What is Native Advertising? And what is the difference between it and Advertorial?

I admit it; I love the term “native advertising,” the hottest trend in advertising. No, wait, "trend" is the wrong word. New-and-here-to-stay media content category is what it is. And yes, we at Grand Valley Magazine here in Western Colorado are thrilled about it.

Editorial and advertising have been, for the most part, the two clear-and-different bastions of media for well over 100 years; complete with physical walls separating them. A symbiotic love-hate relationship that have left many traditionalists scratching their heads in frustration and resignation. Tradition.

But recently, especially with magazines because most don't generate hard breaking news, the editorial and advertising folks got together and a hybrid of the two, known now as native advertising, was born. Still in such infancy that it is creating all kinds of philosophical conundrums in the backrooms of publishers and advertisers as they grapple with this strange and curious hybrid.

We absolutely love it at GV Magazine.

Advertorials

Advertorials have been around for ages. Advertorial is an "Advert"isement presented in an edi"torial" format. They are one or more pages produced by an advertiser (or their agency) to tell their story in an editorial format. The advertiser/agency has full control over its content, images, layout, and design. The advertorial pages must clearly indicate that they are paid pages and not editorial pages. We print the following statement at the top or bottom of advertorials in GV Magazine: This is a Paid Advertisement.

Advertorials are wonderful opportunities for advertisers to tell their stories in a reader-friendly format.

Native Advertising

Native advertising, on the other hand, at least in GV Magazine’s policy, is similar to advertorial in that the advertiser pays for it. But that’s where the two advertising types diverge.

With native advertising the advertiser actually partners with the publication so that the publication takes the creative and editorial lead rather than the advertiser, yes even though the advertiser pays for it. This ensures that the piece is cohesive with the rest of the publication and that it has been given editorial care and attention. Our writers and photographers and editor and designers. In essence, the advertiser pays more, but has less creative and editorial control; the reader then knows that the publication staff wrote and presented the story with the reader in mind -- even though the advertiser or sponsor paid for it.

And the advertiser knows he/she is getting a more objective and journalistic approach to the feature designed into the overall look and feel of the magazine.

Sponsorships of pages or features are also forms of native advertising. A university could sponsor an education-related feature, for example. An outdoor business could sponsor a regular adventure feature.

Rather than “This is a Paid Advertisement” at the top of the page (as is standard for advertorial), you will see at the top of a GV native advertising feature: This GV Magazine native advertising feature was photographed by [photographer name], written by GV Magazine staff, and paid for by [company name].

We love both native advertising and advertorials because both offer such tremendous opportunity to share more stories through reader-centric advertising.

Look for an example of page sponsorship in the December GV Magazine and a native advertising feature in the GV Mini magazine "Junction Downtown." (The GV Mini Junction Downtown magazine is packaged with the December GV).

Native advertising is an exciting new hybrid content category. Yep. We love it.

Note: This post also appears on my Publisher's Blog at GrandValleyMagazine.com.

I heard my daughter sing tonight; and learned a heart-wrenching lesson in the process

My daughter, who is in her early 30s, will sing with the church choir during Sunday morning service tomorrow. For the first time. Ever.

“Mom, do you have a few minutes to help me with something this evening; for about a half-hour or so?” There was something shy and vulnerable in the way she asked; a tone that immediately held my attention. “I need to practice my song parts… and, I want you to help me, if you don't mind.”

I was so tickled when she decided to join the choir a few weeks ago. I had no idea she had an interest in singing. She’s always loved music, was first-chair cellist through junior and high school, and often went with me to recording sessions and gigs from the time she was a baby. But she’d never indicated any interest in singing. Naturally I was eager to oblige her request. But I was still struck by the shy and vulnerable tone.

"I have to do the warm-up exercises first,” she fumbled with a small digital voice recorder. “I recorded my singing lesson.” Singing lesson? “I had a singing lesson from Jim Werner; he’s also the choir director. Will you help me with the first note? Shouldn’t we stand up?” I hesitated, my lazy singing attitude in conflict with the serious focused singing of my younger days. I stood up as she pushed the play button on her voice recorder. She and Jim Werner were running scales. She pushed the stop button.

“You got the note?” She asked, quietly. I repeated the scale as I’d heard on the recording. She started to join me, then stopped, and sat back down. “I’m nervous.”

“About tomorrow?” I asked. “No; I’m nervous singing in front of you,” she said, then looked down at her bare feet. I never expected that.

“Why? Why me?” I listened as she shared; and learned so much about my daughter in those minutes. "When I was four or five years old I remember you told someone that I didn’t have good pitch,” she said, “so, I didn’t sing, but I always wanted to.”

My heart sank. Her name is Melody. Had I so influenced her decision to keep her music inside herself? When she was four, I was ...

Art: Just have to do it sometimes

"Containment" - collage/mixed media

I was inspired to "just create something" after Friday's local Art Walk here in Grand Junction. Specifically, Faye Timmerman Traudt's three dark gray oils on birch at the Oakley Gallery, Elise's all-red acrylic on yupo at +1 Gallery, and the collages at The Art Center all caught my attention reminding me that it has been too many months since I last sat at my art table.

The past few weeks have been somewhat overwhelming: the outrageous heat, the fires, growing business, moving to our new offices, looming deadlines, a lot of new and interesting observations and discoveries.

Apparently all of this in combination is reflected in the piece I ended up assembling this weekend. I had to use what I had around the house: a lone piece of yupo, some metalic acrylic paint, a foil yogurt top, a piece of textured red paper, a dab of pearl-x powdered pigment, a shiney piece of confetti that Faye picked up for me at a Bette Midler concert, netting from a grapefruit sack, and a piece of turquoise from a broken earring.

I'm calling it "containment" for now. I still can't decide though on its orientation: I turn it all four angles and they all seem to be the right one. Odd.

Glad we went for First Friday. Glad I used creative time and space to channel some stress and overwhelm. Feel much better as a result. Whew. I can focus again. Art. Just have to do it sometimes.

Met up with Grand Junction's Annie Whiteley, Top Alcohol Funny Car Racing Champion

After a light dinner at Tequila's on North Avenue in Grand Junction last night, my husband and I crossed the street to look at what appeared to be a car show in the Teller Arms parking lot. Wishing we had a camera with us, we asked if they were going to be there the next day. We were told no because they're race cars showing before a big race Saturday night at the Western Colorado Dragway (Grand Junction).



Annie Whiteley with part of her 3200 hp Alcohol Funny Car.

Race? What race? That certainly explained why the cars we were looking at had cages inside them and parachutes on the back. There were also dragsters in the lot.

So, this evening, we decided to go check it out. We looked on the dragway's website, Facebook page, even looked in the local newspaper trying to find information on ticket sales, starting times, anything. We found nothing, but our curiosity was growing.

We jumped in the truck, headed to the dragway, figured we'd take a chance. We'd never been to the dragway so had no idea what to expect.

As we drove up the hill, following the signs to the dragway, rounding the corner we were stunned to

Freedom in Limits

Some people hit their breaking point early in life. Others hit it much later. And of course some never hit it at all.

I'd always considered myself a strong person; strong in spirit that is. The problem is, I never knew my limits, so I was always pushing the envelope a little more, a little more, the whole time wondering if I was about to hit my limits. From raising my daughter on my own, putting myself through college after having dropped out of high school, conducting research in international conflict zones, to flying airplanes and riding motorcycles, and yes, starting a magazine in a down economy late in 2008.

That's the problem with not knowing my limits my whole life; the fear of wondering if any second I would hit them. Oops.

And then it happened. Late November 2011. I broke. My daughter lay in a tented bed in the VA Hospital barely alive after a horrible drug overdose. ...

In loving memory of my beautiful Patsy Jean...

Patsy Jean Hartman 1/99-3/13

My shy loving beautiful whippit-labrador 14-year-old Patsy Jean left us today. She went peacefully, head across my lap, my husband Bob on the other side of her. I feel the loss of her so deeply...

So beautiful, so quiet, so elegant, exotic. Everyone who met her, was enchanted by her grace. She was with me through thick and thin, through... everything.

We weren't ready to let her go today, but we knew it was the right thing to do. I want to write about the wonderful memories, but I'm too overwhelmed with the loss and so many years of memories that I can't right now. I miss her so much...

Patsy Jean? I love you. Thank you for giving me so much comfort, love, joy. For your gentle nature, your awareness. I miss you. I miss you so much sweet puppy.... I love you.

I have two pieces in the members show at the Art Center!

Oh my goodness! I was so nervous but excited dropping off the two art pieces for the Art Center's members exhibit that opens this Friday evening.

I decided to take the plunge and create bigger pieces per artist and teacher Dianna Fritzler for the exhibit. And it turns out, I loved it! I don't know why I fought it so long and hard!

"Rail Tales" Collage on canvas

The first piece, Rail Tales, was inspired on a Saturday morning at the train station downtown Grand Junction; daughter Melody standing in the doorway of her train car.

That inspiration stayed with me as she sent occasional text messages and photos along the way: Glenwood, Denver, Chicago, and several stops in Pennsylvania. It was her first train excursion and she had a wonderful experience.

"Mom, seriously, this is the way to travel!" Considering she was annoyed when she first learned she would have to take the train rather than fly. Tsk tsk. "You were so right!" Don't hear that very often!

It is a collage with painted brass, powdered pigments, cornhusk (from a really good tamale actually), and alcohol ink on yupo.

The ground is canvas painted wiht copper, gold, antique gold, and ochre metallic paints. I like this piece!

The second piece I put in the show is called, "Quiver." As I was making it, my husband walked past and said, "oh, a quiver of arrows?" I looked at it and thought, yes of course, it does give that sense!

"Quiver" Collage on yupo

I had such fun with the metallic paint on Rail Tales that I decided to stay in the copper metallic theme for the second one.

The ground is antique copper metallic paint on yupo. The collage is made up of cork, painted yogurt top, and of course cut-ups of some of my smaller alcohol inks on yupo, sticks I rescued from the trash bin at collage artist (and teacher) Gayle Gerson's  house during the Rocky Mountain Collage Society workshop on Cornell Boxes.

I smooshed the cork into the wet paint on the yupo before it dried then turned it over to give that mottled effect with the metallic on the cork. I attached the sticks to the cork with scraps of waxed linen thread from our bookmaking projects.

When I accidentally got some of the copper metallic paint on a piece of netting it was love at first mistake! I love tactile art and have sooo wanted to incorporate it someway into my art pieces. I tied the netting to the piece using the same waxed linen threads that I used to attach the sticks to the cork.

Lovin' these metallic paints and inks!!!!! And I am so thankful that we have an Art Center that opens up to member artists -- including us beginners -- from time to time. We are soooo fortunate!

Small collage called "Industrial Evolution"

"Industrial Evolution." Collage 8"x10"

The art piece is only 8" x 10" but it is a step on the road to making bigger art pieces per my homework assignment from artist Dianna Fritzler.

"Go bigger," she said after learning that all my art pieces are only 5" x 7".

I like making the smaller pieces because I can do them in one sitting while thinking or whatnot.

It is a collage using cut shapes from my little alcohol ink art pieces on yupo paper, bits of brass scraps (that I painted), powdered pigments, and some netting from something (I can't remember where I got the netting).

The ground is a mix of copper and antique copper metallic paint on yupo. It was fun!