• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, November 8, 2012

Actually, that’s probably not the right metaphor, but you know, what with new James Bond flick “Skyfall” opening this weekend, I couldn’t resist. But Martini Media’s new native formats are likely to cause a stir, and maybe shake things up, because they’re another example of advertising syndicating content to engage audiences on behalf of brands.

The new formats, which were demonstrated by Martini Chief Revenue Officer Tom O’Regan and Dynamics Inc. CMO Andrew Corn, pull relevant editorial content from premium publishers directly into native ads that are bought and run across Martini’s influencer ad network.

To date, Martini has struck a content deal with Forbes, but is discussing the concept with others.

Martini’s news follows a recent announcement by NetShelter that it is spinning off a similar model called inPowered, which enables marketers to search and filter professional editorial and blogger content about their brands and pull it directly into their ads.

The trend is surprising and ironic to me, because it essentially flips the original content/advertising model: Instead of content being a conduit for advertising, advertising is now becoming a conduit for content. Go figure.