Native is the New Black: Fashion Editors are Producing Branded Content
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The line between ad-sales and editorial at some fashion websites is getting about as thin as the sheer tops they’re showing for spring. Digital natives including Refinery29 and PureWow and magazine sites like Harper’s Bazaar and Elle are enlisting their editors to produce content on behalf of advertisers. In some cases, editors even model the advertiser’s products.
Editors’ involvement helps ads resonate with readers, the publishers say. “Readers are bombarded with crappy ads,” said Justin Stefano, co-founder and co-CEO of Refinery29. “This is a positive marriage between advertising and editorial.”
But the labeling varies, from “sponsored” to more opaque terms like “dedicated.” And editors’ involvement doesn’t make it any harder for readers to mistake an ad for, well, editorial. “The minute your editor creates content for every advertiser you lose credibility,” said Matt Rice, associate publisher at Style.com, part of the Conde Nast publishing empire.
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