Sponsored Content Needs More Than Good Storytelling, It Needs a Good Story

Sponsored content doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. As publishers and marketers double down on their commitment to providing deeper branded experiences, instead of traditional advertising, the rules of the road are becoming clearer on both sides. And more so than just four or five years ago; conventions for doing it right have emerged. In talking to a range of publishers of various sizes and categories, we found that the practices ensuring sponsored content maintains a publisher’s voice and integrity take remarkably similar form. Getting it right, making sponsored content serve the interests of readers, publishers and their clients remains a complex process that starts with basic organization and goal setting but also lends itself to certain content formats, as well as execution and measurement regimen.    Think like editors In talking to sources, the consensus seems to be that creating authentic sponsored content starts with how the operation is organized and connected to the editorial team.  “We are a full-service, one-stop shop,” says Adam Ochman, senior VP, creative and strategy at Leaf Group, whose brand portfolio includes Hunker, LiveStrong.com and Well+Good. A full staff of writers focus solely on branded content, with little outsourcing, he says. That keeps the branded content team in day-to-day contact with the company's editors and processes to ensure its brand voices are ingrained. “We operate more like an editorial enterprise,” says Outside's Sam Moulton, who... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-03-05 17:34:24 UTC ]
News tagged with: #social distribution #key metric #user experience

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Catching Up with Kobo’s Michael Tamblyn on New Content, Tablets

Michael Tamblyn, the Chief Content Officer at Kobo, offers an update on the ebookseller's magazine store, kids shop and international expansion. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Good Housekeeping Gets New Editor-in-Chief

Hearst Magazines president David Carey announced the hire of Toronto-based Chatelaine editor-in-chief Jane Francisco as editor-in-chief at company flagship Good Housekeeping. Per  Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jane Francisco Named Editor-in-Chief of Good Housekeeping

Hearst Magazines named Jane Francisco the editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping magazine, the company said Monday, succeeding longtime editor Rosemary Ellis. Ms. Francisco is editor-in-chief of Chatelaine, a women's lifestyle magazine based in Canada. She begins her new job Dec. 2.Ms. Ellis,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lenovo Miix 10 review: A good tablet with an (optional) killer keyboard

Lenovo is known for building notebooks with exquisite keyboards, but the company is also no stranger to the tablet game. It has also introduced pioneering convertibles, such as the Yoga 11s and the newer Flex 14. The Miix 10 should be the culmination of that experience, but this hybrid falls... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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8 Lessons Startups Can Learn From Twitter's Chaotic Creation Story

Most startups will never see anything close to the amount of money Twitter plans on raising during its IPO this week (a reported $1.6 billion) and in fact, three out of four tech businesses fail. Entrepreneurs in training looking to create a successful company, then, might want to know what... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Great Digital Content Pricing Experiment

By Ellen Harvey With the prevalence of free online content, many readers have become reluctant customers, leaving publishers puzzling over how to monetize their greatest asset. Yet the same technologies (the web,... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2013-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York Times Ad Chief: Branded Content Units Coming Soon

The New York Times is planning to step off the sidelines and into the world of native advertising online, where a growing list of traditional publishers have thrown their arms around sponsored or branded content.Meredith Kopit Levien, exec VP-advertising, said the Times is planning to introduce... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: NYC's graffiti history and other arts stories

An exhibition on New York's graffiti traces the history of the art form in the city, a Parisian museum shows how immigrants helped shape comic books worldwide - and other stories from the world of arts. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2013-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eyetracking And The Neuroscience Of Good Web Design

Fabian Stelzer, EyeQuant's CEO, believes there's a science to how we view the Web. Whether on desktops or on mobile, whether we're male or female, young or old, our eyes will be drawn to certain common elements of web design–– a combination of contrasts, locations, contours and colors. Stelzer's... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kobo removes all self-published titles. Is this censorship, an overreaction, or just good sense?

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo removed self-published pornographic titles from their sites and Kobo stopped sales of self-published titles altogether. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report: Stories About Politics Inspire Best, Worst Comments

Researchers from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) spoke with online editors and community managers at 104 news organizations from 63 countries to help assemble a report written by Emma Goodman about what works and wh ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Munro short story to be Waterstones exclusive

Profile is to republish a short story by Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Much is Too Much? Getting the Content Balance Right in Digital Publishing

As digital publishing slowly but surely comes to eclipse traditional, printed media a big question arises: what happens to the publishing schedule when there are no fixed dealines? This is a problem being tackled head on by the Financial Time ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nothing small about story Nobel

The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career.     Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nothing small about short story Nobel

The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career.     Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2013: Redmayne Talks New Storytelling Models and Competing With PRH

The CEO of HarperCollins U.K. talked about taking his new job and how he plans on taking HC into the future. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Frankfurt 2013: CONTEC Opens 'Good Mood' Frankfurt Book Fair

The popular Tools of Change is no more, but in its place a more intimate digital conference--CONTEC--kicked off what Frankfurt v-p of conferences and entertainment & media Holger Volland said was going to be “a good mood” Frankfurt Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Hall wins BBC National Short Story Award

Sarah Hall has won the £15,000 BBC National Short Story Award with her story "Mrs Fox... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the Digital Publishing Era, Content Trumps Platform

The varied views from digital publishers on display at Berlin's Rewrite the Web event revealed one commonality: content always takes precedent over platform. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elizabeth Smart tells her story in new memoir

The disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart dominated headlines a decade ago. Now 25, Smart tells of her experiences in "My Story," a memoir published this week by St. Martin's.The disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart dominated headlines a decade ago. Now 25, Smart tells of her... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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