Media Analysis. A report by the Branded Content Governance Project

This report by the Branded Content Governance Project examines coverage of issues related to branded content governance in selected UK and Spanish media publications. The report examines coverage in ‘trade media’, publications aimed at those working in media-marketing, and in ‘general’ news publications, aimed at nationwide readerships, with systematic analysis of reporting on branded content governance and advertising regulation in 2024. The research found a relative lack of reporting on branded content regulation across both trade and general media in the UK and Spanish publications examined. Some reporting in general media did provide a ‘media education’ role. Articles reported on advertising regulatory action in ways that could assist in raising awareness of commercial practices. However, in general media, such reporting tended to focus on specific rulings and only rarely opened up discussion about regulatory arrangements. UK trade media coverage was dominated by the advocacy for existing self-regulation by lead industry bodies. By contrast, in Spanish trade press coverage there was greater reporting and discussion of ‘problems’ in influencer marketing that need to be addressed, including advertising transparency and disclosure.The report makes recommendations for general and trade media reporting and for research and advocacy.

The Branded Content Governance (BCG) project is led by academics at three Universities. Prof. Jonathan Hardy, University of the Arts London is Principal Investigator, working with two Co- Investigators, Prof. Iain MacRury, University of Stirling, and Prof. Patricia Núñez Gómez, Complutense University of Madrid. This report has been co-written by Jonathan Hardy and Maciej Wysokinski, with additional research by Lucia Gloria Vázquez Rodríguez. The BCGP is jointly funded by two research councils within UK Research and Innovation, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), (ES/W007991/1).