It’s not difficult to find information on Native Advertising; ‘The rise of Native advertising’, ‘The current success of native advertising’, ‘How native advertising can help your company’ ect…..But before we are bombarded with this information, how would you define Native Advertising?
After a lot of searching we have concluded that this is the act of advertising in which the advertiser focuses on the experience of the consumer. The advert becomes part of the content as oppose to being displayed separately. This is essentially the complete opposite to what is known as traditional web-based advertisements. It is mainly displayed by communicating through content and dismays methods such as banner ads ect.
Image source: http://flipthemedia.com/2013/01/4-examples-of-this-native-advertising-youve-been-hearing-about/
We have all been browsing through a web page or attempting to read content when an ad pops up, relevant or not, and it completely interrupts what we were doing. Native advertising does not use that method, instead it blends in, becoming part of what you are already looking at, not necessarily appearing to be an advert at all.
A well known example of the use of native advertising is on the website BuzzFeed. The website itself displays very visual news stories and social media topics mainly by photographic image. BuzzFeed also include sponsored articles on the site, however displayed the exact same way as everything around it, yet still promoting the brand or product.
“For example, an agency looking to promote a new horror film may publish a list on BuzzFeed of the ten scariest scenes in the history of cinema. On this list, a viewer would find hair-raising classics like The Excorcist and The Omen alongside stills from the promoted film. In this way, the consumer still gets the content that they want, but they also take in an advertisement with it. Critically, this form of advertising doesn’t distract from media, unlike traditional advertising, which often can interrupt the flow of content rather jarringly.”- http://tier10lab.com/2013/06/03/native-advertising-key-consumer-connection/
Facebook and Twitter have recently adopted native advertising too with ‘promoted tweets’ or ‘sponsored stories’. These appear in the timeline of the user, the same as normal tweets and status updates. These will however link to a chosen product related article or a brands website.
“In the social context, we define native ads as ads that are seamlessly integrated into a user’s feed and are nearly indistinguishable from organic content.”– http://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-native-ads-on-social-media-2013-10#ixzz2iYsjrQPC
Thanks to native advertising Brands and Companies can partner with Twitter and Facebook ect to hold campaigns or promotions through their social media sites. Recent examples of this are OAAA’s #EverywhereUR campaign, run through Twitter or The Co-Op’s #Tweet4atable campaign also run completely through Twitter. Native needs to be adapted and tailored to the surroundings in which it’s being shown on. Some feel social media’s use of Native advertising is not the most effective;
“Sponsored tweets and sponsored Facebook posts reach a wide audience and enjoy high engagement, but it’s an interruptive experience for most users.”– http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/22/native-advertising-requires-combined-effort-between-old-foes-advertising-and
Native advertising, depending on which platform a company has decided to use, can benefit greatly to the credibility of a company. An example of a decent platform is both The Guardian and The Independent; they are both well respected and renowned for reliable services and would create a great impression as well as a credibility boost for any company who uses them for native advertising.
It has been suggested that native advertising will not only become a dominant method for advertisers, but also become the only form of advertising. The marketing world has struggled to create a connection with consumers in the same way native advertising has. This form of advertising is also great for the success of journalists too. It is a collaboration of editorial skills and advertising, and so in order for journalism to survive, advertising needs to be successful. It seems as though native advertising is the only way forward.
“In July, Yahoo’s head of search, Andy Jones, said Native advertising was bridging search and display “like never before” and said the company was seeing click-through-rates (CTRs) for native ads on its own platform driving seven times the CTR of regular display ads.”– http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/22/native-advertising-requires-combined-effort-between-old-foes-advertising-and#MR04IUGKRtzRYyq5.99
What are your views on Native Advertising? Is it the way forward for journalists and advertisers? Let SLA know your thoughts!
Information source: http://tier10lab.com/2013/06/03/native-advertising-key-consumer-connection/