Branded content

Branded content is content that businesses and brands provide us with financial incentives to have hosted on our website. This could be in the form of a one-off or ongoing payment.

From listicles (informational articles structured as a list) to long-form articles, videos, podcasts, infographics and other interactive media, high-quality branded content provides several opportunities for reaching audiences creatively.

In an era where consumers are increasingly bombarded by advertisements, branded content is fast becoming an effective driver of engagement. Done properly, it can help your brand to gain exclusive access to our highly engaged audience.

Furthermore, these native branded pieces become ‘trending’ local content on search engines, proving that this form of advertising is highly effective when the content is tailored to meet the interests or needs of the target audience.

We’re open to working with brands and businesses (or their agencies) looking to use high-quality branded content to engage with our growing audience of people who live, work, or play in Oxford and across Oxfordshire.

We’ve put together these rather useful content guidelines to help you better understand our approach to editorial content – from what to talk about and how to approach developing the content to tips and tricks on making the content more relevant to our audience.

Yes, we will consider branded content from all industries, including gaming, gambling, beauty, and even adult entertainment brands. These industries wouldn’t exist if they were not relevant to our lives.

It’s not so much about the industry but rather the quality of the content, which will need to be presented in an editorially creative and engaging manner. Our content guidelines are a good starting point for anyone looking to create branded content for publication on our website.

Yes, we allow up to three do-follow links per long-form article, with each link pointing to a separate domain. Multiple URLs to a single website will generally not be allowed.

In practice, we suggest one link to the content sponsor and up to two additional links to further information like research, further reading, examples, references and other sources that our audience might find helpful.

We allow up to three do-follow links per long-form content, each pointing to a separate domain. Multiple URLs pointing to the same website will generally not be allowed.

In practice, we suggest one link to your brand or business website and up to two additional links to further information for consideration, such as research, further reading, examples, references, etc., that our audience might find helpful.

In many respects, branded content is a type of native advertising to promote a product, service or brand while at the same time offering our readers useful, valuable information. This could be either by educating or entertaining them.

We often have varying degrees of control over the creative and editorial approach to putting together the content. On the one hand, we fully control everything, just like any other featured story on our website. At the other extreme, our involvement is limited to reviewing for compliance with our advertising guidelines.

Therefore, the decision to label content is taken on a case-by-case basis while considering the level of our involvement in the editorial process and our primary objective of making our stories factual, informative, and entertaining.

Visit our Content Labelling page for further information on how branded content is labelled across the website where it is deemed necessary or relevant.

Yes. Our creative studio works with brands and businesses to conceive and develop branded visual, digital, and social content that engages and resonates with our audience so that you can really look the part.

We may be a small internal team, but we pack a punch by working with a network of some of the most experienced content production professionals on the market – from writers and editors to photographers, videographers, graphic designers and more.

We accept all major debit and credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, MasterCard and Solo. When making a payment using your debit or credit card, please ensure your name and billing address matches the cardholder address details held by your card issuer. We also accept payment via PayPal.