Online Advertising
Advertising that looks like editorial works better and is legally delicate. The line runs at a single question: does a reader recognise the commercial character immediately?
Native advertising means advertising that adopts the form and feel of its editorial surroundings. It works because it bypasses the reflex against ad slots. That is exactly why it is tightly regulated.
Competition law forbids concealing the commercial purpose of a communication. The yardstick is the averagely informed reader, and the moment is first glance, not the end of the text.
In practice that means three things. The label sits above the headline or immediately below it, within view without scrolling. It is set at the same order of size as the body text, not as grey small print. And it is unambiguous: "Advertising" or "Advertisement".
| Label | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Advertising | safe |
| Advertisement | safe |
| Ad | common in press, often challenged online |
| Sponsored | repeatedly judged insufficient |
| Sponsored post | ambiguous, risky |
| In partnership with | insufficient |
| Recommendation, tip | not permissible |
For online pieces in most European markets, the plain word for advertising is what holds up. Avoid industry jargon entirely; the trade term for this format carries the concealment in its own name.
Good native content solves a reader's problem and mentions the product in passing. Bad native content is a brochure with a headline.
A workable ratio: 80 per cent usable information, 20 per cent reference to the advertiser. Reverse it and you have bought reach for a text nobody finishes.
Three formats that have proven themselves: the case account, one concrete case with numbers in which the product plays a part; the analysis, a market development explained with your view as one of several; and the how-to, a task solved step by step with the product as one possible aid.
A paid piece linking to your own site also engages search engine rules. Paid links should be marked as such, technically through the appropriate attribute.
That is not a disadvantage but risk avoidance. Building paid links unmarked for years accumulates an exposure that falls due all at once when a search provider changes its assessment. Two or three references per piece is a sensible measure.
When buying native content, require in writing beforehand: the exact label and its position, ideally as a screenshot of an existing placement; how long the piece runs in the environment and whether it stays reachable afterwards; whether it is included in the publisher's newsletter and social channels; and who is liable for the labelling if it is challenged.
That last point is rarely settled and is the most expensive in a dispute. In case of doubt both parties are liable, you as commissioner and the publisher as publisher.
Courts have repeatedly held that unclear or foreign-language labels do not suffice. "Advertising" is the wording that holds up in a dispute.
Yes. Even in your own magazine a paid piece must be recognisable as advertising if it looks like editorial.
More from Online Advertising
Online Advertising
Cost per click is the most widely misread number in online marketing. Look only at it and you will pay more per customer than the competitor with the pricier click.
Online Advertising
Most accounts grow wild. After two years nobody remembers why a given ad group exists. A structure that is still readable after a hundred changes.
Online Advertising
A campaign type that plays across every channel and shows you almost nothing. For some firms it is the strongest lever available; for others an expensive trap.