Magazine readers are becoming more relaxed about having advertorials as
a form of advertising in the titles they read, according to the latest
qualitative research from BBC Magazines.
The BBC magazines research for its flagship title Radio Times found that
readers were comfortable with advertorials if they were produced to the
same quality as the surrounding editorial.
The company has now introduced a code of practice on advertorials, which
ensures that all are produced in-house and controlled by the magazines’
editors. BBC Magazines says the use of advertorials is up 11 per cent
year-on-year across the sector.
It found that a Wine of the Week advertorial run for Tesco in a recent
issue of the Radio Times scored above 80, for interest in a reader
survey. This was as high as the interest score for a major feature by
wine expert Jancis Robinson in the same issue.
‘In the right hands, advertorials are becoming more and more
sophisticated in their execution, driven by the growing consumer demand
for information,’ said Radio Times advertorials manager Nicky Barnard.
‘Consumers now expect to engage in a dialogue with advertisers.’
Meanwhile, BBC Magazines has clinched an exclusive advertorials deal
with coffee company Kenco to promote its new range of single source
instant and filter coffees.
