An advertorial, sometimes also called an advert, is an essay in the shape of prose advertising. The word “advertorial” is a combination of the words “advertiser” and “written.” The earliest usage of the term is attributed to the Italian publishing house L’Orient. Merriam-Webster traces the origin of this term to 1946.
The mass media, which refers to print, broadcasting, or the Internet, are widely used for advertorials. The reason for this is the flexibility it lends to advertisers to reach out to a much larger audience. Advertising has become much more sophisticated and targeted than in the early days. This sophistication gives rise to the need for more space, more fonts, and more sophisticated design.
A typical advertorial will contain five parts: Introduction, Body, Review, Information, and Conclusion. The advertorial will usually be written in direct language – that is, in the usual tone of speech that people use when speaking to one another. Native advertising is very different in that it is written or produced in a different style from the way that ordinary people would write or read it. Native advertising is generally grammatically incorrect, as it should be. Because it is grammatically incorrect, however, it can be a challenge to find writers who are competent enough to produce grammatically correct native advertising.
The style of writing an advertorial depends on the audience for whom it is intended. Advertisers need to consider carefully what kind of language, tone, and structure they will be using when writing an advertorial, especially since some of their audience may be native English speakers. Native advertising succeeds in a manner that conventional advertising often fails: it targets an audience who already understands the kinds of language and structures of advertising that the company uses. It may be difficult to convince companies to write advertorials in a way that avoids being grammatically incorrect. But for companies who already use language and structures that they find easy to understand, it can be worth the effort.
An advertorial can appear in many places. They are often posted on newspapers, magazines, on television, and on the Internet. (Internet marketing is becoming an increasingly important part of mass media marketing, even if conventional advertising and marketing practices still largely rely on print advertising.) An advertorial can be quite long, and it can also be divided into several shorter sections (contained within a single advertorial), each relating to a specific product or service.
There are many benefits of placing an advertorial. For the company, placing an advertorial helps bring the product or service to the attention of a large audience who might otherwise not have thought about it. Advertisers benefit because their marketing costs are reduced, since there is no cost associated with producing the editorial. The public benefit is that the audience can then learn more about a product or service than they would normally.
A typical situation where an advertorial may be useful is where you own a small business that has relatively few clients or customers. In such cases, the advertisement may well serve the dual purpose of drawing new business and informing existing clients of your services. However, even in this case, the client viewing the advertorial should be made aware that you are advertising, not simply describing your services. The information provided about your business, products, and services in your advertorial, along with any byline reference to your business, will normally appear in your published newspaper. Some newspapers and magazines allow you to insert information about your business in your advertisement without charging a fee.
So an advertorial can be a powerful form of marketing for a small business that is only getting started. Because it is written to inform readers as well as advertising, the message that your company wishes to get across is communicated in a manner that is both clear and concise. When considering whether an advertorial might be a suitable choice for your particular publications, you should be certain that you have carefully considered the pros and cons of such a campaign.
