Native Ads Rise In Importance, Better Labeling Needed

The importance of native advertising continues to rise in the revenue mix even as labeling is inconsistent for many media companies, according to a report released today by the International News Media Association (INMA) and the Native Advertising Institute.

Based on a survey of 231 media executives from 51 countries, “Native Advertising Trends in News Media” captures the sharp rise of native in the advertising mix — 11% last year, 18% this year, and projected to be 32% by 2020.

With the rise in revenue comes challenges, with 11% of publishers not labeling native advertising at all. Author Jesper Larsen, founder of the Native Advertising Institute, says this lack of labeling hurts the credibility of news media and needs to be addressed.

Meanwhile, publishers say they are open to “going to war” with advertising agencies and media agencies since the alternative would be they will be left with a low-margin business model.

The report looks at integrating native advertising content, the effect on the bottom line, native advertising solutions and sources, measuring the effect of native advertising, opportunities and threats.
“Native Advertising Trends in News Media” is punctuated by best-practice case studies from CNN, Helsingborgs Dagblad and Bild.

The report is available for free to INMA members and available to non-members for $795 — which includes one year of association membership, all strategic reports, Webinars, and access to all INMA content and peer connection tools.

INMA members may download the report and non-members may order the report here.