American Express changes content marketing labels

American Express is changing the way it presents its content marketing following questions of whether it was being transparent enough in labeling it as sponsored material.

The National Advertising Division took particular issue with the fact that American Express was presenting content via Taboola (i.e. those stories you see listed from other sites at the bottom of articles) with the label “OPEN Forum.” Advertising Age describes the issue:

The NAD opened an inquiry into American Express’s labeling because it felt readers might mistake OPEN Forum stories for ‘independent editorial content, rather than sponsored content,’ the organization said in a statement.

“We were concerned with whether the links had the potential to mislead consumers,” Laura Brett, staff attorney at the NAD, told Ad Age.