In his INMA column, Newsworks communications manager Lewis Boulton explores how advertisers put their brands at the top of the news agenda with some help from some ingenious placements…
How many editorial sections of news brands’ print and digital offerings can you name? Go on, I’ll give you 30 seconds. Politics? Sport? Showbiz, perhaps?
Perhaps you’ll have come up with many more than that. If you did, then it’s no surprise: as readers’ lives and interests diversify, so does the news brands’ content they rely on to keep them updated. From gaming to gifting, soaps to sport, the nation’s conversation takes place in news brands — and Brits are a talkative bunch.
This not only represents a fantastic opportunity for advertisers to get involved in that conversation but also to participate in ways that subvert, entertain, and inform.
Enter the humble but mighty contextual ad. Often subtle but always smart, these campaigns excel in making themselves part of the news agenda and increase consideration in ways more direct ads can’t.
Ready to raise a wry smile? See Lewis’s INMA column for examples of top campaigns making the most of context so far in 2025.
