We must treat advertisers as the funders
Online journals will thrive if they take on board and embrace the inevitable surge of the advertiser being the funder.
Major brands are finding it increasingly difficult to make themselves heard in the ad units they are allowed online because users have trained themselves to block out advertising messages.
Although the reaction from some publishers is predictable one, there are two other routes to publishers outside. Bury your head in the sand or turn to the advertiser as commissioner.
Brands and marketers understand the need to reach and communicate to an audience in a way that is sympathetic and positive. What is wrong, for example, with Barclays funding a site’s Premier League coverage? Or Marks & Spencer sponsoring a site’s fashion coverage if it means better photoshoots and designer exclusives?
Jon Westbrook, www.thepeloton.tv
