Nearly 100 IAB members of the newly merged Social Media/Native/Content Committee will meet this Thursday, April 20th, to address a wide variety of topics that reflect the growing importance of non-intrusive native or social ad experiences with a focus on mobile.
This committee brings publishers, platforms, technology providers, data vendors, brands and some agencies together to provide a holistic view of how social media, native advertising and content are being bought and sold today.
Committee co-chair, Ann Marinovich, SVP of Content Partnerships & Strategy at Forbes shared some insights about the Committee’s direction in 2017:
“The convergence of native, social and content are creating new and exciting opportunities for the media industry. Influencer marketing, for example, will see exponential growth this year while the rapidly evolving Messaging space represents a new way for publishers and brands to distribute content and engage with consumers in a native way. The topics that we will be exploring are important and I’m excited to see the output of this group with the goals of providing education and establishing best practices for these key industry growth areas.”
The agenda for the meeting reflects areas important to our members. Expect IAB published papers and events throughout 2017 that focus on the following topics:
Updates/Supplements to the IAB Native Advertising Playbook
As native has matured, it is time to update the landmark IAB Native Advertising Playbook and publish additional supplements such as the IAB In-Feed Deep Dive. Topics to be discussed in 2017 include:
- Native in a mobile-first environment; creative implications and more
- Identifying the various ways that native can now be bought and sold
- Update the Disclosure section to reflect FTC guidance
- Include after the click, destination page considerations (Playbook focused on the ad units one sees before the click to the branded content page.)
- Highlight new ways to execute native in messaging, maps, podcasts, P2P marketplaces like Uber, games, etc. and with new ad formats, notably in video (360 degree, vertical, AR, VR, etc.)
- Measurement options designed with engagement in mind (time spent, scroll velocity, etc.)
Marketing with Messaging for Publishers & Brands
Last December, a working group of 40 IAB members including publishers like BuzzFeed, Discovery, Newsday and Pandora worked together to publish an introductory guide, which included a section on chatbots, titled “Marketing in the Messaging Space for Publishers & Brands.” Focusing on mobile, this paper represents the beginning of an education process that the Social/Native/Content Committee will continue to address along with the importance of messaging, discussing the following topics:
- Messaging Education and Case Studies
- Overview of Targeting and Measurement in the Messaging Space
- Messaging Ad Format and Chatbot Best Practice Guidance
Influencer Marketing for Publishers
Building off of IAB’s User Generated Content initiative, IAB members will discuss the importance of influencer marketing with a focus on publisher use. Committee publisher members including The New York Times, Conde Nast, Time Inc. and others, are increasingly using social influencers to both build their editorial brand and to engage the right audience on their platforms. Moving forward, IAB will explore publishing a Best Practices for Publisher use of Influencer Marketing paper.
MRC Social Media Measurement Guidelines
The MRC Social Media Measurement Guideline document was published in November, 2015 in conjunction with IAB, 4As and WOMMA. Committee members were asked to revisit these guidelines to see if any information is now outdated or if new areas should be included with an eye toward engagement metrics and mobile.
IAB is excited to continue to drive the social, native and content discussions in mobile and other digital growth areas in 2017.