This is something we’re seeing a lot of at the moment, and my best guess is that we’ll see more – sponsored blogs.
Sony seem to have started the ball rolling with their deal sponsoring Lifehacker – and now Subaru are doing the same with Autoblog, supporting the launch of the quite frankly hideous (aesthetically and environmentally) B9 Tribeca SUV.
As sponsorship goes, it’s fairly subtle – an clearly-deliniated ad the size of a normal post half-way down the flow of the main page. In that sense it’s much the same as would occur in the print world, although no doubt there will be some angst amongst the angsty about the perceived loss of editorial independence / credibility on the part of Autoblog.
It’s a logical development, really – blogs like this bring in readers with a very specific set of interests, in effect a very tightly-defined target market. Expect to see more…
