What is Brand Journalism? The term was coined in 2004, but the definition is still being debated.
Despite this, it has become an important factor in business communication. As Pullizzi wrote in 2012 - “all brands, in order to attract and retain customers, need to think and act like media companies”.
Corporate newspapers, such as The Ford Times, Brand journalism has been around since the mid-19th century. However, the digital evolution of the media has raised the importance of brand journalism to a whole new level, and with it, the ethical concerns surrounding it.
Brand Journalism
Brand journalism is the management and design of branded content from a journalistic perspective, imitating the best practices of the news media in order to achieve competitive differentiation. Basically, corporate communication imitates journalism in order to tell stories.
However, bear in mind that ‘real’ journalism is mainly about information. Therefore, brand journalism not only needs to be newsworthy, but also non-promotional. Otherwise, readers will perceive the publication as less credible, taking it as “just another advertisement” in their eyes. For this reason, branding must be minimal and elegant in these publications.
“Every company is a media company”
Nowadays, most companies have their own editorial divisions for internal publication. These create stories about the brand and share the company's perspective on various issues. For this reason, although it is considered a marketing tool, brand journalism is primarily a public relations practice.
It's about building and strengthening relationships with customers and partners, not selling products or services. Just as journalists strive to show the ‘real’ side of things, corporate publishing should also present the true face of the company and share strong opinions. If it does all this, brand journalism can be the perfect way to promote transparency, admit mistakes, and disseminate new information.
Brand journalism can be a powerful tool in crisis situations. Because nowadays, if a company doesn't like journalists' headlines, it can write its own. Especially if your publication is honest and trustworthy.
Ethical concerns
Finally, we have to mention the ethical problems underlying corporate publishing. Even if it is completely honest, it is deceptive in nature, since it imitates journalistic practices. This makes it possible for false information to be disseminated in an apparently credible format, which can erode trust in the brand and the media. communication traditional.