Nine out of ten publishers will be offering at least some form of native advertising formats by the end of this year, according to hot-off-the-presses research being presented by Online Publishers Association chief Pam Horan at OMMA Premium Display in Los Angeles this morning. According to the just-completed survey of OPA members, 73% of publishers currently offer native, while 17% are in the process of figuring out how to do it. Only 10% said they do not offer it. In terms of defining what "native" actually means, Horan said the research suggests a consensus is emerging, and that the two …

Is "premium" a bad word these days for digital display? Maybe. Adam Smith, head of media, NA of Essence:  “We need to do a better job articulating the word ‘premium’. Greg Pomaro, senior vp and executive media director of T3, isn’t bothered by it, saying the industry is littered with different words and their definitions. “You just need to make sure everyone understands what you mean by the word premium -- as long as you underpin it with something.” Going forward -- on a wish list of what media buyers want from publishers when it comes to premium …

Ambiguity - I find it interesting that ad execs like the fact it's difficult to define words "premium or "native" advertising. Why would you want to muddy the waters and not give a clear picture or clear definition of the media and what it produces, especially as the ad industry moves into a world where metrics and data confirm the success or failure of a campaign. Most agree native ads live clearly labeled within the editorial stream.

Who's winning the battle for display advertising's planning and creation? Is it "science," i.e., programmatic processes, or "art," i.e., human intuition and experience? The agency panel is presently battling it out at the OMMA Premium Display conference in L.A. No question, "Science is winning," according to Ryan McArthur, Executive Vice President, US Interactive Media. That said, "I don't think we're there yet... we need to continue to rely on art until there's (sufficient) business attribution in place," McArthur conceded. "We can be so much smarter about it," Greg Pomaro, SVP, Executive Media Director, T3, said regarding the increasingly scientific nature …

How can you have "premium” display when there is an unlimited amount of inventory? The question was asked Joe Mandese, editor in chief of MediaPost at the OMMA Premium Display in Los Angeles. John Tuchtenhagen, vp and group director of media of Digitas, asked another question -- hopefully leading to an solution: “If YouTube is a vast ocean, how do you create a cove for your dolphins to swim in?” Greg Pomaro, senior vp and executive media director, T3, said: “We have somewhat muddied definitions of premium... Some scarcity may be tied to the brand halo that the publisher …

What is a premium advertising experience: art or science, man or machine?

Spending time with the ad should become more of a success measurement. At what point does that time turn into sales?

Vacuums just suck -- especially when it comes creative process in display advertising. Speaking at OMMA Premium Display in Los Angeles, Jason Sperling, executive creative director of West Coast ad agency RPA, talks up one key principle for creative work: "When work is in vacuum, the work tends to suck." Sperling says when everyone at a agency touches an ad it can be better. Another principle: It's better to get invited to the party than to sneak in. Consumers are always heavy commercial avoidence. "People are pre-conditioned to ignore us," he says. So here is another …

Jason Sperling avoids a lot of advertising. Yes, the Executive Creative Director at RPA said as much while kicking off the OMMA Premium Display conference in L.A. Recognizing the irony in his admission, Sperling said the bigger point is that display advertising is "being avoided on every front," so much so that even its creators steer clear of the stuff. What can be done to reverse this trend? Advertisers "need to produce work that gets people to let down their guard," said Sperling. That requires a "collective creativity," the likes of which we have yet to see from the industry. …

"Think of display ads as a layer cake."