Publishers who join Medium’s revenue beta will also be eligible for business opportunities to create content for Medium’s partner brands.
How does Medium “do” branded content, and how do publishers fit in?
Medium partners with brands to create innovative content that aligns with a brand’s values and messaging. Medium’s Creative Strategy team works with the brand to set a campaign vision, ideates the content, and coordinates production. Medium will bring opportunities to produce the content to Publishers according to subject matter expertise and writer availability. These opportunities are completely opt-in, with no obligation.
How do branded content projects work?
Creative control
Branded content projects typically involve two types of content: sponsored editorial content and brand portraits. Sponsored editorial content is bylined by individuals unaffiliated with the brand, and Medium retains creative control over this content. The brand does not get final review or approval rights. Brand portraits are bylined by the brand itself or individuals directly affiliated with the brand, such as employees. The brand retains creative control over this content, and Medium plays more of an advisory role, working with them to create the best embodiment of their message. When Publishers create content for brands, sponsored editorial content will run under the writer’s byline whereas brand portraits will be ghostwritten and published under a byline of the brand’s choosing.
Disclosure
Medium aims for full transparency with these brand partnerships, and to that end, we disclose these partnerships in a variety of ways. The content is usually published in a separately branded publication*, in which the partnering brand is disclosed on the masthead. The posts contain prominent logos at the top and a footer explicitly stating the sponsorship at the bottom.
*There are exceptions to this, in which it makes sense to both the brand and the Publisher to run the content in the Publisher’s publication. This is opportunistic, and usually happens when there’s a great fit between the branded content and the Publisher’s editorial calendar. The same disclosure of sponsorship will appear in the posts themselves.
Payment
Medium pays the Publisher a creative services fee for each post they create. This fee is mutually determined by Medium and the Publisher.