Identified disclosure to increase Consumers’ detection of native advertising

Abstract

Native advertising of online content, such as articles embedded within news websites, is a covert attempt by marketers to influence consumers’ attitudes and behavior. Despite attempts to regulate and mandate disclosure for native ads, studies repeatedly find that consumers continue to fail to detect native and disguised ads even when they include various disclosure labels. We argue that the failure of these disclosures stems from consumers becoming so habituated to these notices that they do not recognize or use them effectively. We propose and test a form of “smart disclosure” for native ads requiring explicit identification of the name of the company or marketing agent paying for the non-original content. In two online experiments, we show how identified disclosures significantly and consistently increase detection of native ads rates compared to no disclosures or generic disclosures. We discuss important implications arising from using smart disclosures for native ads in particular and consumer protection in general.