Going Native: Can Consumers Recognize Native Advertising? Does it Matter?

Abstract

Native advertising, which matches the look and feel of unpaid news and editorials, has exploded online. The Federal Trade Commission has long required advertising to be clearly and conspicuously labeled, and it recently reiterated that these requirements apply to native advertising. We explore whether respondents can distinguish native advertising and "regular" ads from unpaid content, using 16 native ads, 5 '"egular" ads, and 8 examples of news/editorial content, drawn from multiple sources and platforms. Overall, only 37% of respondents thought that the tested examples of native advertising were paid content, compared to 81% for "regular" advertising, with variation by platform, advertiser, and labeling. Modest labeling changes materially increased the number of respondents that correctly recognized that native ads are paid contentbut even these improved results fell well short of those for "regular" advertising. We also explored labeling preferences and self-reported concern about native advertising. Our findings indicate that native advertising involves a significant risk of deception which self-regulation has not addressed.

The effects of the standardized instagram disclosure for micro- and meso-influencers

“…This study adds to the literature by showing that the standardized disclosure also seems to achieve its goal. The findings also provide new evidence for the idea that an ideal disclosure will clearly and directly convey the paid relationship and the sponsor (Evans et al, 2017;Hyman et al, 2017;Wojdynski et al, 2017).…”

“…Regarding language, research suggests that a disclosure should clearly and directly convey the paid relationship between the producer and the sponsor (Evans et al, 2017;Hyman, Franklyn, Yee, & Rahmati, 2017;Wojdynski et al, 2017). In line with this reasoning, disclosures that are more explicit have been shown to be more likely to increase ad recognition (Amazeen & Wojdynski, 2018;Boerman et al, 2015); Tessitore & Geuens, 2013;Wojdynski et al, 2017;Wojdynski & Evans, 2016).…”

Disclosing Influencer Marketing on YouTube to Children: The Moderating Role of Para-Social Relationship

“…This disclosure was based upon and in line with the FTC's guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising (Federal Trade Commission [FTC], 2017). Following prior research, the disclosure clearly and directly conveys the paid relationship between the producer and the sponsor (Hyman et al, 2017;Wojdynski et al, 2017). In the no disclosure condition, the disclosure was not shown and the video started immediately.…”

Health as a Means Towards Profitable Ends: mHealth Apps, User Autonomy, and Unfair Commercial Practices

“…Native advertising, "also called sponsored content, […] is a term used to describe any paid advertising that takes the specific form and appearance of editorial content from the publisher itself" (Wojdynski and Evans 2016, p. 157). The employment of such merging practices is understandable from the perspective of mHealth app providers, since native advertising is notoriously hard to detect, let alone resist, by mHealth app users (Hyman et al 2017).…”