If native advertising looks like regular content, how

can I tell it’s an ad?

Here’s the native advertising conundrum. If a native ad looks like regular content,
rather than a display ad, then readers may not realize they are consuming a paid
advertisement. This compromises the editorial neutrality of the publisher.

For example, imagine you clicked on an article about "The Top Five Hiking
Destinations In South America", which took you to a post on the Acme Hiking
Equipment blog. It’s not the same as just reading an article on National Geographic, is
it? After all, the Acme Hiking Equipment company is paying the website publisher for
your click. Consumer watchdogs, such as the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and
the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), are at pains to regulate the use of native ads
to ensure that consumers are not misled. Although native ads integrate smoothly into
the web page, you can usually see that it’s a native ad by a few telltale signs.

Why are online marketers increasingly turning to

Native Advertising?
1. Native advertising works. Consumers look at native ads 53% more than display ads.
Native ads create an 18% increase in purchase intent, and the visual engagement with
native ads is the same, and even slightly higher, than the original editorial content.

2. Native advertising fights ads fatigue. Ad fatigue is what happens when the audience
gets bored with seeing ads. After a while, they simply stop paying attention. Native ads
are brand exposure cloaked in editorial content, so they don’t tire out the audience. As
long as the content is relevant and interesting, native advertising engages the audience

3. Consumers know that native ads are a form of advertising, but they don’t care! In a
recent study at Stanford University, researchers found that native advertising fools
nobody. Consumers are well aware that they are viewing a form of advertising,
however native ads still have a significant effect on purchase behavior.
The Next Step: Programmatic Native Advertising
It’s one thing to serve native ads to your audience. It’s quite another to serve targeted native ads to
specific consumers in real time and at scale. This is what programmatic native advertising is all
about, and it’s taking native advertising into completely new territory. Programmatic native
advertising enables brands and businesses to optimize their native advertising ROI by using
programmatic auction of native ads via RTB (Real Time Bidding).

Programmatic Native in a Nutshell

Native ads are built from a number of metadata elements, such as a headline,
thumbnail image, content URL, description text, and more.

With programmatic native advertising, a user visits a website, creating space for an ad
impression. The Supply Side Platform (SSP) sends bid requests on behalf of the
publisher.

The Demand Side Platform (DSP) responds with metadata metrics and bids on behalf
of the advertiser. Based on the metadata, the SSP selects the winning bid and instantly
configures the native ad via templating design to fit into the website or app. 

This entire process occurs within a fraction of a second. With the programmatic

platform, native advertising can achieve a far more targeted response for each user in
real time, which translates to increased engagement and higher conversions.
Why Is Native Advertising So Controversial?

“Don’t trick them. Don’t piss them off.”

This was the advice of Eric Goeres, director of innovation at Time magazine, speaking at the
recent Contently Summit. Goeres spoke during the “Truth in Advertising” panel at the event,
during which the topic of native advertising took center stage. Goeres’ words of warning refer to
the trust between a publisher and its audience, and he emphasized the dangers of angering
readers by resorting to trickery and deception to make a quick buck.

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Brands and advertisers love native ads, mainly because the click-through rates tend to be much
higher than typical advertisements and engagement is usually much stronger. However, not
everyone is as enamored with native ads, particularly consumers.

Several professional organizations have weighed in on the often-vague nature of native

advertising. The Federal Trade Commission is considering implementing regulatory measures on
brands using native ads to promote their products, and the FTC has also indicated it may monitor
the market closely to ensure that native advertising is being used in a manner that benefits
consumers. The American Society of Magazine Editors has also called for greater transparency
and oversight when it comes to native advertising.

The reason that many publishers see native advertising as a risky proposition is the potential for
this kind of content to erode the public’s trust. After all, if The New York Times publishes a
“story” by Dell in exchange for money, can the Times objectively report on matters relating to
Dell, or has every mention of the company been paid for? This is the dilemma facing publishers
today.

Native Advertising Statistics

Before we look at some of the best native advertising examples (and a rogue’s gallery
of some of the worst), let’s acquaint ourselves with the state of the native advertising
landscape:

 Almost half of consumers have no idea what native advertising is

 Of those consumers who do, 51% are skeptical
 Three out of four publishers offer some form of native advertising on their sites
 90% of publishers either have or plan to launch native advertising campaigns
 41% of brands are currently using native advertising as part of wider promotional
efforts

5 Great Native Advertising Examples

So, now that we’ve established that native advertising is here to stay (for the
time being at least), let’s take a look at some of the best – and worst –
native advertising examples.

1. "Woman Going to Take Quick Break After Filling Out Name,

Address on Tax Forms," The Onion

One of the funniest satirical sites on the web, The Onion also has a strong grasp on native
advertising, as exemplified by this particularly well-known example.
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This example is, admittedly, a little murky when it comes to the definition of native advertising
above. Firstly, The Onion created this content specifically for its client (in this case, H&R
Block), rather than Block simply publishing its own content on the site. However, the content
itself and its positioning still classify it as native advertising, rather than “traditional” sponsored
content, at least in my book.

When this content was published in 2012, it was framed by several traditional vertical and
horizontal banner ads for H&R Block. Even if visitors didn’t click on these banners (which
they’re unlikely to, as you’re 475 times more likely to survive a plane crash than click a banner
ad, according to Solve Media), the result was significantly increased brand awareness.
Why It Works
Although the content of this post isn’t about H&R Block specifically, it does address the
typically bland, dry topic of taxes in a fun, relatable and highly entertaining way, creating a
positive association with the advertiser. This native ad even poked fun at the box that clearly
marks the page as sponsored content by including an endorsement from The Onion’s fictitious
“publisher emeritus” T. Herman Zweibel.

Although the banners served as calls to action, the main purpose of the campaign was to further
increase H&R Block’s brand awareness – a goal that this native advertising example
accomplished admirably.

2. "10 Quotes Every Grad Needs to Read," BuzzFeed

Alongside Upworthy, BuzzFeed is the most successful viral hit factory on the web. Is it any
wonder that the site would eventually open up its coveted readership to sponsors with deep
pockets? Case in point, the BuzzFeed “Community” pages, featuring brands like publishing giant
HarperCollins
As you can see above, posts made to the Community section of BuzzFeed have “not been vetted
or endorsed by BuzzFeed’s editorial staff,” meaning that HarperCollins (and Mini, and Pepsi,
and the other brands that publish content at BuzzFeed) have simply paid for the privilege of
getting their brand in front of BuzzFeed’s audience. Apart from the prominent HarperCollins
logo above the social share buttons, there’s little to set this apart from BuzzFeed’s regular
content.

Why It Works
Timeliness factors into the success of this native advertising example. Firstly, the post was
published in late June, coinciding well with graduation season. Secondly, the basis of the post
was teacher David McCullough, Jr.’s famous “You Are Not Special” commencement speech,
which itself went viral.

The post adheres strictly to BuzzFeed’s popular animated .GIF/listicle post format, making it
easily digestible, and the headline is impeccably crafted for BuzzFeed’s audience, as you’d
expect. There’s very little obvious connection between the client (a major publishing house) to
the content, aside from the implied relationship between college graduates and books, so the ad
comes off as a “soft sell,” which is easier for audiences to stomach than forceful product
placement.
3. "Should You Accept Your Employer’s Pension Buyout Offer?", Forbes
Forbes has published articles like this for years, but as the publication has transitioned from a
full-time staff to a contributor-led model, it’s hardly surprising that Forbes has begun to publish
native advertising by financial institutions like this one from Fidelity Investments.

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This is a particularly good example of native advertising, as while the post is most definitely
branded and has an unmistakable angle, the post itself contains some real substance. It outlines
the pros and cons of both monthly payment and lump sum pension buyout options, backed up
with hard numbers about inflation rates and how accepting a pension buyout offer can affect
your tax status.

Why It Works
Yes, it’s blatantly branded content, and Fidelity makes no secret of its services, but this post
actually contains more financial advice and insight than most typical Forbes finance and business
content. Readers should most definitely remain aware of Fidelity’s agenda when reading, but
overall, this native advertisement provides real value to the reader, does so in a way that Forbes’
audience would expect, and aligns with the publication’s editorial and stylistic guidelines. A
great example.
Native Ads: More Than Meets The Eye?
Done well, native ads can be interesting, informative and sell a product or build a brand. Get
them wrong, however, and your readers will hate you for it. Knowing how to strike this delicate
yet crucial balance is difficult, but that hasn’t stopped publishers from jumping firmly on the
native ads bandwagon. Only time will tell whether the FTC or other regulatory bodies will chime
in on how these ads should be displayed, but for now, it seems likely that both brands and
publishers will continue to try and discover the magic formula.

Native Advertising Channels

Search
engines like Google pioneered an entirely new form of “native” with their sponsored
search results.

Social
Social networks like Facebook and Instagram popularized native in-feed and carousel ad formats

Open Web
Content discovery platforms like Taboola power personalized content recommendations and in-
feed native ads across popular publisher websites.
Who Benefits from Native Advertisement?
Advertisers
Fortune 500 brands and fledgling startups alike use native ads to reach audiences at highly
impactful moments, when people are already consuming content and open to discovering
something new. These campaigns can drive goals around high-level brand awareness as well as
down-funnel leads and sales.

Publishers

Publishers have embraced native ads as an indispensable tool in monetizing content across
platforms and devices. Opt-in native units encourage valuable user actions without sacrificing
the overall UX, driving users to high-value pages such as video, sponsored content, microsites,
and more.

Users
Native ads avoid the disruptive pitfalls of pop-up or pre-roll ads in favor of a more respectful
bargain with users, allowing people to discover and engage with branded content they may like
on their own terms.

Users
Native ads avoid the disruptive pitfalls of pop-up or pre-roll ads in favor of a more respectful
bargain with users, allowing people to discover and engage with branded content they may like
on their own terms.
What is Native Advertising?
Native Advertising are often a video, music, pictures or other sorts of media. Content
marketing is additionally a sort of native advertising.
Native advertising does not specifically refer a particular form of advertising rather it is an
advertising concept.
An important aspect of native advertising is that it must be according to the format and user
experience.
The content and therefore the format should be almost like expect from editorial
content, it's important that native advertising must be clearly identified intrinsically.
The native advertising which is correctly executed may causes the subsequent effects

When a user goes to an internet site where it provides the precious and interesting site
content, then it creates a positive perception within the user toward the mark.

Native Advertising builds more trust and drive more engagements with the potential
customers this is the reason why marketers rely on it.

As per the studies, the typical click through rates of premium native advertising are 4 times
above the non-active display ads on a mobile device.

According to the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), there are about six  sorts of ad
units which are most ordinarily want to achieve the native advertising objectives.
They are as follows:

Editorial content will not be there, but they are actually designed to fit seamlessly with the
browsing experience.

They are typically employed by the e-commerce sites to feature the sponsored products and
appearance just like the products which are already listed on a given site.
How to Choose the Right Native Advertising Platform?

In order to maximize the return on any given native advertising initiative, many publishers and
advertisers’ team up with technology partners that can help with aspects such as content
distribution, audience engagement, cross-platform monetization, and more.

In particular, content discovery platforms like Taboola have skyrocketed in popularity.

They reach billions of users each month and rival the scale of major social networks.
These discovery platforms are powered by Facebook-like predictive algorithms that match every
online user with the top content items they are most likely to be interested in consuming next.

Check out the list of requirements for choosing the right content discovery platform.

Quality of network- Across what kinds of websites and/or page placements is the
platform currently deployed?
Tracking -Does the platform provide transparent access to key performance metrics?
(e.g. cost-per-acquisition, pages-per-visit)
Scale-How many users does the platform reach in your target regions?
Compatibility-How well can the platform integrate with various hardware and software
solutions? (e.g. devices, operating systems, CRM software)
Targeting-What kinds of targeting and retargeting capabilities does the platform offer?
Service-Does the partner offer a flexible range of self-service

What Native Units Are Best For You?

Every ad unit performs differently depending on factors such as page placement, audience
referral source, and desired post-click behavior. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but there
are some formats that perform well for publishers and advertisers alike.
Publisher Homepage

Native ads avoid the disruptive pitfalls of pop up or pre-roll ads in favor a more respectful
bargain with users, allowing people to discover and engage with branded content they may like
on their own terms.

Mid Article

Native ads avoid the disruptive pitfalls of pop-up or pre-roll ads in favor of a more respectful
bargain with users, allowing people to discover and engage with branded content they may like
on their own terms.
Below Article

Native ads avoid the disruptive pitfalls of pop-up or pre-roll ads in favor of a more respectful
bargain with users, allowing people to discover and engage with branded content they may like
on their own terms.