical does not mean outdated. Explain what the method does in this scenario.
How it works
The delivery route decides the export
- Web photograph: a browser-supported format, balancing file size against how it needs to look.
- Print graphic: the dimensions, resolution and format the printer asked for — not the ones you guessed.
- Kiosk video: check the playback software, the display resolution, the storage and whether there is audio output.
- Phone download: think about file size, mobile data, and whether it is readable on a small screen.
Key takeaways
- A platform is what you access content through. A medium carries or stores it.
- A phone is a physical platform. The website you open on it is an online platform.
- Choose using the evidence in the brief: location, connectivity, devices, budget.
- Naming a platform is not an answer. Naming it and saying what it lets the audience do is.
- Online is not automatically free or accessible, and physical is not automatically outdated.
Glossary
- Distribution
- How a media product gets delivered to its audience.
- Platform
- The device or environment used to access media.
- Physical medium
- Something tangible carrying content — paper, a DVD, a memory stick.
- Compatibility
- Whether a device or application can actually open and use the file.
- Bandwidth
- How much data a connection can carry over time.
Test yourself
5 questions
Is a touchscreen kiosk a physical medium or a physical platform?
A physical platform — visitors use the device to access the product.
Why might paper suit a map in an area with poor reception?
It works with no network and no charged device, so visitors can still follow the route.
Give a limitation of distributing a film on DVD.
The audience needs a compatible drive or player, and many computers no longer have one.
Is a phone an online platform?
No — the phone is a physical platform. The website or app you open on it is the online platform.
What has to follow a named distribution method in an answer?
A reason tied to the brief: what that property lets the audience or client do. Add limitations if the command word wants discussion.
Common questions
Can one product use several distribution methods?
Yes, and campaigns usually do. Explain what each one contributes rather than assuming more channels is automatically better.
Is choosing the most modern option the safe answer?
No. The safe answer is the one that fits the audience and constraints in the scenario, even when that is a printed leaflet.