In his article, “Lowered Expectations: Web Redefines Quality,” Mr. Learmonth makes some curious statements about the life blood of online content brands. He also offers some interesting ideas about the concept of loyalty towards brands of online content. This portion of rebuttal challenges Mr. Learmonth’s ideas in these two areas. In addition it develops the concept that loyalty towards brands of online content is alive and well in its relationship with advertising campaigns.

What impact does brand loyalty have on advertising campaigns? Since Mr. Learmonth does not seem to recognize that online brand loyalty can be developed towards the entity that is delivering the content, it is hard to see where he could develop an opinion that would state that advertising is directly associated with the media in which it appears. I believe that this is exactly what happens. It seems logical to believe that when people are absorbed in content that meets their needs they are more likely to be trustful and open to advertisements that are aligned with that content. Again, it would seem to follow that the deeper the relationship that is formed with the site in general and with the specific producer, regardless of the type of content sought, the more likely a particular person is to actively engage the advertisements. Therefore, I am of the opinion that if the media brand does not fulfill its mission of producing desired content at either the casual or the more intimate levels, people are less likely to take stock in that media outlet much less take part in an active advertisement scheme.

In prefacing a statement made by Mr. Patrick Keane, the CEO of Associated Content, Mr. Learmonth says the following under his heading of Authority: “As consumers become more and more comfortable judging content separate from brands, a new perception of value is emerging.” Mr. Keane than is quoted as saying:

“People have a greater degree of comfort with information from sources they aren’t familiar with,” said Patrick Keane, CEO of Associated Content, which has published nearly 2 million pieces of content optimized for search. “To me, quality is moving toward a center of usefulness as opposed to that arbitered by a group of professionals.”

First Mr. Learmonth is incorrect when he suggests that consumers are separating themselves from brands. There are still brands, it is just that opportunities for new brands are unveiling themselves. Look at Associated Content for example. It is a brand for online text, images, audio and video content. Each Associate Content Contributor is able develop a unique brand on the Associated Content site. This is similar in concept to eBay and its sellers, old off line newspapers and their columnists and ESPN.com and its writers. Continuing to use Associated Content as an example, it seems to me that this company itself forms the brand’s shell and each of its Contributors forms the brand’s core. I believe this is the rationale Associated Content uses to identify themselves as, The Peoples Media Company. They make content available that is made by people for the people.

The internet is not just another media outlet. It is one that is growing exponentially compared to the past growth of long form streams of media. Its tentacles reach out and touch individuals in all facets of their life. As individuals become more and more entangled in the internet web, they will continue to seek quality content. Quality will become more and more defined as what is relative to the individual.

Mr. Learmonth makes the following comments as he introduces a quote made by Mr. Tim Armstrong, AOL CEO: “Because Mr. Armstrong is an investor in Associated, AOL gets lumped in with content mills. AOL does mine data to decide what content to create and when, and farms some of that out to low-paid freelancers through its content-generation platform SEED. But where AOL differs is it is trying to build a media brand on the web, and won’t just produce content that is profitable.”

“We build non-commercial and commercial content and we will always do that because there are certain things that may not have economic advantage that serve our community well,” Mr. Armstrong said. “If you serve your community best you should be able to run a business that is profitable.”

It is a shame that Mr. Learmonth took this opportunity to fire off a regrettable shot against Associated Content. Like AOL, Associated Content is also in the business of producing discoverable content. Associated Content Contributors are known for publishing “how to” types of articles, other evergreen articles as well as for providing content for local coverage. In addition, general news reporting is also found on Associated Content. However, it is generally recognized that news content generally has a short shelf life. Associated Content also allows people from all sorts of backgrounds to publish a wide variety of online media content even though it may not be profitable for the company.

Advertising has always been a game of maximizing returns. If an advertising campaign doesn’t deliver the necessary return on its cost, it is deemed ineffective and hopefully suspended. For example, for the 2010 Super Bowl, Pepsi broke with tradition and did not advertise their product line of beverages during the game. Though speculative on my part, I venture to guess the Pepsi Corp. concluded that the advertising rates for that exposure would not deliver an appropriate rate of return on their advertising dollar. In simple terms this means they didn’t think they were going to get the best bang for their buck. This in essence is what advertising is all about. However, with the advent of the internet, its development and the behavioral marketing that can and does take place, it allows for very specific sorts of advertising to take place. I believe the media brand that hosts the advertisement needs to be reliable. For if the media brand is deemed unreliable this feeling in turn could extend to the advertising. Additionally, if the media is unreliable people will graduate to that media at a slowing rate, which will impact the advertisers’ bottom line that are partnering with such unreliable forms of media.

Mr. Learmonth seems to poke fun at online advertising when it comes to online content. In his opening paragraph in which he defines the quality of brands of media as the long form sort and that they were, “the kind that brands once paid handsomely to associate themselves with through advertising.” Later in his article as he discusses how content industries shape their product to maximize what he terms as, “in pursuit of a trickle of ad dollars.” With a tone of sarcasm he draws to attention Demand Studios and Associated Content by suggesting that they operate like mad scientists as they determine the monetary worth of a piece of content over some period of time. These companies may well be doing this, but it is unfair for him to draw attention to them as if they are doing something outlandish and so out of the norm. Like it or not, this is the online world as we know it.

This is a response to Michael Learmonth’s article; “Lowered Expectations: Web Redefines Quality'” that was originally published in Advertising Age, and republished by The Business Insider:

http://www.businessinsider.com/lowered-expectations-web-redefines-quality-2010

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=142235

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2009-12-17/pepsi-not-advertising-super-bowl-2010

Note 1: July 31, 2014: Yahoo shuts down YCN and Yahoo Voices
Note 2: May 18, 2010: Yahoo purchases Associated Content

Originally published on Associated Content / Yahoo Contributor Network (YCN) on March 12, 2010

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