Denna uppsats studerar podden Fredagspodden och dess sponsorer genom att göra en kvalitativ textanalys utifrån ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv. I uppsatsen undersöks huruvida det går att utläsa vilket innehåll som är sponsrat i podden. Hur diskuteras andra produkter och följer podden de lagar, regler och etiska riktlinjer som finns? Den kvalitativa textanalysen genomförs utifrån teoretiska perspektiv som dold marknadsföring, misstankens hermeneutik, parasocial interaktion och native advertising. Studiens resultat visar att det går att utläsa vilket innehåll som är sponsrat. Däremot kan detta variera i tydlighet mellan avsnitten och beroende på lyssnarens uppmärksamhet på innehållet. Vidare visar resultatet att programledarna pratar mycket om andra produkter de producerat och även produkter som deras eget produktionsbolag står bakom. I båda dessa fall visar studien att podden följer alla lagar och regler som finns men om detta överensstämmer med de etiska riktlinjerna kan diskuteras. I analysen förs en etisk diskussion som mynnar ut i en rekommendation om att lagstiftningen bör ändras och att det bör tillsättas en myndighet som granskar etiska övertramp i poddar. / This essay studies the podcast Fredagspodden and their sponsors by doing a qualitative text analysis with a hermeneutic perspective. The essay studies if it is possible to distinguish the sponsored content of the podcast, how the hosts discuss other products and if the podcast follow the laws, rules and ethical guidelines that exist. The qualitative text analysis is implemented with the theories stealth marketing, hermeneutic suspicion, parasocial interaction and native advertising. The result of the study shows that it is possible to distinguish the sponsored content of the podcast. However, the clarity varies depending on the episode and the amount of attention of the listener. The result also shows that the hosts often mention other products they have produced and also products that their own production has produced. I both if these cases the podcast follows all laws and rules but concerning whether this is ethically correct could be discussed. In the analysis an ethical discussion will be held which ends with the authors suggesting a change in the laws as well as the implementation of an authority with the mission to control ethical violations in podcasts.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker hur sponsrat material smälter in i det övriga innehållet, i två etablerade bloggar. Den ena är Petra Tungårdens professionella blogg och den andra är Nicole Falcianis privata blogg. Det är en jämförande studie mellan sponsrade blogginlägg och osponsrade inlägg. Studien är en kvalitativ retorikanalys som med hjälp av teorierna native advertising, retorik, personligt varumärke och parasocial interaktion undersöker hur de två bloggarna men hjälp av argumentation säjer in produkter eller tjänster till sina läsare. Resultatet visar att det finns både likheter och skillnader mellan argumentationen i de sponsrade och de osponsrade inläggen. Gemensamt för bloggarna är att det finns betydligt fler skillnader än likheter i argumentationen, men i den privata bloggen fanns det mycket fler skillnader jämfört den professionella. Vidare diskuteras att skillnaderna inte är tillräckligt markanta för att läsarna ska kunna upptäcka dem, och att problematiken med att urskilja sponsrat material kvarstår. / This paper investigates how sponsored content blend in with the other content, in two established blogs. One is Petra Tungården who has a professional blog, and one is Nicole Falciani's personal blog. It is a comparative study between sponsored blog posts and non-sponsored blog posts. The study is a qualitative rhetoric analysis using the theories native advertising, rhetoric, personal branding and parasocial interaction to investigate how the two bloggers recommend products or services to their readers with the help of argumentation. The result shows that the argumentation for the sponsored and the non-sponsored posts have both smililarities and differences. Both blogs have many more differences than similarities, but the personal blog turned out to have much more differences than the professional one. Further on it is discussed that the differences are not sufficientlly pronounced to the readers to detect them, and that the problem of distinguishing the sponsored content remains.

Marknadsföring genomgår en kontinuerlig utvecklingsfas i samma takt som samhället rör sig framåt. Det uppkommer därför ständigt nya former av reklam att analysera och förstå. Native advertising är ett reklamformat som de flesta medier idag använder sig av och podcasts är ett av medierna som anammat detta. Native advertising syftar till att låna trovärdighet från det redaktionella innehållet och kallas även för redaktionellt förklädd reklam. Syftet med den här studien är att få djupare förståelse för hur lyssnare till podcast upplever sig påverkas av native advertising som reklamformat. Mycket studier har utförts huruvida konsumenter förhåller sig samt upplever redaktionellt förklädd reklam vid skriftliga media. Däremot är det mindre utforskat hur lyssnare till podcasts upplever detta. Studien undersöker konsumenters upplevda påverkan från reklam i podcast av formen “native advertising”, med Fredagspodden som empiriskt exempel då de var den första svenska podcasten att presentera sin reklam av detta format. För att få djupare förståelse i ämnet har en kvalitativ ansats valts där 10st semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts. Respondenternas svar analyserades sedan med hjälp av teorierna “Psykologisk reaktans” samt reklam som påverkan och informationsmedel. Av resultatet framgick det att placeringen av reklam kunde upplevas manipulerande när den förekom i mitten av podcastprogrammet, då det inte alltid tydligt framgick att det var ett sponsrat innehåll. Det upptäcktes även att lyssnarna dels upplevde den redaktionella reklamen som underhållande och informativ, men samtidigt förlöjligad vilket sänkte dess trovärdighet. Välriktad och anpassad reklam som blir relevant för lyssnarna, visade sig vara vital för en positiv upplevelse. Därmed kunde de båda valda teorierna användas för att förklara problematiken. / Marketing is undergoing a continuous developing phase, in the same phase as the society is moving forward. Hence, there will always be new marketing formats to analyze and understand. Native advertising is a way of advertising that most media today use and podcasts are one of the media channels that has embraced this. Native advertising aims to lend credibility from editorial content and is also known as editorially disguised advertising.The purpose of this study is to attain a deeper understanding of how listeners to podcasts perceive that they are being influenced by native advertising as an advertising format. A lot of studies have been conducted of how consumers relate and experiencing native advertising in written medias such as newspapers. However, how listeners to podcasts experience this is significantly less explored. This study investigates consumers' perceptions of native advertising in podcast, with “Fredagspodden” as an empirical example as it was the first Swedish podcast to present their advertising in this format. To create a deeper understanding of the matter, a qualitative approach has been chosen, where 10 semi structured interviews have been conducted. The respondents' answers were then analyzed using the theory "Psychological Reactance" as well as advertising as influence and information tool. By the results of the study, it was found that the placement of advertising could be experienced as manipulative when it occurred in the middle of the podcast program, as it was not always clear that it was sponsored content. It was also discovered that the listeners partly perceived the editorial advertisement as entertaining and informative, but at the same time ridiculed which lowered its credibility. Well-targeted and customized advertising that becomes relevant to the listeners, proved vital for a positive response. Thus, the two chosen theories could be used to explain the problematization of the matter.

Syftet med studien är att bidra med ökad kunskap om konsumenters uppfattning av märkta samarbeten. En kvalitativ forskningsmetod genomförs där respondenterna får ta del av tre exempelvideor med en fiktiv influencer som praktiserar olika former av deklarationer. Tio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförs med fältanteckningar som stöd för att få en djupare förståelse av respondenternas uppfattning av materialet. Studien bidrar med kunskap kring muntliga och grafiska deklarationer inom influencer marketing på Youtube. Studiens resultat indikerar att högre transparens bör praktiseras för att ge konsumenter en mer positiv syn på influencern och varumärket som marknadsförs. Med resultatet som grund utformades en lista med rekommendationer för hur influencers kan deklarera samarbeten för att på ett effektivt sätt undvika manipulation och missförstånd hos konsumenterna. / The purpose of our research is to contribute with increased knowledge of consumers' perceptions of sponsored collaborations and their declarations. A qualitative research method is implemented in which respondents get to see three example videos with a fictional influencer practicing different forms of declaration. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with supporting field notes to reach a deeper understanding of respondents' perceptions of the material. The study's results indicate that higher transparency should be practiced giving consumers a more positive view of the influencer and the brand being marketed. With the result as a basis, a list of declaration recommendations was formulated in order to effectively avoid consumer manipulation and misunderstanding.

The aim of this thesis is to explain user attitudes toward advertising on Instagram. Two forms of marketing communication that we chose to focus on were native advertising and promoted advertising through celebrities. The main goal was to find out which attitudes Instagram users aged 18-35 years had toward these two types of advertising. The data was collected through a quantitative survey, which was conducted digitally on Facebook. Our empirical findings showed us a result that confirmed previous research in the area - that users have negative attitudes towards any type of advertising. We identified minor demographical differences, but the main differences were in the comparison of the two types of advertising. As we analyzed the respondents’ answers through a perspective from the chosen theories, it showed us that users tend to have more positive attitudes towards promoted advertising from celebrities, and more negative attitudes towards native advertising.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ attitudes towards native advertising and its perceived value. Design/methodology/approach – This research has a qualitative and exploratory nature. Forthe empirical material, primary data is collected through conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews. Findings – Consumers’ persuasion knowledge in relation to native advertising is found to be low. The advertising value of native advertising is positive since the consumers considered it to be entertaining, informative and credible. Furthermore, it was not considered as irritating which enhances the advertising value as well. Design was found to be its own category as it has an effect on all dimensions to enhance the advertising value. Since the advertising value is positive and enhanced, the attitudes of consumers towards native advertising are positive. Research implications/limitations – The main implications of this research are: native advertising can be used as a solution to consumers avoiding online advertising and in order for it to be successful, the design, content and frequency have to be taken into consideration. Since this research is qualitative, it has a subjective nature which might result in researcher induced bias. Furthermore, the age of the interviewees’ range from 21 to 38 years old which unlikely represents the whole population. Originality/value – As there is a lack of research in the field of native advertising, this research contributes to the field with knowledge about consumers’ attitudes towards it as well as how native advertising creates value. Additionally, the researchers applied the attitudes-towards-advertising model for this specific context and augmented it with a new dimension, design. This research also contributes with knowledge about each dimension in the native advertising context. Lastly, this research shows advertisers how native advertising should be used in terms of content, frequency and design.

This study examines three commercially driven swedish news organizations that cover consumer electronics in some way. These are: MacWorld, Dagens Industri and Ny Teknik. The aim of this study is to analyze the policies and ethical guidelines regarding consumer electronics of each news organization and see how these translate to the finished articles. This study also aims to examine if the articles from each news organization can be interpreted as native advertising and/or adverising for the product. To achieve this, qualitative interviews have been conducted with representatives from each news organization, about their guidelines and general attitudes regarding consumer electronics. Furthermore, a qualitative content analysis of 13 articles in total has been conducted. To limit this study, one product has been chosen as the analysis object. This product is the Apple Watch and all the analyzed articles has a focus on the product. The results show that the policies and ethical guidelines about consumer electronics where very similiar between the three news organizations. All three were strongly against native advertising and any other form of favouritism. They emphazied that their credibilty towards their audience was the most important thing and that their focus were on what was important and interesting for the audience, not financial gain. However, the representatives, did say that they experienced their reporting about consumer electronics as difficult, and descibed it as a balancing act. The content analysis show that all of the articles about the Apple Watch had similarities to native advertisning and regular advertising for the product, and that they could be interpreted as such. There was a discrepancy between the policies and the actual articles. The interviews painted a picture of the ideal and morally correct way of reporting about consumer electronics. The articles on the other hand did not always live up to these standards. However, this should not be interpreted as if the media organizations were immoral and lied about their use of native advertising. Yet, this study illustrates the difficulty in reporting about consumer electronics without it being interpreted as advertising, and supports previous calls for revised guidelines and definitions about what is and what is not considered native adverising.

På den svenska marknaden är Content Marketing ett relativt nytt begrepp. Fenomenet kan summeras som en smart strategi för att med redaktionellt innehåll skapa en kommunikationsstrategi för en specifik målgrupp. Överflödet av kommunikation har tvingat mediebranschens aktörer att finna nya vägar och ett nytt tilltal i kampen om viktiga marknadsandelar. Det räcker inte med att förmedla informationen, nu ska den också fånga för att slutligen sälja in ett budskap som leder till konsumtion. I den här studien reder vi ut begreppen och förklarar skillnader och likheter mellan olika aktörer i den kommunikativa kedjan från journalistik till reklam och marknadsföring. Vi söker svaret på hur de redaktionella verktygen tar sig uttryck i transaktionen från neutral och informativ text till redaktionell text med uppdrag att sälja. Dessutom frågar vi oss vad det innebär för det redaktionella skrivandets framtid. Hur lätt är det att vara fristående i det gränsöverskridande samarbetet mellan journalistik, marknadsföring och reklam? Framför allt vill vi kartlägga de vinster som finns att hämta när två sidor möts och varför Content Marketing och journalistik inte har råd att blunda för varandra.

Research questions:How do consumers perceive native advertising compared to other online advertising? How does the media channel affect native advertisements?How do consumers receive native advertising? Purpose:The purpose of this study is to examine native advertising from a consumer perspective. A research will be done about how consumers perceive native advertising compared to other online advertising, how the media channel affects native advertisements and how consumers receive native advertising. Four different hypotheses are used to examine the research questions, which will entail new insights within the subject native advertising. Theoretical framework:The theoretical framework of this thesis consists of theories which are related to the research area native advertising. The main theories are about online advertising, native advertising, consumer perception, credibility and media source impact. Method:This study has a quantitative and deductive approach. An experiment was performed with a between-subject design where two surveys were used. The surveys were distributed by email and the primary data collection included responses from 106 respondents. The data analysis was performed through various diagrams, t-tests and Pearson's correlation test. Empirical findings:The empirical findings present the data from the experimental surveys through tables, diagrams and text. The results are based on 16 items with answer options which represented a Likert scale, one item with a two option answer and two open questions. Conclusion:In the conclusion, the research questions are responded. The results from the empirical findings show a more positive perception of native advertisements compared to banners from a consumer perspective. The media channel did not have any impact on the perceived credibility of a native advertisement. The results show that the respondents received native advertising as obvious advertising and therefore they did not feel persuaded by this kind of advertising.

Advertising in mobile apps are increasing and so is the need to show the right ad to the right user. This study was conducted in cooperation with Seekly AB, a company whose app displays a feed with upcoming events in a users immediate area. In this app, every event is associated with an interest and users can choose interests to follow in a list. Seekly wanted to use so called behavioral targeting to show ads in their feed. The solution that was developed is useful for all Seekly-like systems and consists of a content based recommender system that chooses ads based on the interests a user has selected and events and ads that the user has shown an interest in. Apps that in some way or another resembles the Seekly app are not uncommon and recommender systems for behavioral targeting suited for this kind of system are to the best of our knowledge not described in the literature. The resulting recommender system has been implemented and shown to be able to recommend ads that has been associated with interests that match the interests selected by the user and/or amplified by his or her behavior. There are also indications that the system would be able to increase the number of ad clicks compared to randomly selected ads, but no statistically significant proof was found.