Digiday

One of the true bright spots for publishers could wind up further eroding the value of their most precious asset.

With display advertising in a free fall — and what little of value there is being sucked up by Google and Facebook –publishers are increasingly turning to native advertising and sponsored content to earn meaningful revenue. The New York Times, for example, now earns nearly 20 percent of its digital revenue from its T Brand Studios.

The only problem is that sponsored content, despite being decades old as an concept, remains confusing to readers. They sometimes struggle to identify it, have mixed emotions about its being in the same place as regular editorial content, and often feel like publishers must be held to higher standards.

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Here are five charts that illustrate the increased risks sponsored content poses to publishers, and what they’re doing about it.