In our course we have discussed the various forms of
advertisements marketers use to attract consumers. A key form of discussion has
been whether these forms are effective or not in impacting consumer habits, and
attracting new consumers. In essence, while video and other forms have proven
successful, advertising methods such as banner ads are much less so. On the other hand, native advertising,
advertising that looks like content, has been proven to be a much higher
success. While it is successful, the question remains whether this form of
advertising should be regulated, and if it is unethical.
While marketers would like to profess how the unethical
element is far from true, the fact is that this form of advertising has become
so successful because it is in essence tricking the consumer into believing ads
are content. Interestingly, the way we discussed Forbs diluting its brand with
the high incorporation of banner ads etc., I believe the same negative effect
may begin to happen on news sites promoting native advertising. How much can
the consumer trust a brand if there is no line or distinction between an
advertisement and journalistic content?
This lack of editorial influence was discussed quite comically
on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:
Native Advertising (HBO) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_F5GxCwizc. In the piece he empathically describes the
eroding of trust between the consumer and the journalist. While I believe this is most definitely true
in news sources, it will be interesting to see the impact on social media
sites. Instagram and Facebook are two large examples of companies who are
putting a large ad spend, and push for native advertising. Meanwhile, Snapchat,
which recently launched advertisements, is differentiating itself for the very
reason discussed by John Oliver, with strong statements and a promise to not
publish native ads.
It won’t be long before we see which strategy works out
best, and how impacted the consumer feels (or rejects) the “deceit” of a native
ad.
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