Video hangout to discuss the pros and cons of native advertising
Mumbrella held a video hangout this afternoon discussing the issue of native advertising, and whether it is the saviour of publishers or a threat to editorial integrity.
Native advertising is the practice of taking advertiser-sponsored content around topic or theme and placing it in an editorial context, often with ads for the sponsoring brand around it and a small disclaimer about the content being co-created somewhere on the page. An example of it is this Telstra-funded content on News.com.au today.
Joining Mumbrella editor Alex Hayes was head of strategy at Foundation and senior consultant with Trinity P3 Rachel Lonergan, and Tim Duggan from The Sound Alliance, which uses native advertising across its suite of youth-oriented websites. Media Watch host Paul Barry also gave his thoughts on the practice.
The debate was sparked yesterday by Last Week Today host John Oliver’s attack on the practice on the US show, where he described it as “repurposed bovine waste”. Commenters have since been divided on whether the practice should exist at all, with some saying it provides much-needed revenue for struggling publishers whilst others claim it is degrading the standard of editorial.
The conversation will look at the definition of native advertising, where it sits in the advertising mix, how it is perceived by readers, whether it damages the credibility of the media outlet, and how sustainable it is as a model.
You can ask questions to put to the panel in the comment thread on this page, or by using the hashtag #nativedebate on Twitter.
Buzzfeed wasn’t interested in getting involved? Despite the comments in John Oliver’s video, they’ve actually done some interesting stuff in this area (Dear Kitten for Friskies in the US as an example)….i’d be interested in hearing their position on this and what they’re up to locally.
Dear Kitten overview for those not familiar with the case study: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/.....net-158285
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I’d like to hear their comments on this please.
The higher the authority of the publication, the more the advertorial sits like a giant turd on the page.
Less authority or more fluffy sites then no one cares about advertorial as no one takes the publication seriously anyway.
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It seems a little odd to include Buzzfeed in the list of news sites using native advertising.
Nothing on buzzfeed is being undermined by the content. It exists for entertainment purposes (and to bring you in to see banner ads), does it really matter there whether the ads are involved with the author of the piece or not?
Huffpost, news.com.au, CNN etc are a very different kettle of fish.
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How do you actually watch/listen to the discussion?
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Um, it is 2.07pm…
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this comment is brought to you by mumbrella
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Great chat….and because of a bad connection I pull some of the best faces you’re likely to see outside of a professional gurning competition. So pleased these are preserved for posterity on video 😉
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Sorry about that Rachael, one day hopefully we’ll have an internet that can support live video chats.
Thanks for your input though, it was a very interesting chat.
Alex- editor, Mumbrella