Erin Schauster

Native Advertising Is the New Journalism: How Deception Affects Social Responsibility

Native advertising’s effectiveness lies in its ability to look like content produced by journalists. The potential for deceiving readers and proliferation of native advertising threaten journalism’s credibility along with its core boundary: the separation between editorial and advertising. For the press to function in a normative manner, as a watchdog, contributing to the public’s ability to self-govern, it simply cannot participate in deception. Therefore, 56 qualitative interviews were conducted with journalists, advertising, and public relations executives to examine the extent to which native advertising impedes on the social responsibility of the press. Perspectives revealed that all three professions agreed native advertising raises ethical concerns. Native advertising potentially deceives audiences who are unaware that native advertising is paid, persuasive content versus editorial, thus contributing to the diminishing credibility of journalism. Furthermore, if native advertising is done well, it is undetectable from traditional editorial content. Based on these findings, authors discuss how native advertising threatens several tenets of social responsibility theory.

Gaps in Advertising and Public Relations Education: Perspectives of Agency Leaders

Just as the advertising and public relations industries are evolving due to the development of new technology and communication tools, so are the demands of education. Through in-depth interviews with 29 executives working in both advertising and public relations agencies in the U.S., this study identifies the core skills and competencies needed to have successful careers in this new media landscape. While writing and presentation skills remain foundational, employers also are seeking math and data analysis skills associated with new jobs in social media listening and analytics. Meanwhile, some advertising executives lack the skills in issues and crisis management associated with online community management. Professionals in both disciplines also bemoan the lack of business literacy among communication majors and support situated learning opportunities to address these deficiencies.

Have the Ethics Changed? An Examination of Ethics in Advertising and Public Relations Agencies

ABSTRACT Advertising and public relations executives claim the rules for ethical practices are changing. On the basis of 29 in-depth interviews with advertising and public relations executives, and an analysis guided by identity theories and moral justifications, new insights address the most pressing issues faced today, greater opportunities to behave unethically, and the lack of ethics training received. Some of the executives perceive a personal responsibility to be ethical, whereas others adopted a self-interested attitude by suggesting it’s the publishers’ or consumers’ responsibility to make ethical decisions. Emerging marketing practices have increased the need for more ethics training and more sophisticated perspectives on professionalism and virtuous behavior that are also flexible enough to apply to envelope-pushing strategies.

The Relationship Between Organizational Leaders and Advertising Ethics: An Organizational Ethnography

Understanding the complexity of advertising ethics mandates an organizational approach to empirical research. Through the lens of Giddenss structuration theory, this ethnography examines the relationship between organizational leadership, one aspect of Scheins concept of organizational culture, and advertising ethics. Fieldwork at a full-service advertising agency and 45 one-on-one interviews were conducted regarding perceptions of organizational leadership as well as ethics in advertising. Findings suggest that characteristics of leaders, such as virtuous character, and espousing organizational values enable ethical awareness, while amoral intentions for starting the advertising agency simultaneously constrain ethical awareness. A discussion regarding the dynamic relationship between organizational leadership and advertising ethics begins.

As Seen on TV: How the Pitch Depicts the Advertising Creative Process

This study examines the depiction of the creative process in AMCs The Pitch. Using textual analysis, three themes emerged: 1) competition is necessary to succeed in advertising; 2) creative ideas come with experience; and 3) the advertising creative process is a hierarchical autocracy These themes are explained, and, through the lens of cultivation theory, researchers discuss how this depiction of the creative process could positively and negatively impact students of advertising when used as a resource in undergraduate advertising curricula.

Newspaper Tobacco Advertising Focuses on Cessation

A content analysis of tobacco and tobacco control advertisements that ran in Missouri newspapers during a five-year period showed that the frequent topic was tobacco cessation, followed by messages about politics, health effects and smoking ordinances and restrictions.

Ethics Versus Survival: The Relationship Between Advertising Ethics and New Business Challenges

Abstract While advertising processes are complex and changing, the same ethical problems endure, including those relative to organizational challenges. Yet research affords little attention to challenges influencing ethical awareness in advertising, such as those related to new business. In response to the call for an organizational approach to advertising ethics, ethnographic field work and 45 one-on-one interviews were conducted regarding perceptions of advertising ethics, organizational challenges, and the relationship between the two. Findings suggest that financial pressures related to new business challenges influence how members perceive ethics such as advertising harmful products.

Playing Nice in the Sandbox: Is Collaboration Among Advertising and Public Relations Agencies the Same as Integration?

ABSTRACT Advertising and public relations agencies have never been more in direct competition, as public relations agencies begin offering media strategies and advertising agencies begin assuming roles in online community management and social listening. Through in-depth interviews with 29 advertising and public relations agency executives, this study provides new insights on the trends impacting both professions while drawing from the theoretical concepts of encroachment, domain similarity, nonsubstitutability, and integrated marketing communication. Executives defined paid, earned, owned, and social media strategies and discussed how these areas are blurring, how responsibilities are being mandated by clients, and how the associated financial challenges affect an agencys ability to retain employees. Finally, the executives discussed how clients and agencies are pursuing collaborative work that draws from the strengths of both professions.

Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned Media From the Perspective of Advertising and Public Relations Agencies: Comparing China and the United States

ABSTRACT Despite the existence of the “great firewall,” advertising and public relations practitioners in China, much like in the United States, are embracing and enacting social media and digital strategies on behalf of their clients. In this study, we conducted 42 in-depth interviews with advertising and public relations practitioners in the United States and mainland China to explore how emerging media and integrated marketing communication (IMC) are impacting advertising and public relations agencies in the two countries. This cross-cultural comparison revealed several critical insights, which were examined through the lenses of IMC and dimensions of culture. We found that emerging media lead to converging trends in various aspects of agency performance. The blurring of paid, earned, shared, and owned media (PESO) was evidentially observed in how executives of both countries defined and used media. Chinese agencies were media agnostic, concerned more with effectiveness of media practices. The U.S. agencies embraced collaboration and information technology better compared to their Chinese peers. This research contributes to the body of knowledge in strategic communication via providing empirical evidence of how Chinese and U.S. agencies coordinate IMC and perceive PESO media relative and in response to emerging media practices.