Dive Brief:
- The next frontier in native advertising may be in the comments section with a new product from Disqus — "sponsored comments."
- Disqus is used by 3 million websites, and sponsored comments would appear at the top of commenting sections and have a mix of text and graphics.
- To start, brands will be able to target sponsored comments toward specific verticals, like sports publications for example.
Dive Insight:
Just like with other native advertising, sponsored comments are further blurring the lines between content and advertising. Sponsored comments aren't likely to rock the boat too much since it's not editorial content the ads are overtaking, but how will publications feel about another entity using their real estate to make money? While readers are used to marketers and trolls spamming comment sections, the comment ads may still be viewed in the same light as those comments.
