Quality index of informative branded content in Spain: Criteria and assessment

Abstract

Branded content in its informative modality is based on publications that imitate the style and character of editorial content, trying to make its sponsored status go unnoticed by the audience. This research aims to analyse the journalistic quality of these publications through two specific objectives. Firstly, a qualitative methodological proposal is developed to evaluate these sponsored contents. This index considers ten fundamental criteria of journalistic quality and assigns a rating (<10) on a four-level scale (poor, minimal, good and excellent). Secondly, the index is applied to a sample of items published during one month (N=372) in six of the main Spanish digital media. The results reveal minimal standards in informative branded content. Only one of the six analysed media meets the standards of good quality, with a rating of 6.8, while the rest show poor levels of journalistic rigour. Four of the media do not even achieve an overall rating of five out of ten. From a journalistic point of view, informative branded content is concerned with the selection of topics of interest to the public and with the journalistic roles of service and social journalism. However, the sources are few, linked to the sponsoring company, and often unsuitable for addressing the topic. The close link between the content and the brand highlights the risk that branded content poses in guaranteeing the distance between editorial and commercial content. The financial salvation attributed to this advertising becomes, paradoxically, a threat to the legitimacy and independence of journalistic enterprises.