Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Free Advertising?

Lately, with the advent of sites like Buzzfeed, where posts can be created by users as well as staff, there has been an increase in "free advertising".  Popular items, such as Starbucks or Nutella, get entire articles written about them.  Some are serious, some are funny, but either way the brand get additional exposure.  The problem for most brands is that you generally already have to be popular for this to happen.

However, there is always an issue with this kind of "advertisement", as the brand itself cannot control the message about their products in this format.  There could be articles where the product is insulted or misrepresented.  A recent trend has been brands sponsoring articles on these sites to write positive things about them. This has to be disclosed, so many people stay away from those articles because they read just like an advertisement.  Both of these options, though, are great options for advertising in an ever more digital world.

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