Marketers have always advertised in traditional media such as newspapers, television and magazines, but today they are increasingly creating content for the online platforms of these media through native advertising , also called sponsored content.

This form of promotion is not new. It dates back to the late 1880s as ‘reading notices’ that placed information about brands and companies in news stories, usually without indicating the advertiser’s sponsorship. However, the sponsorship of today’s native advertising is often clearly labelled. Native advertising is growing quickly, generating billions annually for online content publishers. It is offered by 73 per cent of online publishers and more than 40 per cent of brands currently use it. For example, Facebook reaped more than €1 billion in mobile native advertising alone in just one quarter. The rapid growth of native advertising has caught the attention of regulators, leaving some to wonder if further regulations are forthcoming.