IAB Native Advertising 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is native advertising?
- Paid advertising that matches the form, feel, and function of the content surrounding it on a given platform (Correct answer)
- Advertising created by local companies for their home region
- Ads that use native device features like GPS and camera
- Advertising built natively within a platform's own ad tools
Correct answer: Paid advertising that matches the form, feel, and function of the content surrounding it on a given platform
Native advertising is a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed, blending with editorial content in appearance.
Question 2: What is the IAB's Native Advertising Playbook designed to address?
- Defining native ad formats, disclosure standards, and best practices for the industry (Correct answer)
- Creating rules for bidding on native ad inventory in programmatic auctions
- Establishing creative production guidelines for native ad content
- Setting pricing benchmarks for native advertising placements
Correct answer: Defining native ad formats, disclosure standards, and best practices for the industry
The IAB's Native Advertising Playbook defines six core native ad types, establishes disclosure requirements to differentiate paid content from editorial, and provides implementation guidelines.
Question 3: What disclosure requirement does the FTC (and IAB guidelines) require for native advertising?
- Native ads must clearly disclose their paid nature with labels like 'Sponsored,' 'Ad,' or 'Promoted' (Correct answer)
- Advertisers must include their full legal name in every native ad
- Native ads must include a link to the advertiser's privacy policy
- Publishers must add a footnote identifying native ads at the bottom of pages
Correct answer: Native ads must clearly disclose their paid nature with labels like 'Sponsored,' 'Ad,' or 'Promoted'
The FTC requires that consumers can readily recognize native advertising as paid content, requiring clear and conspicuous labels such as 'Sponsored Content,' 'Advertisement,' or 'Promoted.'
Question 4: What is sponsored content (a form of native advertising)?
- Editorial-style articles or videos created or funded by an advertiser that appear within a publisher's environment (Correct answer)
- Content displayed on a brand's sponsored social media profile
- Free content provided by a publisher in exchange for ad purchases
- Press releases distributed by brands through wire services
Correct answer: Editorial-style articles or videos created or funded by an advertiser that appear within a publisher's environment
Sponsored content is paid editorial-style content (articles, videos, infographics) that an advertiser funds and that appears within a publisher's site, labeled as sponsored but resembling regular content.
Question 5: What is in-feed advertising as defined by the IAB?
- Native ads that appear within a publisher's content feed or social media stream, matching the surrounding content style (Correct answer)
- Ads inserted within RSS feed subscriptions sent to readers
- Video ads shown within the main navigation feed of an app
- Banner ads placed in the header feed of a news website
Correct answer: Native ads that appear within a publisher's content feed or social media stream, matching the surrounding content style
In-feed ads appear directly within editorial or social media content streams, designed to look like organic content entries and most commonly seen on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and BuzzFeed.
Question 6: What are content recommendation widgets in native advertising?
- Ad units at the bottom of articles suggesting 'recommended' content that are actually paid placements (Correct answer)
- Editorial tools that suggest related articles based on reading history
- Native ads embedded within a website's internal search results
- Pop-up ads that recommend content based on user preferences
Correct answer: Ad units at the bottom of articles suggesting 'recommended' content that are actually paid placements
Content recommendation widgets (from providers like Taboola and Outbrain) appear below articles as 'You May Also Like' or 'Recommended Stories' but include paid placements alongside editorial recommendations.
IAB Native Advertising 1
What is native advertising?