6310.

1177/1750481312446265ZhouDiscourse & Communication

2012

Article

Discourse & Communication

‘Advertorials’: A genre-based
6(3) 323­–346
© The Author(s) 2012
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/1750481312446265
hybridized genre dcm.sagepub.com

Sijing Zhou
University of Macau, China; Central South University of Forestry and Technology, China

Abstract
Genre analysis has been applied to a sizable body of linguistic studies on various text types.
However, little attention has been paid to advertorials as an emerging hybridized genre. To identify
the generic and linguistic characteristics of advertorials, and therefore to classify advertorials
into an appropriate genre, this study carries out a comprehensive genre analysis of advertorials
based on Bhatia’s (1993) seven-step genre analysis methodology. A corpus of 55 advertorials
was collected from four English-language magazines and two English-language newspapers, from
which a sub-corpus of 12 samples was further selected for a thorough examination of linguistic
characteristics. Attempting to gain a comprehensive view of generic features of advertorials,
this study makes a critical comparison of advertorials with three inextricably related genres:
advertisements, news stories and editorials. Linguistic evidence sufficiently demonstrates that
advertorials share fundamental generic and linguistic natures with advertisements and proposes
classifying advertorials as a sub-genre of advertisements.

Keywords
Advertorial, appraisal theory, evaluative language, genre analysis, move analysis

Introduction
Advertisers are constantly looking for novel strategies to grab attention, arouse interest,
build trust and ultimately persuade customers to buy their products or services. One
recent emerging strategy is to advertise in the format of news or editorials. An increasing
number of magazines have set up a ‘Special Advertising Section’ or a section with
‘Special Advertisement Features’, while newspapers provide pages of ‘Advertising

Corresponding author:
Sijing Zhou, Department of English, FSH, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, People’s Republic of China.
Email: selin_zhou@yahoo.com.cn

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324 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

Supplements’. This hybridized text type is sometimes referred to as ‘advertorials’, a

name created by blending the initial part of ‘advertisements’ and the final part of ‘editori-
als’. As the name indicates, an advertorial tends to intrinsically act as an advertisement.
In reality, however, advertorials are more confusing and misleading than people
expect. Two recently reported cases of disputes over advertorials are sufficient to prove
their confusing nature. In one case, The New York Times was sued by a broadcast news
personality, who claimed that she ‘was misled to believe she was being interviewed for
a mental health news article when actually she was being featured in an advertising sup-
plement’. In the other case, The Star, a popular newspaper in India, proposed that all
editors could be called upon to write advertorials. This proposal was strongly rejected by
the Labor Union and staff. These two cases reveal that advertorials not only confound
readers, but also the information suppliers and the advertorial writers.
The significance of the present study lies in two main facets: first, it is to demonstrate
why advertorials generically and linguistically share a distinct nature with advertise-
ments, compared with news or editorials; second, this study is an exhaustive application
of genre theory on a previously unexamined genre, which is expected to enhance further
understanding of genre analysis and the role of evaluation in analysis of hybrid text types.

Theoretical background
Genre studies as a branch of situated discourse analysis (Bhatia, 1993, 2004; Swales,
1990) primarily focus on three distinct aspects of a discourse: textualization of lexico-
grammar, organization of discourse and contextualization of discourse. In spite of
various orientations and approaches, genre theory generally perceives a genre as com-
municative events with mutually identifiable and recognizable communicative purposes
in a specific community. Genres are regarded as ‘highly structured and conventionalized
constructs’, which have been conventionally identified in terms of ‘moves’. Dudley-
Evans and John explain that

a ‘move’ is a unit that relates both to the author’s purpose and to the content that s/he wishes to
communicate; a ‘step’ is a lower level text unit than the move that provides a detailed perspective
on the options open to the author in setting out the moves. (1998, as cited in He, 2006: 12)

Bhatia (1993, 2004) proposes a typical cognitive structure which accounts for the struc-
tural interpretation of the legal case and has demonstrated that structural move analysis,
which was originally designed by Swales (1990) when examining research reports, could
be applied to versatile text types, such as legal documents, promotional letters and news
stories.
Seeing various purposes of analysis and different foci of particular genres in question,
Bhatia (1993) proposes seven steps (see Table 1) attempted for the purpose of analyzing
a new genre, which has since been adopted and applied efficiently by many other
researchers in the field. Academic papers are explored with thick description in light of
this approach by Brett (1994), Holmes (1997) and Thompson (1994), as well as by
Mulken and Meer (2005) who look into discourses in business settings. This approach
identifies communicative purposes of a genre through a comprehensive examination of

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Zhou 325

Table 1. Seven-step method proposed by Bhatia (1993).

Steps Description
1. Placing the given genre-text in a situational context
2. Surveying existing literature
3. Refining the situational/contextual analysis
4. Selecting corpus
5. Studying the institutional context
6. Linguistic analysis
7. Specialist information in genre analysis

its situational and institutional context from steps 1–3. Linguistic analysis in step 6 is
further elaborated and exemplified thoroughly by three levels of deeper textual analysis,
including lexical and grammatical features, text-patterning or textualization and struc-
tural interpretation of the text-genre. This method has been proved to be efficient and
productive when applied to heterogeneous genres.
Genre theory is based on analysis of language use in highly conventionalized com-
municative settings which constrain the selection and utilization of lexico-grammatical
resources in different discourse domains. Despite great emphasis on conventions and
common features, genres are by no means static or fixed. In reality, written discourses are
complicated, blurred and dynamic, where genre appropriation and colonization are com-
monly seen. Bhatia (2004) observes that specialists or professionals constantly transfer
and exploit genre features across various domains to convey private intentions, often
leading to innovative, hybrid types of discourse. The advertorial as an innovative, hybrid
emerging text type has been noticed and discussed in Bhatia (2004). However, system-
atic analysis of advertorials so far has rarely been carried out. A full-round study of
advertorials is necessary to gain a comprehensive view of this emerging hybrid genre,
and thus to shed light on various types of hybrid genres.
As Bhatia (2004) points out, the main ‘generic values’ of promotional writings are
‘description’ and ‘evaluation’, and evaluative elements in promotional articles are distinc-
tive. However, few studies within the scope of genre analysis have paid due attention to
the evaluative aspect of discourse. Although evaluation or stance in an article is easily
‘sensed’ or observed, measurement of its evaluative degree in an accurate way is hardly
feasible. Appraisal theory, a branch of further development within the framework of
Systematic Functional Linguistics proposed by Michael Halliday (1994), puts forward a
systematic analytical framework to properly classify and ‘measure’ evaluative linguistic
resources. Martin and White (2005) explain that evaluation is concerned with ‘the inter-
personal in language, with the subjective presence of writers/speakers in texts as they
adopt stances towards both the material they present and those with whom they commu-
nicate’ (p. 1). Specifically, appraisal theory proposes to divide evaluative resources into
three sub-systems: attitude, engagement and graduation. Attitude is a system of meaning
for mapping feelings, or in other words, ways of expressing feeling. Attitude itself has
three sub-categories: affect, judgment and appreciation. Engagement is a category includ-
ing the resources conveying intersubjective positioning of the speakers or authors with

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326 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

respect to prior utterances, alternative viewpoints and anticipated responses. The third
category of graduation includes the values that act to provide grading or scaling. Martin
and White (2005) explored the ‘voices’ of news, analysis and commentary discourses
from an angle of identifying ‘evaluative key’ within journalistic writing. Their exploration
into evaluative aspects of a small-sized corpus of journalistic writings has demonstrated
that different journalistic categories do show ‘different probabilities for the occurrence of
the different types of attitude, graduation and engagement’ (p. 183). Appraisal theory is
applied in this study as a tool to assist in the examination of the evaluative aspect of lan-
guage in advertorials at the micro-linguistic level.

Methodology
Data collection
The data set in the current study is advertorials in ‘special advertising sections’, labeled
as ‘special advertising features’ in the four English-language magazines: Forbes,
Fortune, Newsweek and Business Week. The four magazines are considered to be appro-
priate data sources as they have widespread availability globally and have reached a large
audience. Furthermore, articles were also collected from the advertising supplement sec-
tion in two newspapers. One was the South China Morning Post, which is a prominent
daily newspaper in China with particular popularity in Hong Kong and Macao. The other
was the International Herald Tribune, which has a worldwide distribution and also pub-
lishes a corresponding e-version online. All the articles were selected from recent maga-
zines and newspapers that were published in the second half of 2006. A corpus of 55
advertorials with an estimated 101,980 words was formed, of which 70,589 words
(69.2%) was from magazines and the remaining 31,391 (30.8%) from newspapers. The
articles from different magazines varied in number of words in each advertorial. For
example, the articles from Newsweek were shorter, while those from Fortune were
longer, as compared with other magazines. In order to arrange the data in a more bal-
anced way, one issue of Newsweek was added and one issue of Fortune was eliminated.
Table 2 provides precise data information, comprising the code, media, number and num-
ber of words of advertorials from each media, as well as the date and number of issues.
As the corpus was deemed too large for a thorough and comprehensive examination
of linguistic features, a sub-corpus of 12 samples was further selected. From

Table 2. Data information.

Code Media No. Words Date (No. of issues)

M01–11 Forbes 11 18,576 Sept./Oct./Nov. (4)
M12–19 Newsweek 8 6380 Oct./Nov./Dec. (5)
M20–24 Fortune 5 28,090 July/Oct./Nov. (3)
M25–31 Business Week 7 17,543 Dec. (3)
N01–06 South China Morning Post 6 19,117 Nov./Dec. (8)
N07–24 International Herald Tribune 18 12,274 Mar./Aug./Sep. (3)

Note: ‘M’ in code numbers stands for magazine, ‘N’ for newspaper.

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Zhou 327

each magazine and newspaper, two advertorials were chosen as samples. The criteria of
selecting the samples is set to get a variety of subjects and a wider range of target readers,
so as to increase the external reliability of the study. Of the 12 selected samples, sponsors
were from such various backgrounds as non-governmental organizations (M011), broad-
casting companies (BBS, M012), governments (M015), and IT companies (M024) (see
boldfaced data list in Appendix 1).

Analytical methodology
The seven-step analytical framework devised by Bhatia (1993) is taken as guideline in the
present study for analyzing advertorials as a newly emerging genre. Two alterations were
made as a means to better fit the text type under study and thus, better serve this study’s
purpose. First, the analysis of institutional context suggested in the framework is mainly
concerned with the culture or conventions of an organization or society where the data were
collected. However, current data come from popular mass media, and therefore there are no
direct relationships with particular organizations or institutions. Second, Bhatia includes a
step for specialist information in genre analysis. As this study situates in expanding-circle
context with limited resources, specialist information is hard to obtain. Consequently, this
article takes the remaining five steps, suggested in the model and researches into two broad
aspects of advertorials as a genre: communicative purposes and textual analysis. Figure 1
gives a full view of the overall research methodology and procedure.
Specifically, textual analysis was conducted focusing on two particular aspects: para-
linguistic analysis and linguistic analysis. Although analysis of paralinguistic features
was not included in Bhatia’s (1993) seven-step model, researching paralinguistic fea-
tures of advertorials appropriately suits the particular objective and ultimate goal of this
study. Apparently, the outlook, visual design and paralanguage of any text types in

1. Data collection

2. Communicative purposes

3. Textual analysis

1. Paralinguistic features 2. Linguistic characteristics

1. Move analysis 2. Appraisal theory

1. Generic structure (level 3) 1. Evaluation aspect of

2. Text-patterning (level 2) language (level 1)

Figure 1. Research procedure.

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328 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

printed media create a first important impression to readers. In addition, the paralinguis-
tic features of news stories (editorials) and advertisements are conspicuously different
from each other. Therefore, carrying out an exploration of paralinguistic features of
advertorials – as a blended text type of advertisements, news stories and editorials – is
assumed to be essential and enlightening.
This study conducted genre analysis at the level of generic structure (level 3), which
was intended to present the organization or the macro-structure of advertorials. Using the
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) school’s ‘move analysis’ model as a tool, the moves
and sub-moves or steps were identified and analyzed in each single sample and then an
overall structure was put forward. Meanwhile, the textual purposes contributing to each
move and step were set out, which makes up textualization or text-patterning suggested
at level 2. Furthermore, analyses of linguistic features were substantially strengthened
with an examination of the evaluative aspect of language (level 1).

Results of genre analysis

Communicative purposes of advertorials
Dictionaries tend to define ‘advertorial’ as a type of advertisement written and presented
in the form of a news story or an editorial. It is rarely labeled explicitly as ‘advertorial’
in printed media. Rather, it is often placed under such categories as ‘Special Advertising
Section’, ‘Advertisement Supplement’ or ‘Integrated Content’. Media companies pub-
lish advertorials and intend to make them appear to be reporting or sharing useful infor-
mation with readers. In contrast, the advertiser’s ultimate purpose is to deliver the sales
message and to persuade readers. Therefore, a compromise must be reached between the
media company and the advertiser. Advertisers must be willing to work cooperatively
with the publishers so that the content of advertorials can benefit both sides. Definitely,
there are good reasons for advertisers to use this complicated advertorial strategy instead
of straightforward advertisements. Endorsement is one important reason. It is commonly
known that people tend to believe in things that are recommended by a reliable person or
unbiased media. The media is playing a role of giving credit or an endorsement to the
advertiser. Considering the situational and social factors, I suggest that a typical adverto-
rial tends to serve the following two communicative purposes.
First is to offer valid information to the prospective clients. Usually, advertorials are
used to offer information about sources, products, techniques or services of the adver-
tised client. At the same time, the content appears to communicate opinions about social,
economic, political or personal issues. For example, there are advertorials reporting on
retiring programs, healthy lifestyles and Hong Kong’s rapid development. When choos-
ing the topic, the media seriously considers whether real value is provided to the readers.
If an advertorial is functioning totally like an ad, despite its news or editorial format,
readers tend to doubt the credibility of the media and see it as trite.
Second, the ultimate purpose for advertisers is to grab the attention of potential cus-
tomers and persuade them to buy their products or services. In order to achieve this
object, three minor goals should be satisfied. First, advertorials should be able to capture
the attention of readers or potential customers. Therefore, choosing the right topic that is

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Zhou 329

of public interest is essential. Of course, there are other elements in attracting readers’
attention, such as the visual elements and well-written text. Second is to build positive
images and highlight the distinguished features of the company, the products or the ser-
vices in the interest of the sponsors. However, the focus is often placed on other aspects,
such as advanced technology or the new management model the company employs,
rather than the products or services per se. For instance, advertorials can adhere to indus-
try standard best practices. Fortune editors have published an advertorial entitled ‘Power
to innovate’, listing the companies which do well in applying innovative technologies
into production. Forbes publishes ‘Sustainable Development – Perspective on the
Future’, which builds the company’s image by praising its long-term development strate-
gies such as their Environmental Action Plan. Third, writers want to make prospective
customers take action and respond. To achieve this goal, it is important to provide the
company’s contact details, such as address, telephone number or website. Most adverto-
rials provide the contacts in a very strategic but implicit way. For example, Forbes offers
website addresses under the name of ‘web dictionary’. Business Week even presents a
map as an illustration and locates all the names of sponsored companies on it.
In summary, advertorials manifest two basic communicative purposes: 1) to offer
information; and 2) to persuade. In order to achieve the purpose of persuasion, three
minor goals should be achieved: 1) to arouse readers’ interest; 2) to build positive images
in the interest of the sponsors; and 3) to achieve audience responses.

Textual analysis of the advertorials

Analysis of paralinguistic features. For different genres, we expect different visual arrange-
ments. When we think of academic papers, we expect to see no color other than black as
well as a consistent typeface throughout the text. When we think of advertisements, we
expect to see many colors and other visual elements such as pictures and photos. Adver-
torials make the situation even more complicated. At first glance, no big differences can
be detected by readers and it is not easy for readers to distinguish advertorials from other
reports, especially as advertorials are usually not appropriately labeled and are designed
to look like news articles. Designers create advertorials to meet the expectations that
readers have for news stories or editorials in magazines and newspapers. However, when
taking a closer look, several distinct paralinguistic features can be identified and an over-
whelming number of the visual elements or layout arrangements tend to present adverto-
rials as logical, unbiased and authentic texts.

Layout. Some advertorials are quite long, some even more than 10 pages. Observa-
tions suggest that both long and short advertorials are divided into a number of sub-arti-
cles with separate titles and topics or themes. The sub-articles, although not very long,
are often further separated into sections with numbered or bold headers. The clear-cut
structures are intended to appear in more authentic papers such as scientific reports or
academic articles. Obviously, by resembling such a structure, the writers attempt to con-
struct a logical argument on paper. The visual signals of sub-titles and headers present a
logical, confident argument and mislead readers into believing what they see as authentic
and trustworthy information.

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330 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

Another feature deserving attention is the use of bylines. Normally, news stories have
bylines while advertisements do not. In the corpus, eight out of 11 advertorials from
Forbes and 100% from the International Herald Tribune are with bylines. One out of
five articles in Fortune uses a byline. All the articles from Business Week, Newsweek and
South China Morning Post are without bylines. The statistics show that the byline feature
is highly variable but in general fairly common.

Letter shapes and color. The fact that letters have shapes and we associate different
letter shapes with different text types makes the design of letter shapes a main strategy
used to construct the visual image of a text. Mainly, there are two large categories for
typefaces: the decorative type and the type for extended reading. Decorative typefaces
are normally used to attract readers’ attention and are largely used in short, important
phrases, such as the title or headers. The other type is for extended reading and does not
function to attract attention per se. Besides the typeface, letters can be bold, italic, bold
italic, underlined or colored. Samples of advertorials in the corpus are of high uniformity
and consistency in this aspect: almost all letters in body texts are of one consistent type-
face and are all colored black. Most of the headers and titles are also black or blue, with
only a few cases in other colors. Blue and black are commonly viewed as comparatively
‘serious’ colors and readers associate them with power and truth: authentic papers, such
as government reports, news articles and academic articles are usually in black or blue.
Advertorials are actually designed to simulate the style of serious reports. Advertorials
in newspapers have more standard and consistent letter shapes and colors compared with
those in magazines. In the data set of this study, advertorials in newspapers are all in
black and white.

Other visual elements. A distinctive feature of visual elements in advertorials is the ten-
dency to present photos of important persons, or spot pictures related to the companies or
factories in the report. In the corpus, 15 out of 31 advertorials from magazines and five out
of six from the South China Morning Post presented photos of the heads or leaders of the
company. Advertorials from the International Herald Tribune did not contain any photos.
In addition, advertorials which didn’t include photos of important people presented pic-
tures of successful business people. Thus, advertorials have an overwhelming tendency to
present photos of leaders or successful business people as illustrations, which, I assume,
is to project a sense of authority. Another distinct contextual feature of advertorials is the
frequent use of graphs and charts, which are tools typically used in scientific or academic
reports. These features provide a strong academic flavor to advertorials, and again, con-
struct an authoritative, trustable and undeniable image.

Analysis of linguistic characteristics. Linguistic characteristics of a written genre can be

analyzed from different perspectives. At the macro-linguistic level, analysis usually
focuses on the organization or structure of the text. On the micro-linguistic level, analy-
sis is on such aspects as the lexicon and grammar. The present study analyzed linguistic
characteristics of advertorials on both the macro-level and the micro-level. On the macro-
level, the generic structure of advertorials was examined by adopting the ESP school’s

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Zhou 331

approach of move analysis. On the micro-level, the evaluative aspect of language as a

prominent feature of advertorials was explored with the guidance of appraisal theory.

Generic structure of advertorials. Drawing upon previous proposed structures of adver-

tisements, news stories and editorials, this study proposes a generic structure of adverto-
rials based on an examination of 12 samples selected from the corpus of 55 advertorials.
Analysis demonstrates that advertorials are typically organized in the following moves
and steps (see Table 3). Two structures are identified in the body part. The structures
suggest most advertorials explicitly display the products or services and some only aim
to build a positive image of the sponsors.

Table 3. Move structure of advertorials.

Move 1: Introduction
Step 1: Headlines (super-, main and sub-headlines, and captions)
Step 2: Lead

Move 2: Body text

Structure A:
Step 1: Targeting the market
Step 2: Justifying the product or service
By indicating the importance of the product or service or by establishing a niche
Step 3: Detailing the products or services
By introducing the companies or organizations that provide such products or services
By identifying the product or service
By describing the product or service
By indicating the value of the product or service
Step 4: Establishing credentials
Structure B:
Step 1: Background information
Step 2: Introducing a company or an organization or a leader in a company
Step 3: Detailed information to construct a positive image
Step 4: Consequences/reactions

Move 3: Conclusion
Step 1: Summaries
Step 2: Evaluations

Move 4: Soliciting responses

Step 1: Signature and slogan of the company/sponsor
Step 2: Contact details

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332 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

Introduction (move 1). Move 1 is an obligatory element for all the samples examined.
It is an initiating move to attract readers’ attention. This move usually includes headlines
and a lead, following the standard practice of news stories. It functions to provide key
information or the topic of the whole article. Specifically, the super- or main headline
usually presents the most important information to arouse readers’ interest. The sub-
headline is added to give a brief explanation, mention the sponsor’s name and raise a
problem. A lead is adopted in most of the advertorials, attempting to give background
information for the whole article and justify the prominent or interesting points of the
article. It usually uses the simple present tense to highlight the reliability of the informa-
tion provided. In this sense, move 1 is mainly informative.

Step 1: Headlines
According to the function of headlines, 12 samples could be classified into three groups:
Group 1:
1) Global Financial Services – A key location in the Global Financial Services Industry
2) Cameroon – Moving forward: Building on the Bakassi transfer
3) The Singapore advantage

All the headlines in group 1 present sponsors’ names and explicitly spell out the appeals
or benefits of the offers. This strategy is to transfer the major benefits or advantages into
the headline, so that even if readers don’t go on to read the whole article, they can at least
grasp the essential information.

Group 2:
4) Helping Small to Mid-size Privately Held Companies and Non-profit Organizations Mitigate
Management Liability Risk
5) Easing the Corporate Health Care Cost Burden

Examples in group 2 introduce the services that sponsors might provide, instead of pre-
senting names of sponsors. This strategy attempts to target the market and attract the
attention of potential customers.

Group 3:
6) Japan 2.0 – The Asian nation has emerged from its punishing post-bubble decade leaner,
stronger and wiser, and ready to take on the next generation of challenges.
7) The power to innovate.

Examples in group 3 give neither the name nor the appeals of the products or services
provided by the sponsor. Instead, this group of headlines highlights the topic of the whole
article, creating a positive image for the sponsors. Headline 6 puts all the Japanese spon-
sors in a powerful economic setting, while headline 7 applauds all the sponsors for their
spirit of innovation and strength.

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Zhou 333

Step 2: Lead

The leads of advertorials examined can be classified into two categories: the first type includes
a detailed introduction or summary of the whole article; the other type raises a problem existing
in society. Of the 12 samples, nine were of the first type and three were of the second type. The
first type offers readers a whole point of view of the appeals or advantages of the sponsors,
while the latter ones make the readers aware of an existing problem and arouse their interest to
read further, and thus find the solution. For example:

Type 1:
1) 
. . . Ireland has emerged as one of the newest and most successful International Financial
Services locations in the world. (M25)
2) There are three things that a country needs to be a major player in the brave new world .
. . Taiwan has all three – an impressive trifecta that is drawing an increasing number of
businesses from around the world to its five free trade zones. (M15)

Type 2:
1) A lthough health care costs keep rising, there’s finally some good news to report – it could
be worse. By 2015, health care costs will eat up 20% of the Gross Domestic Product. Even
now, the United States spends 4.3 times more on health care than on national defense.
(M04)
2) . . . Hunger, in fact, is the world’s number one health threat. . . . Crises such as war, tsunami,
drought . . . and politics deprive innocent people of life-sustaining food. There are 30 food
emergencies every year around the world and, and as a result, millions of people need
ongoing food aid to survive. (M11)

Body text and conclusion (moves 2 and 3). As previously illustrated, two different struc-
tures were proposed in move 2. Eight out of 12 samples are of structure A with products,
services or programs specified in the text, while four are of structure B, just providing
information about the sponsors to build a positive image. The conclusion could stand out
as a separate section, but it is also common to see the conclusion embedded in the body
text. Conclusions frequently contain a summary element and an evaluation element. To
illustrate the structure of the body text and conclusion, two samples are analyzed (for full
text, see Appendix 3). Tables 4 and 5 provide the results of sample analysis of moves 2
and 3, with textual purposes identified for each step.

Soliciting responses (move 4). Eight samples include soliciting response elements.
Interestingly, soliciting elements don’t appear in the body text section, but rather stand
separately. Some soliciting-response elements are designed in a rather hidden way. For
instance, an internet address could be given at the bottom-right corner of the text page.
Sometimes, they provide the address right after the text ends but it stands as an attached
part of the text, as illustrated in Figure 2 from M24.
A more explicit way is to set an independent page or another short article with a sub-
title simulating an ad and soliciting responses. For instance, one advertorial is followed
by another page with a picture occupying two-thirds of the space, and one paragraph
soliciting responses at the very end of the page, as illustrated in Figure 3 from M31.

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334 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

Table 4. Structure A: Move analysis of sample M31.

Step Description (sentence no.) Textual purposes

Move 2 Step 1 Targeting the market (1–5) Targeting small and mid-sized companies
Step 2 Justifying the product or Listing possible risk faced by small and
service (6–12) mid-sized companies
Step 3 Detailing the products or Listing what D&O insurance could do to
services (13–20) minimize the risks
Step 4 Establishing credentials (21–22) Highlighting the benefits of D&O
Move 3 Step 1 Summary (21–22) Summarizing and posing a strong
evaluation gesture
Step 2 Evaluation (21–22)
D&O, directors and officers.

Table 5. Structure B: Move analysis of sample N18.

Step Description Textual purposes

Move 2 Step 1 Background information (1) Providing general information of the efforts
Singapore put into R&D support
Step 2 Introducing a company or 1. Introducing three companies with detailed
organization or a leader in information of R&D in each company
a company (2–11) 2. Providing information about emerging industries
Step 3 Detailed information to
construct a positive image
(2–11)
Step 4 Consequences/ Illustrating that efforts have been paying off
reactions(12–14) One company is set as an example
Move 3 Step 1 Summary (15) Summarizing the efforts and achievements by and
of Singapore
Giving evaluation by quoting

R&D, research and development.

Figure 2. Soliciting responses (M24).

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Zhou 335

A third way to solicit responses is to make an independent section of the text. For
instance, Web Dictionary gives the internet address of the sponsors in the corner, as illus-
trated in Figure 4 from M11.

Evaluative aspect of language. Evaluative resources may be divided into three sub-sys-
tems: attitude, engagement and graduation. Under the system of appraisal theory, all the
evaluative elements may be identified and classified into their corresponding categories
in an accurate way. This study initially examines the first paragraph of each sample for
appraisal analysis of the language. Some samples have a paragraph above the whole text
and this paragraph is usually in a larger size and another color, which is normally regarded
as a lead. The first paragraph here means the first paragraph of the text, not considering
the lead paragraph above the whole text. The first paragraph was chosen from each sam-
ple for two reasons: first, some advertorials are quite long, lasting more than 10 pages.
Some are short with only one page. Some advertorials include all the moves and some do
not. So it is problematic to examine the language of one particular move. Second, there
is no information on which part of the advertorial is more evaluative or which part is less
evaluative. However, evaluative force of language in later parts is supposed to grow, or
stay at more or less the same level. Appendix 2 lists all the first paragraphs of the 12
samples, with various lexicogrammatical elements marked according to different catego-
ries of evaluation.
The analysis of the evaluative aspect of advertorials reveals that all three types of
evaluation resources – attitude, engagement and graduation – are used. When expressing
attitude, appreciation is used more frequently than judgments and affects, while the
strength of evaluation is controlled by gradable words and expressions. At all times, the
authors take a positive stance toward the sponsors by using positive appreciation (excel-
lence, promise, attractive, new, successful, etc.). There are some negative appreciations
but their evaluation targets are not the sponsors. These negative evaluations mainly con-
tribute to the sponsors’ target clients (e.g. the small and mid-sized companies) or

Figure 3. Soliciting responses (M31).

Figure 4. Soliciting responses (M11).

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336 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

comparisons against the sponsors (for example, the laggard Hong Kong in the past). In
addition, high strength of evaluative expressions appears frequently. A good deal of
superlative adjectives and nouns in the data are found, all of which are used to highlight
the positive image of the sponsors, such as newest, top priority, top quality, excellence,
distinctly, one of the most, real. In all, it is noticed that the language in advertorials is
neither neutral nor objective; instead, it is projecting the evaluative voice of the writers
on a highly gradable scale.
As a means to give a full view of the evaluative stance in one complete advertorial,
one sample is chosen and analyzed (see Appendix 3). This sample is chosen, first,
because it is a mid-sized article; second, its language, at least at first impression,
looks quite neutral and unbiased. It is of great interest to explore further in order to
dig out those lexico-grammatical elements which serve to project evaluative stance
and thus to persuade target consumers. The sponsor in this sample is Zurich, a
Financial Services Ltd company. It strives to highlight potential risks that privately
held companies and non-profit organizations might be confronted with, and thus tries
to offer a ‘simple, intelligent, beneficial’ solution: to get professional management or
financial help.
The result of evaluative analysis shows that JUDGMENT as an evaluation strategy
has been intensively used in this sample. A host of negative evaluations focusing on
social sanction and social esteem are identified:

•• Social esteem – bankruptcy, insolvency, out of business

•• Social sanction – a breach of fiduciary duty, wrongful employment act, misap-
propriation of funds, sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination,
copyright violations, donor lawsuits, misappropriation of funds, excessive execu-
tive pay, lack of true valuation, fraudulently, negligently

All the negative evaluation of judgment reflects the stance that the writer takes against
the target – those potential consumers who have not taken steps to get management
advice or financial insurance. Interestingly, the condemnation is in stark contrast with
several instances of positive evaluation which are attributed to the sponsor:

•• Appreciation – simply, benefits

•• Affection – fortunately
Judgment – intelligently, experienced, willingness, commitment, properly,
•• 
strengthen the ability, protect . . . against risk

Another distinctive linguistic feature of this article identified by appraisal analysis is its
strong amplification of negative evaluation of judgment through GRADUATION:

•• Q uantity – magnitude (claims), great (damage), most, a host of (emerging issues)

•• Intensity – wreak havoc, primary, especially (troublesome), catastrophic (risk), far
less (protected), in any case (liabilities)

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Zhou 337

By analysis of a complete sample, then, the linguistic tendencies and elements of

evaluation may be recognized and described. It is found that the writer’s voice is clearly
spelled out through strong negative evaluation against target readers. In contrast, all the
positive evaluation is attributed to the sponsors themselves. The results indicate that the
language of advertorials is actually rather ‘biased’, with the obvious tendency to take a
persuasive and evaluative stance.

Discussion
The genre analysis of advertorials has shown that advertorials as an emerging hybridized
text type embody both the paralinguistic and linguistic features of the three related gen-
res: advertisements, news stories and editorials. Communicative purposes, generic struc-
ture and the micro-linguistic features of advertisements, news stories and editorials are
interrelated and blended in advertorials.
The communicative purpose of advertorials lies in two aspects: to provide informa-
tion and to persuade. All the three related genres are informative: news stories are
regarded as ‘information’; advertisements are ‘descriptive’, as Bhatia (2004) observes;
editorials also have an element of ‘objectively presenting the event or issue’. In terms of
persuasion, editorials are persuasive as they persuade readers to agree with the writer on
some controversial issues by making logical and reasonable arguments. But advertorials
are persuasive in a strikingly different way as they only persuade in the interest of the
sponsors and never present any opposition or any negative comments as editorials
may do. Advertisements avoid negative opinions and express positive evaluation of the
products or services advertised. Advertorials persuade basically in the same way as
advertisements do.
With regard to paralinguistic features, advertorials share conspicuous similarity
with news stories and editorials. Advertisements, regardless of whether they are pre-
sented in print media, television or on roadside boards, are usually image-based.
Visual elements are one of the most essential resources in attracting people’s attention
in advertisements. Advertisements are usually expected to present photos or pictures
of attractive models, instead of the photos of leaders, statistical tables, or graphs. In
contrast, news stories and editorials are mainly of a text-based type. The analysis of
the paralinguistic features shows that advertorials in newspapers look strikingly simi-
lar to the surrounding news stories with letters in black color throughout the text, and
with few visual elements. In magazines, they also resemble the surrounding news
articles through use of serious colors, consistent typefaces, photos of important per-
sons, pictures of successful businesspeople, graphs and charts. By borrowing
the paralinguistic characteristics of news stories and editorials, advertorials tend to
project an image of power and authority.
Generic structure of advertorials is even more complex. The superstructure of adver-
torials follows that of a news story, including headlines, lead, body text and conclusion.
But the sub-structure of the body text actually resembles advertisements. Advertorials
don’t really have an ‘event’ or ‘story’ to report as news. Instead, the body text provides
detailed information about the products, services or sponsors so as to target the market.
Furthermore, advertorials usually design independent sections or sub-titled articles

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338 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

around the main text to provide contact details (e.g. the internet address or phone
number) to solicit responses from the audience, as advertisements do. News stories and
editorials usually don’t have the move for soliciting responses.
The analysis of micro-linguistic aspects of advertorials was carried out within
the framework of appraisal theory. The language of advertisements is evaluative,
while the language of news stories is objective. Editorials reflect opinion, but
according to the structures proposed for editorials, the beginning parts of editorials
should be objective, as editorials usually start by introducing the event or issue in
discussion objectively. The examination of the first paragraphs of advertorials
shows they tend to frequently use appreciation and engagement as evaluative
resources on a highly gradable scale from the outset. A further analysis of a
complete sample suggests that the language is rather evaluative with an obvious
projected ‘voice’ of the author.
However, it is not appropriate to view the features of advertisements, news stories and
editorials as antipathetic. In contrast, features from all the three genres are blended in a
natural way in advertorials. In advertorials, the similar appearance to news stories or
editorials gives endorsement to the hidden nature of advertisements. By combining the
three genres’ features, advertorials are expected to provide information in the interest of
sponsors in a more credible way.

Conclusion
This study approaches the advertorial as an emerging hybridized text type within the
framework of genre analysis. The objective is to give an in-depth and all-round generic
description of advertorials by conducting analyses on situational, paralinguistic and lin-
guistic levels. There is no simple answer to the question of whether advertorials are more
like advertisements, news stories or editorials, as all the distinctive features are blended
and mixed. However, this study suggests it is more appropriate to classify advertorials as
a sub-genre of advertisements for the following reasons.
First, according to the communicative purposes identified, advertorials are both
informative and persuasive. News stories are mostly informative. Editorials are persua-
sive but their argumentation is supposed to be based on unbiased facts with strong logic.
Advertorials intrinsically share the same communicative purposes as advertisements but
not as straightforwardly: to provide positive information and to persuade on behalf the
sponsors.
Second, although the superstructure of advertorials basically resembles that of news
stories, which include headlines, lead, body text and conclusion, the body text in the
structure contains a number of steps to target the market and to give detailed information
regarding products, services or the companies, which is a normal practice in advertise-
ments. Furthermore, advertorials have a move for soliciting responses, which is clearly a
distinct element in advertisements.
Third, analysis of the evaluation in advertorials shows that the writer’s voice is obvi-
ously not neutral, with all the negative evaluation against target readers and the positive
evaluation attributed to the sponsors. The results indicate that the language of advertorials

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Zhou 339

is rather ‘biased’, without logical or reasonable argumentation, which has been identi-
fied and recognized as a distinct linguistic feature of advertisement language.
In summary, advertorials share the basic communicative purposes with advertise-
ments. Word choices and evaluative stance also show the tendency to resemble adver-
tisements. However, the format and various paralinguistic features in advertorials are
like those of news stories. These results well demonstrate that an advertorial is intrinsi-
cally an advertisement written in the format of a news story or an editorial. Considering
the fact that the communicative purpose is regarded as the most important aspect for
defining a genre, and that the number of advertising elements is overwhelmingly larger
than the number of news stories or editorial elements identified in advertorials, this
study suggests that it is more appropriate to categorize advertorials as a sub-genre of
advertisements.

Acknowledgment
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my MA and PhD supervisor, Professor Andrew Moody
at the University of Macau, for his enlightening guidance and invaluable advice. I would also like
to thank Professor Gerhard Leitner at the Free University Berlin for his patience and helpful
comments.

Funding
This research was supported by the University of Macau as well as by the Erasmus Mundus
MULTI research project.

References
Bhatia VK (1993) Analyzing Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings. London: Longman.
Bhatia VK (2004) Worlds of Written Discourse: A Genre-based View. London: Continuum.
Brett P (1994) A genre analysis of the results section of sociology articles. English for Specific
Purposes 13(1): 47–59.
Halliday MAK (1994) Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold.
He P (2006) Genre Analysis on English Political Speaking. Available at: http://www.read.com.tw/
web/hypage.cgi?HYPAGE=index.htm (accessed 6 December 2006).
Holmes R (1997) Genre analysis and social sciences: An investigation of the structure of research
article discussion section in three disciplines. English for Specific Purposes 16(4): 321–337.
Martin JR and White PRR (2005) The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Mulken M and Meer W (2005) Are you being served? A genre analysis of American and Dutch
company replies to customer inquiries. English for Specific Purposes 24(1): 93–109.
Swales JM (1990) Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Thompson S (1994) Frameworks and contexts: A genre-based approach to analyzing lecture
introductions. English for Specific Purposes 13(2): 171–186.

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340 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

Appendix 1
Data list

Code Title Media

M01 Retirement Planning: guide for baby boomers FB
M02 Content management: end-to-end strategies from printing to shipping FB
M03 Easing the Corporate Health Care Cost burden FB
M04 Sustainable Development: Perspectives on the Future FB
M05 Managing Risk to achieve your growth potential FB
M06 The insider’s guide to business travel: building a personalization strategy FB
M07 Suzhou Tourism FB
M08 HR technology comes of age FB
M09 Investing for the long term: retirement planning guide for baby boomers FB
M10 Electric companies invest in the electric future FB
M11 The united national world food program FB
M12 World challenge 2006: well water NW
M13 World challenge 2006: wild child NW
M14 World challenge 2006: powering up: Sidama NW
M15 Free trade zones: Taiwan’s new window to the world NW
M16 Techwatch: Security NW
M17 international schools NW
M18 Keeping our peaks pristine: lifestyles of health and sustainability NW
M19 Fresh, Eco-friendly and fun: lifestyles of health and sustainability NW
M20 Japan 2.0 FTN
M21 South Africa on target: On the road to 2010 FTN
M22 The once and future Global exporter (Republic of Cameroon) FTN
M23 Meet Me in Asia FTN
M24 The Power to Innovate FTN
M25 Global Financial Services: Ireland – A key location in the BW
Global Services Industry
M26 Putting the back office front and center: its business transformation for BW
TELCOS in 2007
M27 Lessons from the front lines BW
M28 Puerto Rico: A new direction: The U.S. state with offshore advantages BW
heads toward a knowledge-based economy
M29 Saudi Arabia: Blueprint for the future (Saudi Arabia construction) BW
M30 Maldives: Indian ocean paradise BW
M31 Helping small to mid-size privately held companies and BW
non-profit organizations
N01 Sponsored supplement: Education SCMP
N02 Sponsored supplement: HKUST – 15th anniversary & 14th congregation SCMP
N03 Sponsored supplement: Kumon Hong Kong SCMP
N04 Sponsored supplement>> HKBU-HRM graduation SCMP
N05 Sponsored feature: Hong Kong Trade Development Council SCMP

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Zhou 341

Appendix 1. (Continued)

Code Title Media

N06 Sponsored Feature: Hong Kong Trade Development Council SCMP
N07 A positive outlook – in spite of several stumbling blocks IHT
N08 Social harmony is the priority IHT
N09 Reforms stir hopes for a uniform justice system IHT
N10 Privatization efforts pick up speed IHT
N11 Conservation and development IHT
N12 Firm steps taken to combat corruption IHT
N13 Exploration potential and predicted growth IHT
N14 New measures keep economy on track IHT
N15 Doing business in the island-state: Easy, efficient and profitable IHT
N16 Singapore’s quality of life is its competitive advantage IHT
N17 Luring travelers to an island-state IHT
N18 Economic crystal ball boosts R&D IHT
N19 From oil rigs to fragrances, manufacturing remains cornerstone of IHT
economy
N20 Cruising to islands in the sun IHT
N21 Opening up Public Tourist Property IHT
N22 Working together: A win–win scenario IHT
N23 Working together: A win–win scenario IHT
N24 New tourism minister calls Greece ‘a window to the world’ IHT

Note: FB: Forbes; NW: Newsweek; FTN: Fortune; BW: Business Week; SCMP: South China Morning Post; IHT:
International Herald Tribune.

Appendix 2

First paragraphs of the 12 samples

Key to annotation:
a) Mediated (attributed) material is underlined
b) Non-attributed appreciation in small caps (underlined small caps indicates attributed
appreciation)
c) Non-attributed affect in italics (underlined italics indicates attributed affectual reaction)
d) Engagement in bold + italics
e) Non-attributed judgment in bold (both social esteem and social sanction) (underlined bold
indicates that the judgment is attributed)
f) Graduation in box

1) Everyone agrees such high health care costs and expected growth rates are not sustainable,
but what’s being done to get things under control? (M04)
2) Crises such as war, tsunami, drought, hurricane, earthquake, poverty and politics deprive
innocent people of life-sustaining food. There are over 30 food emergencies every year

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342 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

around the world and, as a result, millions of people need ongoing food aid to survive.
(M11)
3) World challenge, in association with Shell, is a global competition aiming to find individuals or
groups from around the world who have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots
level. The competition seeks to reward projects that are making a real difference to local com-
munities – without costing the Earth. The winner of World Challenge 2006 will receive a
$20,000 grant and two runners-up will each win $10,000 from Shell to invest in the future of
their projects. (M12)
4) Taiwan’s excellence in all three areas makes it a powerful competitor against the more
than 600 free trade zones and free ports that stud the globe. Its top competitive advantage:
its workforce. ‘Taiwan’s strongest natural resource is its people – the most important
element in the supply chain’, says Jun Shu, assistant professor at the Pennsylvania State
University’s renowned Supply Chain and Information Systems Department. Those people
have a distinctly international bent – many of Taiwan’s mid- and upper-level executives
have been trained in the U.S. – as well as deep experience with let. ‘The country also has a
large manufacturing base, especially in computers and semiconductors’, says Shu. And then
Taiwan has a matchless location, whether you are shipping by sea, air or land. (M15)
5) The West was fascinated – and frightened . The Japanese economy boomed as it filled the
world with top-quality automobiles, machine tools, television sets, and dozens of other
remarkable products. As Japan sold its wares and got RICHER, the U.S. fretted over the
gaping trade deficit. When Mitsubishi Estate Co. bought New York’s Rockefeller Center in
1989, some Americans were paranoid enough to believe that Japan would gobble up every
cherished asset in the U.S. (M20)
6) The speaker is Nick Donofrio, IBM’s executive vice president for innovation and technology,
and his words reflect in no uncertain terms where his company is heading. As it happens,
they also reflect how most of the 765 leaders who took part in IBM’s 2006 global CEO
survey see their job. (M24)
7) In the technology driven, fast paced global business environment of financial services, custom-
ers, services providers and investors have gravitated towards key global locations. Ireland has
emerged as one of the newest and most successful International Financial Services locations in
the world. (M25)
8) Since most small and mid-sized companies are not publicly held, their officers and directors
may believe their organizations are immune from the risks associated with running a pub-
licly held company. In reality, these organizations are often confronted with similar risks as
their publicly traded counterparts. One law suit stemming from a breach of fiduciary duty,
wrongful employment act or misappropriation of funds can wreak havoc on a mid-
sized organization. And an act of employment crime can put a smaller organization
out of business . As David Donovan, a vice president of Zurich, observes,
‘while the magnitude of claims filed against these entities is typically not as large in abso-
lute terms as their publicly traded counterparts, the financial damage still can be great ’.
(M31)
9) Striving for world peace through individual and group effort is one of the top priorities for
the recently launched Kumon Asia and Oceania Completers Clubs. (N03)
10) Few, if any, in Hong Kong during the mid 1960s could have realized that they were part of a
fledgling economic powerhouse. Back then the city was symbolized by seemingly random
small enterprises. Factories clattered noisily in the crowded industrial estates of Kowloon and

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Zhou 343

the New Territories. small workshops dotted neighborhoods. Hong Kong was growing, having
taken in more than a million mainland refugees. (N06)
11) The mood has changed in Cameroon following the long-awaited withdrawal of Nigerian
troops from the Bakassi Peninsula two weeks ago. Eyes are fixed these days on the country’s
efforts to move forward economically and to advance its national agenda: infrastructure, edu-
cation, public health, poverty reduction, the war against corruption, oil and gas develop-
ment and energy. Cameroon is a country of immense promise that has a number of obstacles
to overcome before its full potential can be realized. Fortunately, with the help of interna-
tional institutions and the will of its government, steps are being taken that are helping to
reduce poverty and unemployment, put a stop to corruption, improve the infrastruc-
ture, protect the environment and create a more attractive milieu for foreign investment.
(N07)
12) Gazing into its economic crystal ball, the Singapore government recently allocated
1.4 billion Singapore dollars ($880 million) to fund the development of three specific areas
of research and development that are expected to drive the island-state’s economic future –
biomedical sciences, environmental and water technologies, and interactive and digital media.
(N18)

Appendix 3

Code M31
Helping Small to Mid-size Privately Held
Companies and Non-profit Organizations
Mitigate Management Liability Risk

While more than 95 percent of America’s Top 1000 companies currently purchase directors and
officers (D&O) coverage, estimates are that fewer than 10 percent of privately-held companies
and non-profit organizations have made D&O coverage part of their overall risk-management
strategy.

S
1
ince most small and mid-sized companies are not publicly held, their officers and direc-
tors may believe their organizations are immune from the risks associated with running a publicly
held company.2 In reality, these organizations are often confronted with similar risks as their
publicly traded counterparts. 3 One lawsuit stemming from a breach of fiduciary duty, wrongful
employment act or misappropriation of funds can wreak havoc on a mid-sized organization. 4 And
an act of employment crime can put a smaller organization out of business . 5 As David Dono-
van, a vice president of Zurich, observes, “While the magnititude of claims filed against these
entities is typically not as large in absolute terms as their publicly traded counterparts, the financial
damage still can be great .”

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344 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

Small to mid-size companies and non-profit organizations risk exposure

6 Many of these same companies are exposed to a number of management liabilities beyond
D&O exposure, and most are not properly mitigating against these potentially catastrophic
risks. 7 Privately held companies’ potential liabilities fall into three major categories: (1) employ-
ment practices liability (EPL), including sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termi-
nation; (2) patent and copyright violations, such as theft or disclosure of trade secrets, customer
lists, and other intellectual property; and (3) financial operations liability, including claims arising
from bankruptcy, insolvency, and business and investment valuation. 8 Non-profit organizations
also have EPL as a primary concern in managing day-to-day operations and grapple with such
additional matters as donor lawsuits, misappropriation of funds, and excessive executive pay.
9 There are also
a host of emerging issues that threaten to increase these liabilities. 10 For
instance, mergers and acquisitions can trigger a variety of EPL claims resulting from staffing
reductions and relocations. 11In addition, merger and acquisition activity can trigger claims from
minority shareholders alleging lack of true valuation of their ownership interest in the company.
12Courts are also
increasingly recognizing insolvency as a cause of action against directors and
officers, who are alleged to have fraudulently or negligently extended the life of a company,
thereby eliminating the possibility of payment for goods and services.

Minimizing management liability risks

13Such liabilities would be reason for concern

in any case but they are especially troublesome
for privately held and non-profit entities, which tend to be far less protected against these risks
than are larger organizations.
14Fortunately, these small to mid-size entities can take steps to minimize these risks without

spending inordinate amounts of time or money.15 First is simply to recognize that, like their larger
counterparts, they too confront a variety of potentially financially crippling risks. 16Second is to
intelligently survey the options, including D&O and EPL coverage, for indemnifying against these
risks. 17And third is to establish a formal risk management approach, including the codifying of
protective practices in hiring, personnel management, budget allocations, and financial manage-
ment. 18 An experienced insurer can add value in such arenas. 19 For example, in claims manage-
ment, a mis-timed suite may result in a large jury award, while the exposure may be limited by
an insurer that understands the nuances of EPL litigation. 20 Finally, while regulations such as
Sarbanes-Oxley do not apply to privately held and non-profit organizations, these organizations
are well advised to incorporate aspects of the law’s provisions into their operations, thus demon-
strating their willingness and commitment to adhere to such corporate governance practices at a
time when accountability for these is being scrutinized.
21 In the end, the benefits of these small steps can be
substantial . 22 Notes Zurich’s David
Donovan: “Understanding and acting upon the available options can help strengthen the ability of
both privately held firms and non-profit organizations to properly protect themselves against the
potentially catastrophic risks of management liability.”

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Zhou 345

Code N18

Economic crystal ball boosts R&D

By Julia Clerk

Published: August 28, 2006

1Gazing into its economic crystal ball, the Singapore government recently allocated 1.4

billion Singapore dollars ($880 million) to fund the development of three specific areas of
research and development that are expected to drive the island-state’s economic future –
biomedical sciences, environmental and water technologies, and interactive and digital media.
2 Even without the new funds, Singapore’s efforts to provide research facilities, partners,

funds and intellectual property protection are already paying handsome dividends, with
many global companies setting up R&D centers on the island. 3 Seiko Instruments Inc.
(SII) recently announced plans to establish a formidable presence in Singapore – its first
corporate R&D center outside Japan – to spearhead the development of new businesses
and products in data storage. 4 SII chose Singapore because of its strict intellectual property
regime and the collaborative opportunities with world-class research institutes offered by
Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). 5 SII has already
signed a three-year master research collaboration agreement with the Data Storage
Institute, a Singapore-based hard disk research center.
6Healtheuniverse, a biotechnology development company specializing in the development

and commercialization of biopharmaceutical and biomedical products, is also on the list of

international companies establishing R&D facilities in Singapore’s new Biopolis research
community. 7By shifting nearly all of its R&D operations to Singapore, Healtheuniverse
hopes to cut R&D costs significantly while accelerating development and commercialization
timelines.
8But not all companies are imports. 9 Hyflux, a homegrown company involved in water

technology, recently opened a membrane-technology R&D center in Singapore, the largest

of its kind in Asia.
10Meanwhile,
Singapore’s Economic Development Board has identified a number of
emerging industrial areas that are well suited to Singapore and can easily be “developed
overnight.” 11These include intellectual property, information and physical security,
resource management, nanotechnology and photonics.
12Once again, Singapore’s efforts to provide research facilities, partners and funds for
these industries are already paying off. 13 Hewlett-Packard announced in April that it is
opening an intellectual-property licensing center in Singapore to serve the fast-growing
Asia-Pacific market. 14 The center will help companies based in the region to find the
appropriate licensing mix for their particular business, including technology, patents,
trademarks, copyrights, standards and know-how.
15Tan Lee Chew, managing director of HP Southeast Asia, says that Singapore was

selected as its Asia-Pacific licensing center because of its “mature legal system, the
government’s strong support and respect for IP, and its overall strength as a strategic base
for IP management.”

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346 Discourse & Communication 6(3)

Author biography
Sijing Zhou is a PhD candidate in the Department of English, University of Macau and a lecturer
in the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Central South University of Forestry and Technology. She
has an MA from the Department of English, University of Macau, China and a BA from the
Department of English, Northeast Normal University, China. Her research areas are sociolinguis-
tics, discourse analysis and English in popular culture.

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