The Debrief launches for the ‘always on’ 20 something woman

Bauer Media has today launched The Debrief – a new multi-platform brand aimed at the “constantly connected and influential” 20-something woman.

The Debrief aims to provide relevant content at the right time and through the right channels, while having a “distinct and authentic tone that speaks to [the reader] in her language”.

In a statement, Bauer said the platform will seek to use emotion and humour in its fashion and beauty editorial, will try to be “funny and frank” in its sex content, and using real-time data will evolve both the editorial and commercial offerings.

The platform will also offer ‘native’ advertising across all channels, alongside standard display ads, in a bid to allow commercial partners – including Bacardi and H&M for the launch – to speak directly to the consumer in an “authentic and meaningful” way.

‘Native’ advertising – what many still see as advertorial – has gained traction over the last 12 months in the UK, especially with the success of Buzzfeed which has seen profits soar over the last four years by using the model.

However, native advertising has faced criticism because of the way traditional journalism rubs such close shoulders with paid-for content.

Speaking to Newsline, Richard Dunmall, The Debrief‘s MD of advertising, dismissed the charge and said his target audience was comfortable with the approach.

“What we know from our research and what the broader market place is telling us is that this is a group of people that are really comfortable with a close – almost blurred – relationship between brands and more traditional notions of editorial content,” Dunmall said.

“Brands are increasingly becoming media owners and need distribution scale. If something is entertaining, interesting, authentic and engaging, then the type of individual that we’re looking to target with this particular platform will be comfortable with that, and I think that with the right guidelines across the industry, we’re not misleading anybody at all.”

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