Why Companies Launch Branded Media

And who actually needs one

Making branded media outlets is a part of our job. It’s also the part of our job that needs the most explanation to those who have never heard of it. Sometimes it goes all the way to “do you make internal newspapers?” or something like that.

So in this post, we’ll do our best to explain what is a branded media, how it works, and why it is a good thing.

A branded or custom media is a media outlet published by a brand. Rather than blog, it is a news website or an online magazine that covers topics and issues appealing to the brand’s target audience.

Nobody would like to read a magazine that does nothing but produce eulogies about the same thing over and over again. A branded media may cover some stories regarding the publisher without directly advertising them, or use the publisher’s expertise to produce better features. It is more of a native ad

There are numerous reasons why a company may want to launch a media outlet.

• It is a great way to acquire and retain their desired audience.
• It gives a company strong media presence it can control.
• The audience associates quality content with the publisher, which boosts customer loyalty.
• It creates a strong community around the company.
• It is a great communication channel for any company that wants to know their audience better and convey its vision to them.
• It puts the company’s expertise in the spotlight.
• It generally drives up the brand recognition.

Still, this format hasn’t been around until recently. Making a full-fledged media requires money and time. Sometimes it takes up to 12 months to build a quality media outlet from scratch. It also requires to maintain the staff. Plus there are lots of technical and managerial issues that appear along the way. Not every company really needs that.

Say there is a company that wishes to create their own publication. Since it’s an example, let’s make it cool and say they make warp drive starships. The publication they eventually get doesn’t speak solely about starships. It broadcasts space-related news; runs interviews with the industry’s stakeholders; provides expert view to some ongoing space projects that are not directly related to the publisher, like asteroid mining or something like that; reviews new geeky movies; presents some educational content; and occasionally publishes the owner’s news or other materials. This way it appeals to everyone interested in space, from your regular space geeks to industry professionals.

Loosely speaking, a corporate media is one giant native ad. Moreover, it’s an ongoing native ad that you can shape however you want. It just needs to be really interesting, otherwise it won’t reach the audience you seek to engage.

Such a publication never hides the fact that it’s fully sponsored by a single brand. Therefore, nobody can say that the audience is tricked somehow. Such media produce high-quality journalism because it is run by a team of professionals. As a result, if you’re an audience member, it may be your one-stop source for everything you wanted to know about the topic in question. So in a way, it’s a win-win situation.

That’s all for today. Stay tuned.