ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Native advertising has continued to show its influence in the digital media market, as one of the representative online advertising types over time. Consequently, it has become highly significant for marketers and advertising participators. The impact has also been witnessed in the case of the market of native advertising, which has experienced a rising trend over the past years. Although the advertising industry and companies have advocated in support of native advertising, regulators and experts have signaled concerns regarding its transparency because its contents are designed based on the style and purpose of the media hosting. Through conducting a detailed review of the relevant literature, this study aims to define native advertising, trace its history, and discuss the close relationship between the young generation and native advertising. Meanwhile, the study illustrates that native advertising causes conceptual, ethical, and regulatory challenges. Further, the findings of the research demonstrate that the effectiveness of native advertising may be enhanced to a certain degree through imitating non-commercial content design, tone, and style. However, it may not be a long-term solution for advertisers to deal with a decreased advertising effectiveness. Therefore, there is a need for both advertisers and policymakers to investigate challenges posed by native advertising and find valuable solutions for improvements.
Amazeen, M. A., & Vargo, C. J. (2021). Sharing Native Advertising on Twitter: Content Analyses Examining Disclosure Practices and Their Inoculating Influence. Journalism Studies, 22(7), 916–933. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2021.1906298
Campbell, C., & Evans, N. J. (2018). The Role of a Companion Banner and Sponsorship Transparency in Recognizing and Evaluating Article-style Native Advertising. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 43, 17–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2018.02.002
Campbell, C., & Grimm, P. E. (2018). The Challenges Native Advertising Poses: Exploring Potential Federal Trade Commission Responses and Identifying Research Needs. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 38(1), 110–123.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915618818576
Campbell, C., & Marks, L. J. (2015). Good native advertising isn’t a secret. Business Horizons, 58(6), 599–606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2015.06.003
Carlson, M. (2014). When news sites go native: Redefining the advertising–editorial divide in response to native advertising. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, 16(7), 849–865. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884914545441
Chung, Y. J., & Kim, E. (2020). Predicting Consumer Avoidance of Native Advertising on Social Networking Sites: A Survey of Facebook Users. Journal of Promotion Management, 27(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2020.1809590
Dahlén, M., & Edenius, M. (2007). When is Advertising Advertising? Comparing Responses to Non-Traditional and Traditional Advertising Media. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 29(1), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2007.10505206
Dodoo, N. A., Wen, J., & Wu, L. (2020). Unguarded against Persuasion and Willing to Share: The Combined Effect of Chronic Regulatory Focus and Disclosure Language on Consumer Responses to Native Advertising. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(3), 273-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2020.1773353
Eyada, B., & Milla, A. (2020). Native Advertising: Challenges and Perspectives. Journal of Design Sciences and Applied Arts, 1(1), 67–77.
https://doi.org/10.21608/jdsaa.2020.70451
Felix, P. (2018). Why Native Advertising Is the Best Way to Reach Gen “Z.” Native Advertising Institute. https://blog.nativeadvertisinginstitute.com/gen-z-native-advertising
Ferrer-Conill, R., Knudsen, E., Lauerer, C., & Barnoy, A. (2020). The Visual Boundaries of Journalism: Native Advertising and the Convergence of Editorial and Commercial Content. Digital Journalism, 9(7), 1–23.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1836980
Han, J., Drumwright, M., & Goo, W. (2018). Native Advertising: Is Deception an Asset or a Liability? Journal of Media Ethics, 33(3), 102–119.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2018.1477048
Han, J., Drumwright, M., & Goo, W. (2018). Native Advertising: Is Deception an Asset or a Liability? Journal of Media Ethics, 33(3), 102–119.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2018.1477048
Huang, G. (2019). Variation matters: How to curb ad intrusiveness for native advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Internet Research, 29(6), 1469–1484. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-12-2017-0524
Johnson, B. K., Potocki, B., & Veldhuis, J. (2019). Is That My Friend or an Advert? The Effectiveness of Instagram Native Advertisements Posing as Social Posts. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 24(3), 108–125.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmz003
Kang, J. (2019, February 19). How Effectively Does Social Media Drive Word of Mouth (WOM). Business 2 Community. https://www.business2community.com/social-media/how-effectively-does-social-media-drive-word-of-mouth-wom-02170563
Kim, J., Lee, J., & Chung, Y. J. (2017). Product Type and Spokespersons in Native Advertising – The Role of Congruency and Acceptance. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 17(2), 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2017.1399838
Kim, M., Song, D., & Jang, A. (2021). Consumer response toward native advertising on social media: the roles of source type and content type. Internet Research, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-08-2019-0328
Landford, R. (2016). Native ads “to dominate digital display advertising by 2020.” Netimperative. https://www.netimperative.com/2016/02/23/native-advertising-to-dominate-digital-display-advertising-by-2020/
Lazauskas, J. (2016). Native Advertising Is Broken. Here’s How To Fix It. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3066583/native-advertising-is-broken-heres-how-to-fix-i
Lee, J., Kim, S., & Ham, C.-D. (2016). A Double-Edged Sword? Predicting Consumers’ Attitudes Toward and Sharing Intention of Native Advertising on social media. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(12), 1425–1441. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764216660137
Leiss, W. (2018). Social Communication in Advertising. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315106021
Matteo, S., & Zotto, C. D. (2015). Native Advertising, or How to Stretch Editorial to Sponsored Content Within a Transmedia Branding Era. Handbook of Media Branding, 169–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18236-0_12
Pauly, J. J. (1988). Rupert Murdoch and the demonology of professional journalism. Media, Myths and Narratives, 246–261.
Pescher, C., Reichhart, P., & Spann, M. (2014). Consumer Decision-making Processes in Mobile Viral Marketing Campaigns. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(1), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2013.08.001
Rodgers, S., & Thorson, E. (2012). Advertising theory. London: Routledge.
Schauster, E. E., Ferrucci, P., & Neill, M. S. (2016). Native Advertising Is the New Journalism. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(12), 1408–1424.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764216660135
Schudson, M. (1978). The Ideal of Conversation in the Study of Mass Media. Communication Research, 5(3), 320–329. https://doi.org/10.1177/009365027800500306
Wang, R., & Huang, Y. (2017). Going Native on Social Media: The Effects of Social Media Characteristics on Native Ad Effectiveness. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 17(1), 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2017.1326327
Wang, Y., & Li, Y. (2017). Understanding “Native Advertising” from the Perspective of Communication Strategies. Journal of Promotion Management, 23(6), 913–929. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2017.1323264
Windels, K., & Porter, L. (2019). Examining Consumers’ Recognition of Native and Banner Advertising on News Website Homepages. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(1), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2019.1688737
Wojdynski, B. W. (2016). Native advertising: Engagement, deception, and implications for theory. In The new advertising: Branding, content and consumer relationships in a data-driven social media era (pp. 203-236). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger/ABC Clio.
Wojdynski, B. W. (2016). The Deceptiveness of Sponsored News Articles. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(12), 1475–1491. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764216660140
Wojdynski, B. W., & Evans, N. J. (2015). Going Native: Effects of Disclosure Position and Language on the Recognition and Evaluation of Online Native Advertising. Journal of Advertising, 45(2), 157–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2015.1115380
Youn, S., & Kim, S. (2019). Newsfeed native advertising on Facebook: young millennials’ knowledge, pet peeves, reactance, and ad avoidance. International Journal of Advertising, 38(5), 651–683. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1575109
Zamith, F., Mañas-Viniegra, L., & Núñez-Gómez, P. (2021). Cognitive Perception of Native Advertising in the Spanish and Portuguese Digital Press. Digital Journalism, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1919536
Zeng, Y. (2018). Native advertising: revenue and acclaim or a ruined reputation? Media Asia, 45(1-2), 21–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/01296612.2017.1527572
Zhou, L., & Xue, F. (2019). In-Feed Native Advertising on News Websites: Effects of Advertising Format, Website Reputation, and Product Involvement. Journal of Internet Commerce, 18(3), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2019.1586361
In-Text Citation: (Yao et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Yao, W., Zawawi, J. W. B. M., Ahmad, A. M. @ Z., & Sern, T. J. (2021). Recognizing Native Advertising and Its Challenge to Traditional Advertising. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(19), 191–204.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode