Sponsored Editorial
Planning sponsored editorial content
Plan a sponsored article around a useful reader question, supported claims, clear sponsorship and agreed decision rights.
Plan a sponsored article around a question the publication’s readers have reason to ask. Before drafting, agree the sponsor’s message, the claims that need evidence, who controls each decision and how readers will recognise the commercial arrangement.
Start with the reader’s question
Write down what the article will help a reader understand or decide. A brief that says only “tell our brand story” needs a clearer answer. The sponsor can have a point of view, but the piece should still be useful to someone who takes no commercial action.
Check that the question belongs in this publication. Consider its audience, subject matter and usual level of detail. Agree on the answer the article can deliver before choosing a headline.
Put the decisions in one brief
| Decision | Record before drafting |
|---|---|
| Reader and topic | The question, intended audience and limits of the article |
| Sponsor’s role | Its message and desired reader action |
| Claims | Which statements need evidence, who supplies it and who checks it |
| Control | Who drafts, reviews, requests changes, approves and authorises publication |
| Commercial terms | The fee, payment terms, ownership of commissioned content and permitted reuse |
| Delivery | The format, timing, promotion and reporting commitments |
| Disclosure | How sponsorship will be identified in the article and its promotion |
Separate agreed deliverables from hoped-for results. A publication window or promotional placement can be specified in advance.
Define the commercial arrangement
Before commissioning, record what makes the article commercial. The Australian Press Council describes an advertorial as newspaper or magazine content that looks editorial and is published under a commercial arrangement between a publisher and an advertiser, promoter or sponsor.
That arrangement may involve payment for an article, or an undertaking to publish editorial content in exchange for, or as part of, an agreement to place an advertisement or provide sponsorship. Recording the arrangement and any linked commitments helps establish the article’s status before work begins.
The Press Council regards advertorials as advertisements, covered by the regulations and guidelines that apply to advertisements. Include this classification when agreeing the brief and the publisher’s requirements.
Check claims and presentation
In the outline, distinguish the sponsor’s perspective from checkable statements about its product and from wider context. Ask for support for material claims about price, availability, performance, comparisons and outcomes. Put any condition that changes a reader’s understanding close to the claim.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says business claims about products and services should be accurate, based on reasonable grounds and provable. Narrow or remove a central claim if the available evidence cannot support it.
Agree with the publisher on disclosure wording and placement for the article and its promotion, taking account of the publisher’s requirements for each format.
Key facts about sponsored content compliance in Australia
- ACCC claim standards
- Claims must be accurate, based on reasonable grounds, and provable.
- Press Council guidance
- Advertorials are classified as advertisements and must be clearly identified.
Choose a recognisable label
The Press Council recommends identifying advertorials with terms such as “advertisement”, “advertising feature”, “special feature” or “sponsored feature”, so readers are not led to believe the content is based on editorial news values free of commercial influences. Choose the label with the publisher before drafting.
Set the decision route
Give the sponsor a defined opportunity to check its product facts and agreed message. Specify who at the publisher can reject unsupported claims, misleading framing or an unsuitable angle. Record review deadlines and what happens if the parties disagree or a reviewer does not respond. The agreement should say whether an unresolved issue leads to revision, delay or cancellation.
Before production begins, read the proposed headline, opening, disclosure and intended next action together. They should promise a useful answer, make the sponsor’s role clear and leave room for material limitations. If the topic, claims or control rights remain disputed, settle them in the brief.
Prepare for claim questions
The ACCC accepts reports about possible misleading or false claims and uses them to inform its education, compliance and enforcement work. It may investigate and take compliance or enforcement action if a business misleads, but it does not resolve individual disputes or provide legal advice. Do not make an unresolved editorial disagreement depend on the ACCC settling it.
In this guide
- Choosing a sponsored article topic that fits the publicationTest a sponsored article idea against the publication’s readers, subject matter and the sponsor’s useful contribution.
- Separating a sponsor's message from factual claimsSort sponsor perspectives, product facts, comparisons and outcome claims before drafting a sponsored article.
- Agreeing on editorial control before production startsDefine sponsor review rights, publisher decisions, evidence requests and approval deadlines before a sponsored article is drafted.
