Author Kurt Schauer
Sponsored posts, particularly in the form of blog entries, are becoming increasingly popular. Companies prefer this form of marketing because it presents advertising content in a different, easily digestible format. In addition, the right blogs also seem to provide the necessary reach: you reach the target group where they are. However, the examples of "About You" and "Mondelez" currently prove that such plans can backfire and prove to be "friendly fire". Advertisers often underestimate their own risk.
About You almost broke the law
The clothing online shop About You, a subsidiary of Otto, had asked a blogger to write a post, which is fine. However, the company's communications department also wrote that they would like to avoid terms such as "sponsored post". This was an open invitation to break the law. The laws against hidden advertising stipulate that paid content must be identified as such. But this is exactly what About You wanted to circumvent. The company was very lucky that the deal with the blogger did not go through. But the damage to credibility has happened because the whole thing became public.
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" tag. But the content was catastrophic: The blog post was about competitor Nestlé and its involvement in slavery. The situation in cocoa production was the subject of the text in particular, and it struggled to praise Nestlé for at least being open about the problems.
However, Mondelez does sell products containing cocoa, such as Oreos. Since readers are not stupid, the food retailer pilloried itself with the blog post. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Mondelez also booked banner advertising on the blog's page. Sponsored Posts: Transparency is required.
There are actually only a few simple basic rules to follow for sponsored posts. Firstly, transparency is required. You should make it clear that you have paid for the content - in Germany, if only to avoid running afoul of the law. In addition, surreptitious advertising is very easily exposed as such. The damage to your own credibility can hardly be overestimated.
Sponsored posts can only ever be part of the solution for effectively promoting your own products. You should still rely on the work of specialists. Agencies can be an option here, as can appropriately trained staff who already work in-house, if available.
Any questions?
Kurt Schauer
Managing Director
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