Functions of Copywriting and Brand Journalism in Integrated Marketing Communications

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the terms “brand journalism” and “copywriting” and establish their similarities and differences. To achieve this, several pre-existing definitions of the two terms were compiled and examined. The study establishes that there is an overlap between the two and researchers have occasionally used them synonymously. However, this paper proposes a clear way to differentiate between the two. Brand journalism has been identified as a part of integrated marketing communications (IMC), whereas copywriting is a specific technique for creating texts related to IMC. While all brand journalism can be classified as copywriting, not all copywriting texts are brand journalism. The term ‘copywriting’ should also apply to texts created for PR, advertising and other forms of marketing communications.