We spend a lot of time talking about what branded content is and how it fits in to the advertising ecosystem, but what is the driving force behind it?
The relationship between content and advertising has changed. Pre-2000, I worked at Emap, a traditional publishing house, where the old adage was that editorial and sales would never interact because editorial felt that they had to sit in an insulated bubble so that they weren’t tarnished in any way by the sales team who were out talking to brands. Obviously I’m dramatising this for effect, but it happened.
Fast forward 14 years and now I find myself at a modern media company where the editors have a very different view of working with brands. Why’s that? Well the simple – and honest – fact is that in the digital publishing space, there’s no cover price or cover sales and without advertising or branded content, we can’t sustain free editorial online. We don’t publish a printed magazine on a weekly or monthly basis so have no associated revenues coming in. If we’re going to publish great content we need to be able to fund it somehow.
Because of this we need to support brands, but in a very sensitive manner so that we aren’t destroying the relationship between editorial and the readers. Editors need to be more responsive and more open-minded about how brands fit within the publishing ecosystem now.
Back in the day there was very little connection between brands and the reader, they were generally separated – advertorial was viewed as the ugly stepsister in the room, which no-one wants to talk to or look at, but nonetheless they would still feature. But in this day and age, the levels of sophistication have increased and editors are becoming more and more willing to bring brands into the fold.
Striking the right balance
Traditionally publishing balance was always skewed towards the readers and the editors and unfortunately for brands it was hard for them to get a look in. But in a new world, you do need to bring the balance closer to the centre of gravity so that brands can have a say, because in this instance, it’s actually the brands that are fuelling and paying for this ecosystem to survive.
If we, as consumers and readers, want great content, available free-of-charge, there has to be some kind of trade-off – there’s no such thing as a free lunch! We should certainly not stand on higher moral ground and say that editorial and brands should never meet. In my past life that’s how it was and yes that was suited to that time but it’s certainly not for now. It’s only a matter of time before consumers in digital environments become far more familiar and accepting of the fact that brands will be integrated into content pieces from time to time.
My focus is softening as I try to make sense of what I’m looking at. I imagine many readers are experiencing the same. It’s not our collective eyesight that is at fault. It is in fact the blurring of the line that has for so many years been distinct, with hard edges that allowed editorial and advertisements to sit side by side but never the twain shall meet.
The union between the two is progressing at quite a rate. I think it’s time to embrace the ‘brave new world’ in which editors are open-minded and welcome a dialogue with brands. Consumers don’t feel cheated by the blurring line, as there is a value exchange with content being the currency.
I for one am backing this new status quo. I proclaim this is the year that branded content breaks through in a meaningful way; the larger publishers will challenge their editors to think beyond their own silos and brands will try and find the sweet spots to make their content resonate within the editorial.
Paps Shaikh is European GM at Say Media
Originally posted February 19 The Drum