Buzzword of the Year

The buzzword of the year goes to...Native Advertising. Native advertising is everywhere in the media world, and it's not going anywhere soon. Native advertising has it's own topic sections in publications like Mashable and AdWeek. It's been a highly debated topic and the FTC just recently had a workshop to determine how consumers can distinguish native advertising, and the IAB published a playbook based on six different types of native advertising. But what is native advertising? 

According to Sharethrough, native advertising is "a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed."

I constantly come across native advertising  in my daily life. For class, we had to decide whether or not native advertising was right for American Express, while at work, we discussed whether or not it would be effective for a client of ours. I was hesitant to jump aboard the native advertising trend when I first heard about it, but with proper regulations for the right brand, I see how effective it can be for advertisers. When I'm online looking at BuzzFeed, Mashable or Harper's Bazaar, I run across a plethora of native ads which are customized and specifically tailored to my habits. I find these ads much more relevant than annoying banner ads and consumers will appreciate ads that have content they want to see. One of my favorite native advertisements is 5 Heartwarming Stories That Prove Dog Is Man's Best Friend.Native advertising needs to be properly labeled as to not deceive consumers, needs to be able to be measured. Everyone has something to say about native advertising. What are your thoughts?