The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has created a directory of branded content studios operated by publishers, with the hope that it will “help buyers more easily identify publisher content studio offerings to meet their goals.”

A committee at the IAB released a guide on branded content creation and distribution in April, building on the organization’s original Native Advertising Playbook created in 2013 to include information on both the creation and distribution of branded content.

According to a blog post from Susan Borst, the trade organization’s vice president, “brands and their agencies are placing heightened emphasis on content marketing as a way to engage with consumers in more organic and native ways.”

However, “brands may not know all the options available to them and publisher’s offerings can sometimes be difficult to find,” she added.

This is especially true for smaller or new direct-to-consumer brands “that may not have on-going relationships or contact with a publisher’s sales rep,” Borst wrote.

The directory — called the Publisher Content Studio Directory — includes listings from over 60 IAB publisher member companies, with legacy print, digital native print, broadcast, podcasting and game publishers.

The directory lists content studio names alphabetically, with a roundup of each offering and a short description and link to the website of each studio.

The directory has a search feature where users can look up studios by branded content type, including editorial, podcast, games, influencer marketing.  It also offers info on feature films, mini-series, experiential, integrated marketing and demand generation.

For example, The Foundry, Meredith Corp.’s branded content studio, lists editorial, podcast, games, influencer marketing, rewarded/incentivized video, augmented reality and virtual reality as the branded content categories it provides.

“Marketers need content that not only entertains, but also drives their key message in a way that will resonate on each platform,” Wendy Wildfeur, senior vice president of The NBC Content Studio wrote in an IAB blog post.

Publisher content studios are “uniquely positioned to service this need by leveraging insights and creative resources to inform smart storytelling, plus the scale to drive multi-platform targeted distribution.”

“Reaching [consumers] through opt-in storytelling is becoming more and more important” as consumers become less interested in traditional advertising, wrote Josh Stinchcomb, Chief Experience Officer at Conde Nast, the owner of content studio 23 Stories.

“Publishers connect through storytelling for a living — so no surprise branded content studios are an increasingly important and available offering,” he added.