Branded Content Sites Back In Favor

This was an interesting read from MediaWeek -

OPA: Ads Perform Better on Branded Content Sites
The report uses Dynamic Logic’s MarketNorms, a database of scores that measures ad performance across a wide range of sites and is meant to represent the Internet as a whole

July 30, 2008

-By Lucia Moses

At a time of growing concern that the rise of ad networks is commoditizing branded content, the Online Publishers Association has released a report showing that ads perform better when they’re placed on branded content sites.

The OPA report, titled “Improving Ad Performance Online: The Impact of Advertising on Branded Content Sites,” uses Dynamic Logic’s MarketNorms, a database of scores that measures ad performance across a wide range of sites and is meant to represent the Internet as a whole.

The report compares ad effectiveness of branded content sites as represented by the OPA’s membership to MarketNorms, portals and ad networks.

“It’s an absolute fact with online advertising: environment matters,” said OPA president Pam Horan.

Among other findings in the report, when it comes to brand favorability, branded content sites performed 29 percent better than average online performance. For purchase intent, branded sites did 20 percent better, and when it comes to impacting purchase intent among those with household incomes of $75,000 and up, branded sites did 24 percent better. Branded sites also did better when it came to video and sponsorships, according to the report.

But Jeff Ratner, managing partner, digital director, MindShare North America, said that whether a site is considered a branded content one or not may be less relevant to an advertiser than that the site be a relevant environment for its message.

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While I am a HUGE proponent of commercial blogging (i.e. people getting paid to blog) I think this is a direct hit to the massive amount of "less than credible" content/journalism going on in the blogoshere as a whole.

It is interesting to me that many of the bloggers preaching that commercial blogging is "evil" (how original) are many of the same people trying to place other forms of ads on their page and this study is directly showing they are not as valuable.

On the other hand, a commercial blog sponsored by a credible entity typically contains meaningful content to educate the reader on that product at a level far deeper than a basic blog. Which in my opinion is more similar to a topic specific branded site than what a generic blogger produces.