NEW GUIDELINES

The American Society of Magazine Editors announced on Monday they would update their guidelines regarding the separation of editorial content and advertising, reports Folio Magazine. The reason is the current debate about product placements in print. At the American Magazine Conference in Puerto Rico the association addressed this issue of the so-called "church and state separation".

The new guidelines attempt to be easier to use. They are divided into ten basic statements. Those statements include rules concerning design, covers, sponsorship and logos. The statement on "adjacencies," for example, says, "Advertisements should not be placed or sold for placement immediately before or after editorial pages that discuss, show or promote the advertised products." The guidelines also include an explicit article on product placement/ integration stating that "Advertisers should not pay to place their products in editorial pages nor should they demand placement in return for advertisement. Editorial pages may display and credit products and tell readers where to buy them, as long as those pages are solely under editorial control." The new guidelines can be downloaded here.

The guidelines also state that "repeated and willful violations will result in public sanction and disqualification from the National Magazine Awards." However, they do not detail what a willful violation exactly is nor how many violations will lead to a disqualification, remarks Folio Magazine.

PUBLIC PERCEPTION

On October 10, Starcom published a study that shows that the 65% of magazine readers in the US think that advertisers pay for the products that are featured in editorial content. Readers even seem to accept this practice. Starcom states, "Consumers typically believe that products featured or placed in editorial are relevant and fit within the content and context of the magazines in which they appear." This is, however, not good news. Brenda White, director-print investment at Starcom Worldwide, said in AdAge, "This study is not a permission slip. It’s a warning." She continued saying that "if readers already believe editorial content is for sale, publishers who push the needle further could jeopardize what reader trust they have."

Andrew Swinand, USA Starcom Group Client leader, said, "The survey shows clearly that consumers have print product placement on their radar, and that they are willing to accept it when it adds value to their reading experience. That said, the most powerful asset a magazine has is a bond of trust with its readers. While agencies should form tighter partnerships with magazines in order to better understand readers, they should not design any media contact plan that would violate the church-and-state separation of editorial and ad content."

The study also indicates that approval of product placements in news magazines is more selective. One could imagine that resistance towards product placements in newspapers would be even bigger.

CONSEQUENCES FOR NEWSPAPERS?

While product placements in magazines are discussed, their role in newspapers is still unclear. CSMonitor writes that "many analysts say product-placement arrangements are less likely to show up in the nation's top newspapers and news magazines than in smaller specialty publications."

"Magazines and newspapers are loath to discuss these types of deals publicly," said Patrick Quinn, president of PQ Media who conducted the above mentioned study that claimed that there are product placements in newspapers (see former posting), in CSMonitor. The damage this kind of advertising could do is likely to be higher for newspapers than, let's say, fashion magazines. Newspapers whose core task is to deliver objective and trustful information could get into serious problems if the trust readers put into them eroded because of product placements.

Sources: AdAge, Folio Magazine, Starcom, CSMonitor