Infographic: The History Of Native Advertising

On September 29, 2011, Fred Wilson first used the term “native monetization” at the Online Media, Marketing, and Advertising conference (recorded here).

His goal was to use the term to explain monetization models where the ads are “consistent with the fabric of the product”.

At that time, platforms like Facebook (Sponsored Stories), Twitter (Promoted Tweets), and Google (AdWords) had already proven that monetizing their properties with visually-integrated, non-interruptive brand content could drive significant revenue.

Since Wilson’s talk, terms like native monetization and native advertising have exploded.

There have been more than 600,000 articles, blog posts, infographics, and other pieces of content on nativeadvertising since that conference in 2011.

The term has catapulted beyond buzzword status and has become a lightening rod for praise, criticism, and confusion.

So, as the adtech and media crowds continue to settle into the new landscape let’s look back at how it all began.