Native Advertising: Blurred Lines Between Ads & Content

Native advertising is hot right now. Not only is it flourishing across social media and digital news outlets, but spending on native ads is projected to reach $7.9 billion this year and grow to $21 billion in 2018. As more companies are drawn to the glitz of native advertising, the FTC has remained steadfast in its mission to ensure that consumers are not deceived by paid content, and recently released for the first time guidelines for publishers of native advertising, as well as brought its first enforcement cases. We will discuss the benefits and pitfalls of native advertising, the FTC's most recent enforcement actions, NAD decisions addressing native advertising, right of privacy issues relating to native advertising, and what the FTC's new guidelines mean for publishers of native ads. We'll also discuss related intellectual property and brand protection issues.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand the current landscape of native advertising in digital media
2. Discuss the regulatory agencies that monitor and enforce violations in native advertising
3. Appreciate the related IP and privacy issues inherent in the use of native advertising