Hearst's Harper's Bazaar embracing branded content approach

Harper's Bazaar, the high-end fashion title from Hearst Corporation, has embraced "branded content" or "native advertising" or what you will in a major way with the launch of a new website next Monday in which advertisers can interleave their own products with editorial items in a new daily feature called #TheList. 

According to a New York Times story, Monday to Friday sponsors will be able to include their products as branded content and a link to their own site as well as running digital banner ads associated with #TheList. On weekends, they can include their products exclusively.

While the feature is the first time that Harper’s has used a branded content product, the announcement follows a broader effort by Hearst to create products for advertisers that, while labeled sponsored, resemble editorial content, a trend many publishers are turning to known as native advertising or branded content. 

In May, the company announced a series of native advertising products, including allowing advertisers to publish topical content about a developing story that can run alongside editorial content and pages where advertisers can post short videos, curate social media posts or sponsor photo galleries.

Hearst executives said that any sponsored content will be clearly labelled. Some of the products will also be available on ShopBazaar.com, which allows readers to buy products featured in the magazine. 

“Our attitude in this is that if we can create a really high-quality advertising experience that taps into our editorial team’s insights and into what resonates with readers, and do so in a way that it’s transparent, we think that is really powerful,” said Todd R. Haskell, the senior vice president and chief revenue officer for Hearst Magazines Digital Media. 

“We have an opportunity to create something from scratch that lets us develop one of these branded content experiences that is just so perfect for the reader and that lets us talk about the kinds of things that our readers love to interact with.”