Author: Kurt Schauer
Sponsored posts, especially in the form of blog entries, are becoming increasingly popular. Companies particularly favour this form of marketing, as it presents advertising content in a different, easily digestible form. Moreover, the right blogs also seem to guarantee the necessary reach: you pick up the target group where it is. However, the current examples of „About You“ and „Mondelez“ prove that such ventures can also backfire and turn out to be „friendly fire“. Advertisers frequently underestimate their own risk immeasurably.
About You almost broke the law
The online clothing shop About You, a subsidiary of Otto, had asked a blogger for a post, which is fine in itself. However, the company’s communications department also wrote to her that they would prefer to avoid labels such as „Sponsored Post“. That was an open invitation to break the law. The laws against surreptitious advertising stipulate that paid content must be identified as such. Yet this is precisely what About You wanted to circumvent. The company was very lucky that the deal with the blogger did not come about. However, since the whole matter became public, the damage to credibility has nonetheless occurred.
Mondelez shot itself in the foot
The food giant Mondelez was hit even worse. It paid for a blog post and made this clear with a „Supported by Mondelez“ label. But the content was catastrophic: the blog post revolved around its competitor Nestlé and its involvement in slavery. In particular, the text addressed the situation in cocoa production, struggling to offer faint praise for Nestlé’s at least open approach to the problems.
However, Mondelez offers cocoa-containing products such as „Oreos.“ Since readers are not foolish, the food provider immediately put itself in the pillory with the blog post. And as if that weren’t bad enough, Mondelez also booked banner advertising on the blog’s page. Sponsored Posts: Transparency is required.
In fact, only a few simple basic rules need to be observed for sponsored posts. Firstly, transparency is required. It should be made clear that the content has been paid for – in Germany, if only to avoid conflict with the law. Moreover, surreptitious advertising is very easily exposed as such. The damage to one’s own credibility can hardly be overestimated.
Sponsored posts can also only ever be part of the solution for effectively promoting one’s own products. One should continue to rely on the work of specialists. Agencies, as well as appropriately trained in-house staff, if available, can be considered here.
Do you have questions?
Kurt Schauer
Managing Director
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