Sponsored article production

Once the topic and commercial brief are agreed, move the sponsored article through drafting, claim checks, sponsor review and approval of the final version. Give each stage an owner. Approval of an earlier draft does not cover a later material change.

Hand over a workable brief

Give the writer the reader’s question, agreed angle, sponsor message, intended next action and format. Include approved product material, claims needing proof, material conditions, review contacts and deadlines. Identify who can approve wording and who can pause publication when a claim or presentation remains disputed.

Keep a versioned working copy and a claim record. A reviewer can then distinguish a factual correction from a tone preference and see which headline or teaser needs rechecking after a body edit.

Set an evidence standard for release and a review deadline. The ACCC says businesses must be able to prove claims they make or advertise, and that claims should be true, accurate and based on reasonable grounds. Record the grounds for each claim alongside the wording, so approval does not rest on sponsor confirmation alone.

If a claim depends on supporting material, ensure the relevant reviewer can assess that material before sign-off; do not treat an approval email as a substitute for substantiation.

Draft the answer

Open with the answer the headline promises. Explain relevant limits or trade-offs before inviting a commercial action. The sponsor’s product can have a clear place in the article, but a product mention should not replace the explanation.

Write the headline, standfirst and promotional teaser alongside the body. Read them together: a qualification deep in the article cannot repair a misleading headline. Before sending the draft for review, check that the headline, standfirst, teaser and body describe the same offer and do not imply a broader benefit than the article explains.

Check the final wording

For each material statement, compare the exact proposed wording with its evidence, date, product version or population, and conditions. Apply the ACCC’s reasonable-grounds test to the claim as it appears in the draft, not just to a broader statement in a product document.

Pay particular attention to prices, availability, comparisons, results and future outcomes. Narrow a claim to what the evidence supports, or remove it if support is inadequate. Recheck related headlines and teasers.

The sponsor can confirm facts about its product. Its approval alone does not establish a wider market comparison or customer outcome. The fact-checking brief records claim-by-claim decisions; this production check ensures those decisions reach every relevant part of the publication package.

ACCC Requirements for Advertising Claims

Resolve changes and review presentation

Ask the sponsor to identify each requested passage, replacement and reason. Check a specification correction against current material. If a request removes a material condition, retain the condition, narrow the claim or drop it. Circulate a revised passage to everyone whose approval it affects. Hold the affected version while a central claim remains disputed.

Review how readers will recognise the commercial arrangement in the article and any promotion that could look editorial. The Australian Press Council’s advertorial guideline recommends identifying commercially arranged newspaper and magazine content that resembles editorial material. Check the publisher’s requirements and the actual promotion and page design.

Record the purpose of each proposed link. A commercial destination and a factual citation serve different purposes. Where a link is part of a paid placement, apply Google’s paid-link guidance to the rendered link; that treatment does not replace disclosure to readers.

The Australian Press Council uses “advertorial” for newspaper or magazine content that looks editorial but is published under a commercial arrangement. Examples include 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. Check whether the arrangement and presentation together make the content look like editorial material.

For advertorials, the Council gives examples of reader-facing labels including “advertisement”, “advertising feature”, “special feature” and “sponsored feature”. It regards advertorials as advertisements covered by the regulations and guidelines that apply to advertising. Confirm the selected label is visible in the actual presentation, not just in an internal approval record.

Approve one version

The handover should identify approved versions of the article, headline and teaser, plus claim decisions, disclosure, link purposes, destinations and the decision owner. Review the rendered promotion and article before release. Reopen approval if the published version changes a material claim, condition, disclosure or destination.

For a paid placement link, apply Google’s specific link treatment in the rendered article: use the rel="sponsored" value on the link. Google says ordinary links do not need a qualifying rel value, and multiple values may be used together, separated by spaces or commas. Distinguish this technical treatment from the reader-facing disclosure already reviewed.