The Relationship between Advertisers and Media Corporations

  The Relationship between Advertisers and Media Corporations

In the modern day, media corporations include televisions, radio, newspaper, and digital platforms, among others. Advertisers depend on these entities to reach the market segments of the companies that have contracted them. This paper argues that the relationship between advertisers and media corporations is beneficial to both parties, and it does not result in biased reporting.

Media corporations make money from direct or indirect sources. A significant amount of direct revenues received by media corporations can be attributed to money coming from advertisements. According to The Atlantic, sponsored content accounts for 50% of the company’s digital revenue stream (Pulizzi). The other media corporation that makes money through advertisements is Forbes. For instance, large companies, including SAP, pay Forbes a monthly fee for a chance to publish their content on its platform. The money paid to Forbes may go beyond $ 75,000 per month (Pulizzi). Also, owners of various television stations make huge amounts of money by airing content sponsored by various advertisers.

Over the recent past, companies have been paying huge amounts of money for online advertising. On this note, expenditures for online advertising doubled between 1998 and 1999, and it was expected to hit $ 21 billion by 2004 (Giri 81). All this money goes to media corporations offering digital advertising services. Two of the non-traditional media corporations that are making huge amounts of money from ads include Google and Facebook. In the 2018 financial year, Google made $ 96.34 billion from advertisements, while Facebook generated $ 55 billion in ad revenue in the same year (Statista). Another media corporation that makes money through advertisements is YouTube. Advertisers pay an immense amount of money to have their products featured in YouTube channels of famous social media influencers (Pulizzi). As such, media corporations get financial benefits from their relationship with advertisers. However, companies offering digital marketing platforms seem to be benefiting more from advertisers as compared to traditional media agents such as televisions and radio.

Apart from financial benefits, media corporations benefit tremendously from advertisers through the latter developing content that is appealing and enjoyable to the audiences of the former. There is the notion that people hate watching commercials. On the contrary, research shows that many people love commercials (Shanet). This means that ads may contribute to media corporations having a loyal viewership.

At the same time, media corporations provide a massive viewership for advertisers. One of the major components of the advertising process is the medium (Giri 84). Without the medium, companies cannot reach their intended clientele.  The medium comprises of TV, the internet, direct mail, newspapers, radio, and print, among others (Giri 84). As such, media companies provide advertisers with a platform to reach their markets. For instance, there were 304.5 million television viewers in the U.S in 2018 (Shanet). To advertises, these are potential customers. Additionally, advertising companies rely on the customers of various media corporations to pass over the message conveyed by the former to their friends, acquaintances, and family members.

Additionally, the relationship between the media and advertisers does not result in biased reporting. Mass corporations confer a sense of prestige and legitimacy to the adverts they air or print. When a media house agrees to air or print a certain advert, it is endorsing the messages being conveyed as well as the company behind it (Shanet). However, this is usually an unspoken endorsement. As such, the audiences of a certain media outlet may blame the latter if they come to find out that it engaged in biased reporting.

In conclusion, media corporations and advertisers have a symbiotic relationship. Each of these entities is dependent on the other for its existence. On one hand, advertisers contribute a significant amount of revenues generated by media corporations. At the same time, advertisers need media companies to convey their messages regarding the products and services to their clients.

Works Cited

Giri, Ashok. “Effectiveness of the Advertising Process.”  Australian Journal of Sustainable Business and Society, 2(1), 2016, pp. 81-92.

Pulizzi, Joe. “The Only 10 Ways to Make Money From Content Marketing.”   Content Marketing institute, 23 May. 2017. Retrieved from  https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/05/make-money-content-marketing/

Shanet, Laurence. “Why Do Big Companies Still Advertise On TV Instead Of Social Media?” Forbes, 1 March. 2019.  Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/03/01/why-do-big-companies-still-advertise-on-tv-instead-of-social-media/#7268c655dd41

Statista. “Advertising Revenue Generated By Selected Media Companies In 2018.” Statista, n. d. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/554103/media-companies-ad-revenue/