• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 27, 2014

Native advertising? Sometimes junk -- and not a whole lot of scale.

Native advertising can become an excuse for not coming up with compelling content and editorial. For example,  “I don’t need Taco Bell telling me what 14 things to eat after midnight,” says Adam Harrell, president/founder for Nebo Agency, speaking at OMMA Atlanta. “A lot stuff that is put out is junk.”

Of the quality native content, Matthew Palmer, senior vp/general manager of content solutions of DemandMedia, says, “Social media is at the core of what is driving this. It has forced marketers to look at the conversations differently.”

“The more native the better,” says Lisa West, mobile marketing evangelist, at IHG.

But there is much lacking. “The challenge is scale,” says Ben Gaddis, chief innovation officer of T-3. “It gets in the way for many advertisers.”