In the last few years, native advertising has been in vogue. Indeed, media companies touted it as the savior of publishing. More and more publishers offer it. Even the Grey Lady. Native advertising is when brands create or commission their own content and then pay publishers—like Forbes or The New York Times—to present that paid content in a similar manner to regular content. It looks like content. But it is actually advertising. In a perfect world, native advertising lets a brand access the audience of The New York Times in the same way that the news does.
“Brands want their message relayed to customers in a way that does not interrupt but adds to the experience,” writes Tony Haile of Chartbeat…