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Not for Sale: A word about ethos
The modern media world as a starting point
Hardly anything in our modern world has developed as dynamically as the media landscape: Established newspapers, magazines and TV providers have been joined by numerous new players. Companies are increasingly producing and distributing their own magazines and corporate TV. Streaming services have established themselves in the area of moving images. There are also various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Co. — and with them a new category of players: content creators such as bloggers, influencers, YouTubers and TikTokers, to name just a few.
New formats and hybrid models are constantly emerging between these players, such as “collaborations,” “collaborations” or “affiliate” services — i.e. links to online shops that generate commissions through purchases.
In short: The borders are becoming more and more blurred: media houses are becoming brands, brands are becoming media companies. Models and content creators become brands themselves.
Lack of credibility as a result
In all of this, the agreements on compensation models often remain obscure. What also blurs the roles vis-à-vis consumers: Who actually pays for the content in the end?
In other words, transparency is lost. And with it, in our opinion, that is the real problem, credibility. Not only do we experience this, but, as we often hear, many other people as well.
We are convinced that things can — and must — go better. After all, credibility is the basis of every medium — and of every fair and good cooperation.
Against this background and in line with our clear values (read more here), it is particularly important for us to present our own ethos with regard to our advertising policy.
We believe in independence
In addition to people and places, we also present products and services again and again. We do this because we became aware of them during our trips to Europe and consider them noteworthy and recommended for various reasons. Be it because they are typically European, produced regionally, associated with a great story or made with soul by wonderful people. We believe that these products deserve greater recognition. That is our motivation to write about it.
That is why all products presented here have been personally selected, purchased and tested by us. The providers have no influence on the content of the publication. We have not received any compensation or refund for presenting or mentioning the products, nor do we benefit from selling through affiliate links or the like.
In this way, we ensure that our contributions have a high degree of independence — and therefore credibility.
Our ethos
Our credibility is our greatest asset. That is why our independence is a priority for us:
No paid reports or posts, value-based advertising partner selection, and no third-party influence on our content
Clearly declared advertising as our approach
We are therefore taking a different approach: that of direct, clearly marked advertising. This means that ads or posts are clearly identified as advertising, so it's clear who we're receiving money from.
We believe that this is the best model for providing you with credible high-quality content — in clear differentiation from brand magazines, influencers and the like.
As described in our values, honesty, authenticity and credibility are our top principles. This is particularly important in the media sector, and with this approach we want to meet our requirements in the best possible way — also and especially to the advantage of you, our readers.
Value-oriented advertising selection
Our aim is to provide our readers with inspiring content on the qualitative aspects of Europe. This also applies to our advertising partners: We only accept advertising from partners that, in our opinion, are relevant to your content and valuable to you.
As a value-driven company, we also apply these standards to the selection of our advertising partners. We only work with partners who fundamentally share our values and whose actions do not contradict our values.
The existence of an advertising relationship has no influence on the volume or content of our editorial contributions. Our advertising partners also have no influence on our statements in product presentations or similar contributions that are published in parallel with advertisements.
How to deal with discounts, gifts, etc.
In this context, we would like to point out that we — like other magazines — may occasionally receive discounts or free products. If this is the case and we report on the corresponding product, we will disclose this in the respective article.
However, such a contribution will only be published if it meets our criteria set out above. We also set higher standards for gifted products than for selected products ourselves.
A continuous improvement — thanks to you
We are aware that there are natural limits to reviewing all of these aspects, particularly over time. As a value-driven company, our greatest value for our readers lies in our credibility. An intentional or grossly negligent violation of this basis of trust would be a significant disadvantage for all parties involved, and therefore also for us. We certainly don't want to risk that. That is why we always act to the best of our knowledge and belief.
That is exactly why we are particularly pleased to receive information from you if you notice any remarkable behavior on our part or on the part of our advertising partners. Your feedback helps us to get better and better.
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