Magazine’s Own Editorial Staff is Involved in Native Ad Solutions for Most Publishers

One of the most controversial discussions in the publishing industry revolves around the separation between church and state - or the editorial versus the commercial side of media - which is highlighted by native ad solutions.

To a majority of magazine publishers this divide need not be so clear. 68% say that they use their editorial team in providing native solutions in a recent survey produced by Native Advertising Institute and FIPP involving 140 magazine executives from 39 countries across the globe.

However this does not necessarily mean that magazine publishers are erasing the lines between editorial and commercial content. When asked: How do you provide native advertising solutions, publishers could check multiple boxes - and so they did.

31% of the publishers have their own native ad studio, 24% have a separate native ad team, 12% use an external agency partner, 6% go for an advertiser’s agency. The involvement of the editorial team in native advertising is therefore not a rejection of dedicated native advertising teams. It rather appears to be an additional organisational solution that gives magazine publishers a competitive edge since they can draw on an internal editorial expertise when it comes to the generation of ideas, tone-of-voice, knowledge of the audience etc. A knowledge that external providers of native ads do not possess to the same degree.

Editorial teams don't necessarily produce native ad solutions 

What the report results therefore indicate is that a collaboration between the editorial and the commercial side is indispensable to a majority of publishers even though the editorial teams might not exactly produce native ads themselves.

This is also a reflection of the distinct nature of native advertising compared to traditional advertising in so far that it relies on its ability to capture the audience not only by providing a great offer or the promise of a new product but rather offers a compelling story. Whereas traditional advertising clearly belongs in the advertisement department, usually far removed from the editorial offices, native advertising falls between the two chairs.

Native advertising can only truly be successful by having a dedicated editorial staff involved in its production. But the forms and the degree of this involvement can clearly vary according to magazine publishers.

In the upcoming event ‘Native Advertising Days 2016’ on November 16th-17th Jesper Laursen, CEO of Native Advertising Institute, will talk in depth about the findings in the survey. In attending the conference you will also be presented with inspirational cases, solid insights and actionable tools that you can take home and implement right away. You will leave highly motivated to pursue and explore the potential within native advertising and with a stronger network of colleagues from around the world who are passionate about creating real results with native advertising. Speakers include Stephanie Losee, Head of Content at VISA, Jason Miller, Global Content Marketing Leader at Linkedin, Michael Villaseñor, Creative Director of Ad Innovation and Marketing at the New York Times, and Rebecca Lieb, Leading Industry Analyst on native Advertising.

Want more? Sign up for the Native Advertising Institute Newsletter and get insights from the people who live and breath native advertising. 

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