Branded Content Guidelines

Editorial guidelines

Thank you for booking a branded content piece with Nature Research. Branded content offers partners an opportunity to publish informative content on our platforms or in our publications alongside relevant editorial content.

The goal of branded content is to build trust and loyalty with a target audience. The most effective branded content tells an interesting story that engages audiences with your organization, rather than overtly promoting products and services. Avoid using branded content to write purely promotional copy. If that’s your goal, a display advertisement may perform better.

Nature Research provides a full content-creation service across all formats, including text, images, video and interactives. Alternatively, we accept branded content produced by partners that meets our guidelines. All partner- supplied content will undergo editorial review to ensure it is relevant to our readers and in the style they expect.

In addition to running branded content on our platform, we also develop promotional campaigns that use a range of channels to ensure your content is seen by the right audiences.

We welcome branded content that supports the integrity of Nature Research brands and is consistent with the broadly accepted principles of scientific accuracy and integrity. Nature Research has a right to veto any content that does not fulfil this principle or is not relevant to a given audience.

We cannot accept branded content that could be mistaken for a research paper. Branded content cannot be used as a vehicle to report unpublished data.

Branded content on nature.com or in our publications will be clearly labelled as ‘advertisement feature’, as will any pointers to your article. Branded content will also include the name or logo of the partner organization in a clear and transparent fashion.

Nature Research has a right to remove branded content from our platform after its publication if the content is deemed to be in breach of these guidelines.

Workflow & schedule

Using the branded content briefing form outline your objectives for the article and provide details of your interviewee(s). Where Nature Research is providing a full service, we will assign a writer to conduct interviews and draft the article, an editor to fine-tune the piece, and a project manager to coordinate the process.
You will have three choices for the mode of distribution of your branded content: digital only; print only; or both digital and print.
The process takes a minimum of 10 weeks from booking to article sign-off, with a further 2 weeks after sign-off for printing (if selected).
There are four stages: 1. pre-interview; 2. interview and write-up; 3. editing; and 4. production (web, print, or both).
The project manager will send you a schedule detailing each stage and checkpoint. If you are unable to meet any of the deadlines, you risk missing your preferred publication date. The workflow allows for two rounds of client approval. If further rounds of approval are required, you may incur additional costs.

1. Pre-interview

For a print advertorial, please review the print layout options and select one.
For all advertorials, carefully complete the branded content briefing form. Completed forms should be emailed to the project manager, who will share them with the writer.
Print advertorials require print-quality photography. Photographic images should be provided as TIFFs or JPEGs in CMYK and at 300dpi. You will need to provide your organization’s logo as an EPS or a PS format file, preferably in CMYK format at 300dpi. Aim for a variety of subjects and perspectives. Any headshots should be taken in good light on a clean background free of distractions.
Certain print layout options include data visualization from the Nature Index, a database that tracks publication productivity and patterns of collaboration. If you choose a layout that includes such data, Nature Research will select and present the most relevant Nature Index data to your institution. If your institution is not featured in the Nature Index, it will not be possible to include data and you will need to select an alternative layout.

2. Interview and write-up

The writer will contact the interviewee(s) named in the briefing form to arrange a convenient time for the interview(s). Each interview will take up to 90 minutes.
The writer will draft the content. Writers are instructed to produce interesting stories, complete with a compelling headline.
The writer will share the draft with the interviewee(s) for fact checking.

3. Editing

The editor will edit the text for style and clarity, which will then be sent to you by the project manager as a Microsoft Word document. This is the moment to make major changes to the text if you need. Mark your changes to the text using Track Changes.
Internal approval (for example by your legal department) should be gained at this stage.
Send the approved, marked-up file to the project manager. If required, the project manager will arrange a call between you and the editor to discuss edits.

4. Production

The signed-off article will be sent to an editor for final grammar, spelling and punctuation checks.
The article is then laid out according to the agreed format. If the content is going into print, the project manager will forward a PDF proof to you. If it is to be produced digitally, the project manager will share an HTML preview with you.
No major changes can be made at this stage. Minor corrections should be returned promptly. Proof corrections will be made, and the content will be sent for printing and/or pushed live to nature.com.