Spotting sponsored content on The Local

If you spend a significant amount of time consuming news online, chances are you’ve encountered some form of sponsored content.

Every publisher has a different approach, which is sort of the point when it comes to native advertising: the packaging and presentation should make sense for the particular channel and audience.

[caption id=”attachment_105" align=”aligncenter” width=”468" caption=”An example of a sponsored article label”]

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But as any marketer or publisher will tell you, transparency and clarity is key. Everyone loses if readers confuse sponsored content for editorial content from the news desk.

At The Local, we’ve always made sure our sponsored content is clearly labeled:

1) with a “Presented by” story label that includes the name of the client and prominently placed above the article image

2) with an explanation at the bottom of the text that the article is ‘produced by The Local and sponsored by’ the client

3) older articles that appear in the right-hand column ‘highlights panel’ are labeled as ‘Sponsored Article’

We’ve also introduced new tools that keep sponsored articles in fixed slots on the site (both the main section and in the ‘highlights panel’. These tools are designed primarily to optimize the visibility and performance of sponsored content, but they also are a way to help readers know where on the site they can expect to encounter sponsored articles.

We also do our best to stay up to date with native advertising’s ever-changing trends and practices and make adjustments when needed. Whenever we make a change, we’ll be sure to let our clients and readers know.

And rest assured, any changes will be measured against the two most important parts of our business: the experience of our readers and the satisfaction of our clients. And if we can take steps to move those two things up, we’ll be sure to what we can to make them happen.

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