I was catching up on some industry-related reading recently, and came across myriad stories about branded content and how this critical strategy is blurring the lines among marketing services. One story in particular, “The Power of Content,” caught my eye, as it was published in a “branded content” special advertising section of Advertising Age paid for by the Council of Public Relations Firms.
The article addresses public relations’ role in the branded content space and references a spirited debate during the Council of Public Relations Firms’ annual Critical Issues Forum in October 2013 (I mentioned I was catching up, right?). The themed forum, “Content Frenzy!,” brought together experts in public relations, journalism and content strategy to discuss how and if public relations firms can stay ahead of the competition as marketers, ad agencies and publishers all strive to stake a claim on the content development and strategy space.
“Without question, the lines around the whole marketing-services mix have blurred,” said Chris Perry, president-digital, Weber Shandwick. “In the case of branded content, I’m not sure there are lines. This is the dawn of a new era for the way marketing communications is going to be done.”
For PR practitioners, whose stock in trade is storytelling and audience engagement, these blurred lines create more competition for agencies and ups the ante in terms of the quality of the content delivered on behalf of clients.
“The most important thing about this [content development] is that if you do it wrong, you create ineffective vanity publishing on behalf of your client,” said Christopher Graves, global CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations. “If you do it well, you create very powerful tools that will help propel your clients’ business and reputation ambitions. The real differentiator here is: ‘Is it effective content?’”
The debate continued as panelists discussed the practical elements involved in the development of branded content, and whether firms should create their own, hire an outside writer to produce content, or rent content from other sources. Each of these options has its distinct set of benefits and associated costs. For example, renting and licensing content written by known branded sources is a fairly painless and affordable option, allowing firms access to a plethora of stories relevant to their topics and the quality is assured as it’s already been used in major publications. Contrarily, building content internally requires a major commitment to talent and capital expenditures, but it also allows for more control over quality and delivery for timeliness.
Some panelists, including BuzzMachine founder and media critic Jeff Jarvis, wanted attendees to understand that as PR practitioners, the content we produce must not be disguised as traditional journalism. According to Jarvis, PR is about relationships, not creating content, and he advised that PR firms stay away from branded content. As told by Patrick Coffee at PRNewser, Jarvis emphasized that “journalism” isn’t about promoting the business interests of a client by dressing up an old strategy in a new suit.
While there are seemingly as many opinions on the subject as there are marketers, the one thing that everyone can agree on is that a strategy for producing authentic and effective branded content is critical for marketing services – especially PR, which needs to remain competitive. We are storytellers, after all, and the stories we share with target audiences must resonate in order to be effective. Fortunately, because we are storytellers, we may just have a bit of an advantaged
Check out the following links for more about “Content Frenzy!” and subsequent coverage of takeaways from the debate:
- Council of Public Relations Firms
- PRNewser’s “The Future of Content: Takeaways from the Council of PR Firms ‘Content Frenzy’ Event”
- O’Dwyer’s “CPRF Weighs Pros, Cons of Native Advertising”
What do you think about PR’s role in branded content? Please share your comments.