Zoe Touris
zt700218@ohio.edu
 |
| Photo courtesy of Mara Einstein |
It is nearly impossible to open the Internet and not come across a sponsored post in today's modern society. Whether this may come from your favorite influencer, podcast, or news site, sponsored content is mixed in with nearly all of the content we consume daily, whether you know it or not.
Although advertisements and sponsored content are crucial for brands and companies to stay afloat and gain revenue, there is a fine line between ethical branded content and native advertisements.
Native advertisements don't look like ads but are disguised as news stories, blog posts, or charts. Because the reader is not aware that the information they are consuming is sponsored content and believes it to be a regular news story from their trusted news site, this native advertisement stands a better chance of catching the reader's eye than a standard advertisement.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Media Kix |
For example, clothing company Lord & Taylor faced an over deceptive-trade charge in response to a paid advertisement on the fashion site Nylon, which appeared as a regular story posted to Nylon's website where they unethically endorsed Lord & Taylor without disclosing that this story was sponsored content.
Along this same line, Lord & Taylor were also accused of paying dozens of online influencers to promote one of their dresses without disclosing that they were paid to do so. While it is common for influencers to work with brands and create sponsored content for them, they must disclose whether or not they have been compensated for this content.
Most PR professionals have also indicated that this branded content should always be explicitly labeled. In addition, a large number of this group further the discussion by stating that consumers should be allowed to block any branded content on online platforms.
While this may never be a reality, this issue raises many ethical concerns regarding consuming everyday media. These advertisements are meant to mislead the public to influence their thinking to purchase a good, as opposed to real journalism, which is meant to inform and enlighten the public.
When these two distinct categories become interchangeable, and the line between them becomes blurred, journalism loses its true intentions.
Zoe,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog to be extremely educational. As I have been taking classes geared towards advertising I have become more aware of ways that advertisements are weaved into our every day life, whether it is evident or not. Native advertising I think is one of the most unique ways, it allows businesses to integrate media within content in a manner that is less intrusive. This is done in a way to not annoy viewers, in creating more engagement within the company.
Hi Zoe!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog from this week and personally, got a lot out of it. As as aspiring journalist, it is extremely discouraging to be in an industry where your word is not known as valid due to the fake news trend. A major concern is the lack of transparency and the ethical issues behind the scenes at a lot of firms.
Overall, I really enjoyed what you wrote, good work!