The Good News About That Conde Nast Announcement
When the publisher of The New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, and other iconic magazines said this week it would be launching an in-house sponsored content group, media types were understandably rankled.
That’s because Conde Nast’s announcement of its new branded content studio, 23 Stories (referring to the 23 floors the company inhabits in its New York office), made clear from the get-go that it would be doing something that makes traditional journalists uncomfortable: enlisting its own newsrooms to contribute to the content.
This is sacrilege in the journalism community, where the line between content producers and advertisers has been drawn in the sand for ages. Traditionally, it’s been there to protect journalistic integrity and ensure readers are getting only the most relevant content according to the publication’s standards.
Media critic Jack Shafer crystallized the point in his comment to Digiday:
“By mixing the two forms — editorial content and advertising — Condé Nast is debasing the former to the benefit of the latter,” he said. “This might not matter that much in their fashion magazines, where there is little editorial independence to debase. But the practice won’t improve Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, or Condé Nast’s other non-fashion titles. If Condé Nast wants to get into the catalog business, they should just do that without putting the ‘native ad’ beard on the words and pictures.”
The New Yorker hinted to Digiday that it wouldn’t do anything that would debase its brand. And Anna Wintour was front and center in the company’s press release, ensuring observers the company has the best brands in the business.
“The industry is evolving, and so too our ways of storytelling,” Wintour is quoted as saying. “It is exciting to have new opportunities that will allow the vision and intelligence of our editorial teams to reach consumers.”
Advertisers and marketers, of course, are intrigued.
“The biggest benefit of this new studio is the inclusion of the editorial staff at Condé Nast and each of the magazines,” Amy Stettler, general manager of global media and agency management at Microsoft, told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s surprising from them. We’re excited to see where it goes.”
Conde Nast is certainly not alone in offering branded content options to advertisers. Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and other stalwarts of the publishing world have in recent years rolled out programs that allow brands to inject their messages into content streams in different ways. As Meredith Kopit Levien, the Times executive vice president of advertising has said, “Native is a table stakes for every marketer and every publisher” these days.
The trick is finding the right balance.
Despite the understandable discomfort caused by the move, there is an upshot. There’s a clear declaration that the quality of sponsored content isn’t always there, which is great for the industry. For every thoughtful piece of branded material produced by The New York Times or (humblebrag) The Atlantic, there’s a throwaway piece of click bait produced by You Know Who or Someone Else. Publishers need to do better.
“With all due respect to the players in the space, we don’t think the quality is particularly there. We think we can do better,” Conde Nast chief marketing officer Edward Menicheschi told The Wall Street Journal.
While it remains to be seen whether Conde Nast’s aggressive line blurring will dilute its strong family of brands, at the very least it puts competitors on notice. Sponsored content, like anything else, is only valuable when it’s done right. Users demand compelling material—and they deserve it.
This kick in the pants is a good thing for consumers.
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