By Helen Vollmer, President, Edelman SouthwestAs I watch the morning news while getting dressed I disgustedly ask myself is this really news or is the network just promoting its next reality show? As I wait for my mani/pedi to dry, I find myself thumbing through a magazine article on what I think is an article on vitamins and nutrition only to realize, “wait, this is an advertising section.” As I check my friends’ Tweets in the evening before going to bed, I spy a rainbow Oreo that is creating a firestorm of dialogue and I think to myself, what a smart advertising ploy!
Even for those of us in the business, it’s getting more
difficult (at the risk of really dating myself) to know “Is it real or is it
Memorex?” This, of course, begs the question of transparency and ethics in the
ever-blossoming world of public seduction by savvy marketers. Listen, I don’t have the answers here - after
all I am a marketer who is always looking for new ways my clients can
effectively communicate. But I do know
that whatever you call it—paid media, branded content, native advertising - there
is a responsible, transparent way of handling sponsored content so the world
really does understand what is news, what is opinion and what is
advertising. Our job as communicators is
to make sure there is clarity in a complex world, not to muck it up so it’s
impossible to make an informed decision about what to buy, believe, or even
fear.
So, enjoy this issue of eVolution, where our authors explore
this topic from Scientology to Snowden.
Let us know how you’re navigating these muddy waters. Or, if you’re just diving in to figure it
out.
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