Purchased goodwill
It's striking: Just how many commercial messages are actually hidden in editorial content? An investigation into this rampant phenomenon is needed now more than ever.
Column How many commercial messages are really hidden in editorial articles? Some time ago, my colleague Gabriele Siegert published a research report in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on so-called "hybrid forms of advertising". This refers to what we used to call surreptitious advertising, i.e. hidden advertising in the editorial section, and the Zurich communication scientist rightly notes: "Current studies assume that the use of hybrid forms of advertising has increased significantly in many countries in recent years. However, she then says: "In contrast to these results, the advertising experts surveyed assume that this phenomenon only plays a minor role in Switzerland." Only one expert (out of twenty) admitted to having used pressure tactics against editorial offices, such as threatening to withdraw advertisements.
The question is whether expert interviews can reveal anything at all about commercial messages in editorial. There can be no doubt that newspapers and magazines, which are suffering from both an increasing lack of readers and a weaker advertising market, have become more susceptible to pressure. But what representative of a large company that places a lot of advertisements is going to tell an interviewer in confidence what kind of pressure they are under? Not even the downtrodden editor will tell, because then he is likely to get into trouble with his advertising or publishing manager.
You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of Swiss print products that can afford to do without advertising series (for example in connection with IPOs) because of a critical article. Incidentally, the problem also affects television broadcasters. Even the public broadcaster ZDF has received hundreds of thousands of euros for the fact that some companies have appeared on "Wetten dass ...?". If even there such (now deeply regretted) mores break down, you can imagine what goes on at RTL or Pro 7.
In plain language: Anyone who sits down with a real, unbiased expert and leafs through our lifestyle magazines is likely to come to the conclusion that every second article is somehow "sponsored".
We have long had this suspicion when it comes to automotive and gastronomy journalism. However, this bad habit now extends far beyond that. Daily and weekly newspapers have also long been affected. If you want a supplement from a particular energy provider, it is difficult to refuse to place a nice article about that company in the editorial section. It goes without saying that neither sponsors nor sponsored parties are interested in their countertrade being publicized.
So anyone who wants to investigate the problems of "special forms of advertising" (a soft-laundry term) should start at the most diverse corners and ends. They will have to compare advertising and editorial content in order to discuss the results with agencies, publishers and editorial offices. He will probably even have to go to the border between social research and journalistic research.
For example, interviews with dismissed and retired heads of communication or editors-in-chief would be a good idea. The only question is who pays for such elaborate studies. Publishers, television stations and advertising agencies are unlikely to do so. So the Swiss National Science Foundation? The topic is probably too practical for them. So who will put a few hundred thousand francs on the table to inform us truthfully about "special forms of advertising"? Volunteers first.
> Peter Glotz is a publicist and Professor Emeritus of Media Management at the University of St. Gallen.
The question is whether expert interviews can reveal anything at all about commercial messages in editorial. There can be no doubt that newspapers and magazines, which are suffering from both an increasing lack of readers and a weaker advertising market, have become more susceptible to pressure. But what representative of a large company that places a lot of advertisements is going to tell an interviewer in confidence what kind of pressure they are under? Not even the downtrodden editor will tell, because then he is likely to get into trouble with his advertising or publishing manager.
You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of Swiss print products that can afford to do without advertising series (for example in connection with IPOs) because of a critical article. Incidentally, the problem also affects television broadcasters. Even the public broadcaster ZDF has received hundreds of thousands of euros for the fact that some companies have appeared on "Wetten dass ...?". If even there such (now deeply regretted) mores break down, you can imagine what goes on at RTL or Pro 7.
In plain language: Anyone who sits down with a real, unbiased expert and leafs through our lifestyle magazines is likely to come to the conclusion that every second article is somehow "sponsored".
We have long had this suspicion when it comes to automotive and gastronomy journalism. However, this bad habit now extends far beyond that. Daily and weekly newspapers have also long been affected. If you want a supplement from a particular energy provider, it is difficult to refuse to place a nice article about that company in the editorial section. It goes without saying that neither sponsors nor sponsored parties are interested in their countertrade being publicized.
So anyone who wants to investigate the problems of "special forms of advertising" (a soft-laundry term) should start at the most diverse corners and ends. They will have to compare advertising and editorial content in order to discuss the results with agencies, publishers and editorial offices. He will probably even have to go to the border between social research and journalistic research.
For example, interviews with dismissed and retired heads of communication or editors-in-chief would be a good idea. The only question is who pays for such elaborate studies. Publishers, television stations and advertising agencies are unlikely to do so. So the Swiss National Science Foundation? The topic is probably too practical for them. So who will put a few hundred thousand francs on the table to inform us truthfully about "special forms of advertising"? Volunteers first.
> Peter Glotz is a publicist and Professor Emeritus of Media Management at the University of St. Gallen.
