Companies have interesting things to say, but sadly, sometimes these things are often bogged down by the way it is said. Sponsored content in Singapore is often rushed, disrespectful of the brand’s message, or of the intelligence of the reader.
Kopi wants to provide a bespoke and narrative approach to branded content.
Explainer Series
The Explainer Series could tells audiences about brands — what they do, why they do it, and their place in Singapore. The articles take complex, interesting, mysterious topics and break it down for the average Singaporean. At the end of each article, the reader is left with something new — it could be knowledge, trivia, or an answer to something they’ve always wondered.
Story Series
The world needs more stories — not advertisements. That’s exactly why the Story Series will translate well into branded content, with a formula that has proven to work.
We love telling stories. That passion for storytelling really shows in articles such as How a British Man Created His Own ‘Country’ Inside Singapore and North Korea Built a 330m Tall Pyramid in Pyongyang to Compete with Singapore. Our readers seem to be liking it too. Starting from scratch, with zero likes, followers or promotion, Kopi’s had almost 50,000 unique views in the very first month. Sharing these storytelling tools with brands and leveraging the massive reach of TheSmartLocal network, will only lead to increased levels of brand and audience engagement for any company.
Ethics and Conduct
Native advertising is often a controversial subject in the journalistic world. Many accuse native advertising of tricking readers into reading disguised advertisements. This cannot be the case with Kopi.
Here’s how we ensure that:
- It is important for readers to exercise informed consent — properly know what they are in for before reading an article. Each sponsored article should be properly identified and labeled. If audiences feel tricked or duped into reading sponsored content, we are doing it wrong.
- In the future, as Kopi expands, it aims to create a church and state separation. This means having a dedicated editorial and advertising team — ensuring that one doesn’t influence the other.
