CONTENT MARKETINGorHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Paid Content

AGENDA

• Working Definition

• How did we get here?

• What does it look like?– Case Studies

• Key Questions

• Ethical Framework

CONTENT MARKETING

Paid rather than earned contributed articles that closely resemble editorial content and often slotted in the news section, once-sacred ground.

AKA: “Paid Content” or “Native Advertising”

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

• Erosion of Classic Revenue Streams– Advertising prices decline sharply

• The glut of supply (inventory) is outpacing audience demand (traffic)

• Banners no longer tenable as news consumption goes mobile• Digital ad exchanges now widely in use increasing market

efficiency

– Consumers unwilling to pay for news

• Feeds Create New Norms– Chronological format has changed audience attitudes

towards the permeability between advertising and editorial.

• Brands Double Down on Content– Companies are able to tell their story their own way on

websites, mobile apps, and social channels.

BuzzFeed co-founder Jonah Peretti in Fast Company, “Most Innovative Companies of 2013”

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

• Erosion of Classic Revenue Streams– Advertising prices decline sharply

• The glut of supply (inventory) is outpacing audience demand (traffic)

• Banners no longer tenable as news consumption goes mobile• Digital ad exchanges now widely in use increasing market

efficiency

– Consumers unwilling to pay for news

• Feeds Create New Norms– Chronological format has changed audience attitudes

towards the permeability between advertising and editorial.

• Brands Double Down on Content– Companies are able to tell their story their own way on

websites, mobile apps, and social channels.

PAID SYNDICATION

• Sponsored posts appear within the news section. • Seen In:

– AOL, Slate, NBC News, The Atlantic, Gawker Media

• What’s Next: – Automation

• Benefit:– Cheapest model, easiest to execute.

• Issues:– “Sponsored post” = “Don’t Read”– Occasional controversy

PAID INTEGRATION

• Most resembles TV product placement where the marketer is weaved into a narrative.

• Seen in:– BuzzFeed

• What’s next:– Major publishers beginning to experiment…

• E.g. Including sponsor as #11 on a “Top Ten” list

• Benefit:– Increased share ability of content.

• Issues:– Expensive

PAID CO-CREATION

• Brand funds the development and staffing of a new site, section, or app that currently doesn’t exist.

• Seen In:– Meredith Publications, Forbes.com, VICE

• What’s Next:– Customized campaigns by in-house sponsored content editors

• Benefits:– Perceived as ethically safer

• Issues:– Very expensive

KEY QUESTIONS

• Will Government Get Involved?• Will Audiences Reject Sponsored

Content?• Will Google Spoil the Party?• Will it all be Automated?• Will the Press Take Control?

"I'm like – no offense – a writer-writer, not a corporate advertising, working-for-the-man kind of writer."

EDELMAN: AN ETHICAL FRAMEWORK

• Disclosure• Clear and acceptable

vocabulary• Audience participation

• Quality• Amplify, not replace• Fluidity

• Process• Not pay-for-play• Separate teams for

earned and sponsored media

SOURCES• http://www.edelman.com/p/6-a-m/sponsored-content-an-

ethical-framework

• http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/04/08/130408fa_fact_widdicombe

• http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/01/15/the-atlantics-scientology-problem-start-to-finish/

• http://gawker.com/vice-is-very-touchy-about-its-wonderful-work-on-behalf-1535223061

• http://company.vice.com/en_us/casestudies/the-north-face-far-out

• https://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/buzzfeed-has-this-sponsored-content-thing-down_b62628

• http://adage.com/article/media/sponsored-content-buzzfeed-gawker/244692/

• http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2013/buzzfeed