• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, November 5, 2013

Stop the native train (!), says Steve Rubel, EVP of Global Strategy and Insights at Edelman. “As an industry, we’re going waaayyyyy too fast,” Rubel told OMMA Native attendees on Tuesday afternoon. Regarding native, Rubel described the lack of transparency within the publishing industry as “troubling.” Along with more caution, most necessary is the gathering of far more consumer feedback before publishers and agencies move ahead with their native ad strategies, according to Rubel. Even more striking, Rubel bet on publishers to win the native ad game. In fact, it’s foolish for brands and agencies to think they can win out considering the strong relationships publishers have with their readers, Rubel said. At the end of the day, it’s all about trust, Rubel added. “If we get this wrong again and again, trust is going to go down,” he said. At present, “Publishers should say ‘no,’ more than ‘yes’ to native.” Who or what is most likely to completely derail the native ad train? “With all due respect,” Rubel said: Startups that allow for direct publishing of native advertising.