By Sean Beckingham, Branding & Buzzing agency partner

In reflecting on my career as a magazine art director and my more recent experiences with media buying at Branding & Buzzing, one thing has become increasingly clear: the essence of advertorials has shifted, and not always for the better.

My Past Experience
As a magazine art director in the 1990s and 2000s, creating advertorials was both challenging and rewarding. The goal was to merge a brand’s story with the magazine’s editorial voice, which required in-depth learning about the brand to craft a narrative that resonated with readers. This process relied on collaboration between the publication’s editorial team and the brand, ensuring the final product wasn’t just an ad but a compelling story that could educate or inspire readers while staying true to the magazine’s identity. It was a careful dance of authenticity and marketing, and it made advertorials feel credible and meaningful.

The Recent Shift
Fast forward to today, and the landscape has changed dramatically. During a recent media buy for Branding & Buzzing, we faced a situation where the publication’s advertorial team lacked the capacity to write a piece. Instead, we had to pay extra to bring in one of their journalists to attend our event and create the content. Ideally, the publication would have had a robust editorial team capable of capturing the story, with our role limited to fact-checking or ensuring brand alignment. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. The burden of content creation has increasingly shifted to agencies and brands, turning what should be an editorial collaboration into more of a marketing exercise.

Why This Needs to Change
Publications must prioritize rebuilding their advertorial teams to focus on editorial quality rather than advertising alone. Here’s why:

1. Authenticity Resonates with Readers
   Readers trust publications to provide valuable insights and genuine storytelling. When brands or agencies take over the writing process, the content can lose that authenticity, turning into a sales pitch rather than an engaging story.
2. Stronger Connections Between Brands and Audiences
   When editorial teams immerse themselves in a brand’s story, they create content that bridges the gap between what the brand wants to say and what the audience wants to learn. This depth of storytelling benefits both the brand and the readers, fostering credibility.
3. Elevating Advertorials to Content Worth Reading
   By investing in larger, more editorially driven teams, publications can create advertorials that feel less like ads and more like integral parts of their content. This not only serves readers better but also ensures brands see greater value in their investment.

Why I’m Here
My journey from art director to agency partner has shown me how vital editorial collaboration is in creating meaningful advertorials. I’ve seen the challenges on both sides—balancing brand needs while respecting a publication’s voice—and I believe that a return to editorial-driven advertorials can elevate the industry. It’s time to rethink the role of advertorial teams, putting storytelling first and advertising second, to ensure we’re not just selling products but creating stories that resonate.