As previously reported, the FTC held a workshop on the topic of native advertising this week called “Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content”.
The Commission warned publishers and advertisers that some of these ads may be illegal, and encouraged them to make sure they’re disclosing ads properly.
In wake of the event, Kontera, a company that measures content and social media impressions, has shared some data on the consumption of advertising, including native.
“Looking at share of consumption around ‘Native Advertising’, ‘Display Advertising’, and ‘Video Advertising’; Native went from a 7% share of consumption in June to a 44% share of consumption in November,” a Kontera spokesperson tells WebProNews. “During the last 3 months, the volume of consumption around Native Advertising peaked the week of September 23, and in terms of for an entire month, in October.”
“Basically what we saw heading into Q4, were that brands were looking for any edge they could get in otherwise critical quarter,” the spokesperson adds. “With digital marketing becoming increasingly driven by relevancy and seamless content integration, the level of interest around Native Advertising solutions rose as well.”
The native advertising trend shows no signs of slowing down, though publishers and advertisers will want to be cautious in their approach with the FTC getting more involved (not to mention ethical implications).
To help you out, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has released a native advertising playbook aimed at providing a “consistent framework” for this type of marketing.
Image: Kontera