• by Dave Skaff , September 16, 2011

Since the dawn of the tagline advertising has perfected the art of lying to consumers. Half-truths, quarter-truths and the occasional whole truth have combined to erode the consumer's faith in corporate messaging, and in general-market advertising in particular.

Enter the Internet! There consumers have, for the last 15 years, been increasingly able to quickly research the veracity of advertising claims and widely and efficiently share those results. In this space the voice of the real individual has triumphed -- only the recommendation of a like-minded consumer, journalist or objective reviewer holds sway. Realizing this, wise marketers have followed.

And in so doing, marketers have had to become more honest with themselves and their messaging -- or risk the public wrath, especially in the social space. Social media is driven by cultural curation -- where consumers effectively vote on the quality of everything from media to events to products by "liking" and retweeting.

Brands employ social media by measuring these curatorial "votes". Brands can't control the conversation within social media, but they can guide it; promoting lines of conversation that play to one's strengths.

The driving force here? Consumers crave authenticity, which has been the guiding mantra of advertising for over 10 years. And, as social media has matured, marketers have sought new avenues of authenticity.

Enter the journalist -- across print and video, the voice of the objective individual has become a powerful tool for brands to foster and guide the consumer conversation. The secret weapon of the journalist is the byline, which stands for personal accountability and the voice of a fellow human. There exists the possibility of a dialogue, a conversation, of expertise, and credibility. A faceless corporate brand message simply cannot offer this dimension.

Bylines come in many forms, though -- twitter handle, account profile, the face on- camera, or web, and the published traditional byline. It has always been trusted cultural curators and they remain that. And, when content marketing is done right, these individuals maintain their editorial credibility by being honest about a product's successes and shortcomings, or simply add significant brand value to their consumers. Where do individuals, and bloggers, -- also valuable voices -- fit it?

Somewhere on this continuum of credibility: Individual > Blogger > Journalist.

The defining feature of the journalist is that he/she has the force, the ethos and the credibility of an organization behind them. But can that organization be a company instead of a news organization?

This in fact, has always been the goal of custom publishing: in-flight magazines, Departures, X -- such custom publishing endeavors have long succeeded at providing value to their readers in editorial, journalistic form that serve their master brands in a myriad of ways.

But where custom publishing matches the power of the byline with an integrated commerce experience, most efforts still lack a crucial ingredient - community.

Together content, commerce and community, comprise the holy grail of corporate content marketing.

Dave Skaff, is a co-founder of The Science Project, whose current publishing project is HP's monthly TouchPad magazine Pivot. David developed The Webby Awards and its judging body, The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, moved on to advertising agency ATTIK, visual effects firm Radium and launched the New York office of design studio Digital Kitchen. Skaff has produced digital, experiential and broadcast work for Nike, HBO, GMC, Scion and other leading global brands.