Sponsored content, or native ads if you will, is nothing new. Putting it on the front page of your print magazine, like Forbes are doing, however is:
The Fidelity ad on Forbes’ cover teases an infographic about retirement, which is the editorial theme of the issue. Fidelity paid for the two-page infographic to appear in the issue as part of a larger ad buy with Forbes that includes print and digital.
“We view this as strong content that’s part of the retirement package,” said Mark Howard, Forbes Media’s chief revenue officer. Forbes’ brand newsroom, a department that works with advertisers to create content, helped produce the infographic, he added.