​AANA and IAB Australia launch new native advertising best practice guidelines

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Australia (IAB Australia) have partnered on best practice principles for native advertising.

Under the new Native Advertising Principles, advertisers will be required to provide consumers with a prominently visible cue so they immediately know the content is paid-for advertising. These cues could be the use of the brand’s logo in or around the content or the use of a different design, font or shading to clearly differentiate it from the editorial content.

The new principles are set to be a consumer protection tool for advertisers to reference, aimed at ensuring readers can readily distinguish between what is paid-for advertising versus editorial content in the online environment. They bring together the guidance of both the AANA and IAB Australia at a time when brands are increasingly delivering editorial-style content in digital formats.

“With the increasing potential for blurred lines between editorial and paid-for advertising, it’s timely that these principles are being launched to provide guidance to advertisers and publishers about how they should guarantee transparency for consumers,” Lion Beer, Cider and Wine global marketing MD and new chair of the AANA Board, Matt Tapper, said.

AANA director of policy and regulatory affairs, Simone Brandon, said the new principles will help ensure that people know when they are viewing independent commentary and when they are viewing paid-for content in the form of native advertising.

"Responsible, respected and innovative marketing is at the heart of what our members stand for and these principles will help guide advertisers so that they are transparent and ethical in how they communicate about their brands online," she said.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia, or check us out on Google+: google.com/+CmoAu