Advertorial

Advertorial is a term you don't come across that often in relation to online advertising, so you may have missed its real meaning or benefit. Fix that and read up on what an advertorial is, how it works and what its goals are.

What is an advertorial?

An advertorial is a paid advertisement that at first glance does not differ significantly from regular editorial content. The term was coined by combining two English words - advertisement and editorial.

Advertorials usually take the form of a written text, i.e. an article or other journalistic format (e.g. a review, an interview...). However, it can also be found on television and radio, where it appears on its own or as part of a programme. As a rule, it is a shorter presentation of products/services with an informative character.

Copywriters, PR managers and marketers are responsible for creating advertorials. As an advertisement, the advertorial must be marked as "paid advertising" (or otherwise be recognizably separate from unpaid content).

Advertorial vs. PR article

At first glance, an advertorial is identical to a regular PR article - and many marketers actually confuse the terms. However, a shallow "SEO text" is also often referred to as a PR article, which is primarily used in backlink building. An advertorial has little in common with such a PR article.

The typical features of an advertorial include high information value. The author tries to explain the topic to the readers (listeners) in more depth and does not use the first-person turns of phrase that are typical of other forms of advertising.

Objectives of the Advertorial

Advertorials are used in different phases of marketing strategy. They are most often used as a source of information about products and services, to strengthen the customer relationship with the brand, to influence public opinion and, of course, to boost sales.