Native advertising ‘incredibly controversial’, admits Forbes executive

forbes_1200x1200Native advertising that is not clearly labelled risks destroying the long-held trust between reader and brand and amounts to nothing more than prostitution, media experts have warned.

A panel discussion at the Association of Data Driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) conference heard yesterday that branded content can only work if it is made clear to the consumer that what they are reading or watching is not independent.

Forbes Media has embraced the native advertising model, and chief insights officer Bruce Rogers acknowledged that it was highly contentious when the company began to carry branded content.

“We knew it would be incredibly controversial and we were very careful,” he told delegates. “We picked our partners and our editors are not producing content, unlike other organisations. A marketing team assists in creating content. It was very important to introduce it in the right way because we knew it could make or break it if we did it wrong.”

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