Climate Change Branded Content in Spanish Newspapers

Introduction

In recent years there has been great growth in branded content, “an alternative corporate communication format, which has become ever more popular as a supplement or replacement of traditional communication practices”, explain Palomo-Domínguez and Infante-del-Rosal (2022).

However, this is not a new communication strategy. Other similar types of advertising such as product placement have existed for decades, remind us Formoso, Sanjuán & Martínez (2016, p. 207), “despite being one of the most controversial advertising modalities for its invasive methods”. This controversy still applies to branded content, since its effectiveness depends on its ability to appear as a natural content of the media. But the scope of the controversy also varies depending on the type of media where the branded content strategy is developed.

Although branded content techniques are sometimes associated with entertainment programs and channels, paid and sponsored content has also landed strongly in journalism. Palau-Sampio (2021) explains how Spanish media have definitely joined branded content practices, one of the main journalistic trends. However, there are still few studies that analyze the user’s experience of branded content in newspapers (Waqas, Hamzah & Mohd-Salleh, 2021).