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Advertorials:
A marketing mistake?
From ADV Magazine and ADVMag.com
By Allen Silveri
For the record, I’m not a huge believer in business-to-business (B2B) advertorials. You know – those trade magazine items that look like articles, but are really advertisements. They can be useful if handled properly, but I would rather focus time, energy, and budget to pursue actual editorial opportunities for my client – or implement more effective advertising strategies to reach that target audience.
But many B2B marketers take the twisting advertorial path - presenting conflicting messages that muddy the editorial quality of the publication and deceive readers.
A Mad Marketing Scientist
You can almost compare an advertorial to a sci-fi experiment of gene splicing. As a two-headed hybrid, a quality advertorial should incorporate the characteristics of editorial and paid advertising. Technically, the space is bought and sold like a display ad, but its style is often formatted to resemble an editorial piece (i.e., feature article, case study, etc.).
In the hands of a skilled writer, an advertorial can be persuasive yet difficult to detect as paid ad space. But like all tools, in the wrong hands, an advertorial can be dangerous. In the name of broadening a company’s marketing approach beyond traditional advertising, advertorials have been misused and abused. Poorly written, self-serving advertorials deceive the reader, diminish the integrity of the magazine, and destroy the credibility of the company providing the "information."
The Good, The Bad, and The Worst!
An advertorial is either "straight-forward" or "veiled." The straight-forward type does not hide the fact that it’s paid ad space. Likely displayed somewhere on the page are the words "Paid Advertisement," "Advertisement," or "Advertorial" to alert the reader that it’s not truly an editorial article. Although they lack the credibility achieved with a third-party editorial endorsement, straight-forward advertorials are clear about the source of information to honestly encourage readers to seek additional details.
However, you also have veiled advertorials, which misrepresent a company’s editorial position by disguising a sales pitch as a feature article. This marketing "technique" is a discredit to both advertising and editorial. And can actually do serious damage to the company’s image and credibility among the magazine’s readership. But even considering how bad this approach is – it can get worse…
The Advertiser Formerly Known As Press
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The absolute worst abomination is the editorial-turned-advertorial – when an article opportunity turns into an outright advertisement. Instead of responding to an editor’s request for an unbiased article submission, the marketer uses the editorial space for shameless, self-promotion. Obviously an editor cannot endorse such brag and boast claims, yet this marketer gets upset when the editor suggests making the "article" more objective and worth the readers’ while. Hey SuperMarketer … Listen to the editor and remember to use your editorial powers for good, not evil.
The popularity of this approach suggests that there are plenty of marketers who feel that there’s nothing wrong with disguising blatant advertising as unbiased editorial. Even the most "wholesome" marketers are tempted when they see the competition spewing taglines and product features with little attention to providing any newsworthy information. This must stop. Take the high road – it may be lonely, but it’s rewarding. In B2B marketing, you’re not just selling products or services … but also branding your company and nurturing the relationship between you and your customer. To honor this relationship, you need to respect a publication’s editorial mission and readership. So, if you get a chance to contribute to a magazine’s editorial … don’t blow it by feeding the editor an advertorial – that wasn’t the order.
Mom always said, "If you can’t say anything nice…"
Or rather, if you can’t say it well, then don’t say anything at all. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have an experienced professional writer develop the advertorial. He/she should be well rounded –experience with copywriting and public relations writing – experience with customers and editors. Advertorials need to satisfy the message delivery needs of the advertising company and the newsworthy information needs of the editor and readers.
The best advertorials highlight an application story or case study that details how a problem was solved. And to maintain some dignity when writing an advertorial, it’s a good idea not to sell your company/products specifically by name. Of course, the information can be tactfully slanted to indirectly lead the readers to a conclusion that your company/products may be the best suited for their needs. Keep it objective. The moral of the story? Walk softly and carry a big stick, but don’t bludgeon the readers on the head with ridiculous claims.
© 1999, Allen Siveri, All Rights Reserved.
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