Study: Branded content helps Forbes’ advertisers

A new study by IPG Media and commissioned by Forbes Media shows that readers looking at pages with branded content were 41 percent more likely to express an intent to buy the brand versus those who saw a regular Web page with no branded content, reports Lucia Moses of Adweek.

Moses writes, “The study also looked at attitudes towards branded content depending on where it’s published. In a finding that will likely encouragement to publishers all over, the study showed that readers were 41 percent more likely to share branded content when they read it on Forbes.com versus on the brand’s own site.

“It’s tempting to conclude that content, even branded, is seen by readers as more trusted and shareworthy if it originated on a premier publisher’s site versus a brand’s. But did those sharing branded content from Forbes.com know it was created by the brand as opposed to Forbes editorial staff? (Some publishers, Forbes included, have been accused of confusing readers by dressing up ads as editorial content.)

“Howard admitted it’s possible, as survey participants weren’t expressly told that the content came from the brand, ‘but we go to great lengths to make sure it’s all transparently labeled on the site.'”

Read more here.