By CAPITAL STAFF — 06/27/2014

CAPITAL: Can you walk us through the process of how a paid post gets made? Do you generally approach companies with post ideas, or is it the other way around?

ASTON: It’s a collaborative, iterative process. After clients come to us with an opportunity and specific goals, the team brainstorms and returns with concepts, which we then evolve further along with the client. For a successful execution like Netflix’s Paid Post for “Orange is the New Black,” trust and cooperation are key catalysts.

CAPITAL: The “Orange is the New Black” ad made waves in media circles. Digiday called it “The Snowfall of Native Ads.” Were you surprised by the reaction? Has that success opened up new business opportunities?

ASTON: We’re a young studio, with a lot of energy, talent and ambition. “Orange is the New Black” was the first project on which we were able to fire-up all of our talents in parallel — journalism, video, design and storytelling. We were hoping it would raise the bar, and it did so. Nothing illustrates the potential of a Paid Post like a real-world example like this, so we’ve seen some increased interest from new potential projects.

CAPITAL: Referring to the Netflix ad, Times media columnist David Carr wrote, “All brand-sponsored journalism does not suck.” Do you find yourself trying to challenge that perception on a regular basis? Why do you think people seem to have lower expectations for brand-sponsored content?

ASTON: Like David, we recognize that this kind of content faces real headwinds. Media watchers are rightly concerned that this content could potentially confuse readers. That’s why The New York Times has labored to demark T Brand Studio’s work from newsroom content. That said, marketer content can be just as valuable as content coming from a newsroom. All content — whether news or advertising — works best when it’s of a high quality.

CAPITAL: A lot of your editors and contributors seem to have journalism backgrounds. Is that something you look for? Is there a big difference between writing a news story and writing a paid post?

ASTON: Journalistic sensibilities and experience are vital to execute high quality content, so when were were staffing up we were definitely looking for experienced journalists to join our team. Writing a news story and writing a piece of sponsored content both require solid reporting and writing skills, as well as a focus on facts.

CAPITAL: There’s obviously been a lot of discussion about how to integrate native advertising; specifically, about how it should be differentiated from news content. Do you think it’s important for paid content to be clearly labeled as such? And do you think there’s a reader appetite for well-written paid posts?

ASTON: Sponsored content is not about tricking your readers, it’s about adding value to the conversation. As I mentioned, we want to avoid confusing readers at all costs. In turn, we want to provide them with thought-provoking, engaging content in the form of infographics, video, images and of course, written narrative. Examples like the success of Netflix’s Paid Post show that readers do welcome well-written sponsored content that offer a fresh perspective on interesting topics. Readers respond enthusiastically when compelling, clearly-labeled content enriches their interest in a topic related to the brand.

View the original here: https://www.politico.com/media/story/2014/06/the-60-second-interview-adam-aston-editorial-director-for-the-new-york-times-t-brand-studio-002456