No pay to play

March 11, 2019
Perhaps the greatest disappointment any Oil & Gas Journal technical editor must face is losing out on a solid technology article to a less-reputable publication.

Robert Brelsford

Downstream Technology Editor

Perhaps the greatest disappointment any Oil & Gas Journal technical editor must face is losing out on a solid technology article to a less-reputable publication. It may come as a surprise to readers that it happens, but it does. The circumstances under which this occurs, of course, have nothing to do with OGJ’s undeniable reputation as the industry’s often-touted “bible.” In fact, the authors of these papers unequivocally would prefer publication in OGJ, as attested to by the countless apology e-mails they send following notification that the article will be placed elsewhere.

These crushing blows of declines to publish in OGJ surprisingly don’t come from the manuscripts’ authors at all. Instead they come from the marketing departments from the oil and gas companies at which these authors are employed as engineers and operators.

As one millennial marketer recently put it, the decision to publish his company’s technology article with another—and incontestably inferior (even by objective standards) publication—was that the company somehow would be getting “more bang for its buck” given that said publication had agreed to throw in 12 pages of advertising for the company’s related products and services free of charge.

Cheap tricks

Much like offers made by one-stop-shop internet, cable, and cellular service providers to save more when you give all your business to a single one of them, the smoke-and-mirrors strategy of bundling is alive and well in the publishing business. It makes sense given the influx of a younger workforce, many of whom have grown up in an age of 2-year-commitments-for-1-year-discounted-rates contract offers to cover all their technology needs. While it very well may work for phones, televisions, and internet connections, the reality is that these thrifty marketing economizers fail to see that in placing their companies’ articles in substandard publications for the sake of a few free ad pages that they’re trading their companies’ legacies like diamonds for glass.

Too harsh an assessment? Perhaps not. OGJ accepts manuscripts based on their merit and potential contribution to the industry’s knowledge bank. OGJ neither charges to publish nor requires a company to purchase ads should one of its articles be accepted for publication. Furthermore, very few manuscripts submitted for publication consideration ever come close to meeting the acceptance threshold. In other words, OGJ is highly discerning in its selection process, and unless an article meets our rigorous requirements for acceptance, the manuscript is rejected. OGJ’s readership knows and appreciates this, and it’s why our readers trust us.

Regarding members of operating companies’ marketing teams falling for the bundling scheme practiced by some other publications, this editor can only offer a few words of sage advice: tread carefully and cautiously. While it may seem to be a win-win at its surface, dive deeper. Check to see what the industry’s reception of the article is upon its publication. Check to see if anyone’s even read it. We’re not an industry of fools. Any discerning reader can smell pay-to-play ruses from miles away. When your technical content appears in a book plastered with ads for your company’s products and services, its fairly clear to industry what’s going on. And it’s not a good look.

Keeping it clean

There has, on occasion, been some harsh criticism tossed OGJ’s way from marketers that its ad costs are, well, too high. Thankfully, as an editorial team member, that issue is well beyond this editor’s purview. That said, if those ad costs are a bit pricey, there’s likely a reason for it. Our readers are the precise ones your companies want to be in front of. But that point, too, seems moot because—if you’re manuscript is accepted—your company’s work will be in front of our readers’ eyes for free.

Regardless of whether you’re seeking to advertise or publish technical content with us, however, here’s a nice maxim to keep in mind: As the recently deceased and often sharp-tongued fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld once said, if you are cheap, nothing helps. That may apply easily to one’s personal sense of style as it does to where an oil and gas operator showcases its technical contributions to the industry.