Let’s start with a review of the concept: what exactly is native advertising and what is its importance?
The native advertising or native advertising is defined as a form of paid media advertising that fits in form and function to the environment in which it appears, allowing the user to impact in a manner less intrusive than traditional advertising. In short, it is an advertising that is not perceived as advertising, since it is completely integrated into its environment.
Perhaps the most typical example of native advertising, these ads are promotional content fully adapted to its environment, displayed through a network of publishers such as search engines, applications or blogs. They can take a more conversion-oriented approach, or direct a user to a content site. Although the idea is that they are “camouflaged” in the environment of a medium, they should always be clearly identified with the label “sponsored content” or similar.
Content ads are content promoted by a brand that is displayed within the reading suggestions of a medium or a blog. Ultimately, it is a format closely related to content marketing, as it seeks to add value to the user from a non-directly commercial point of view.
The content branded consists of pieces created and published by third parties and sponsored by the brand, for example, promoted post of or editorials (a modern version of infomercials lifetime). Here, the control of the brand over the content is not so strict, but in return it gains flexibility and dialogue with the audience.
The native advertising was defined and recognized for the first time in 2014 by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. In the following years, its popularity soared, but the latest figures indicate that growth may have stalled.
According to Media Radar data , native advertising continued to grow between January 2016 and June 2017, but has stabilized since then. To date, only 11% of brands carry out some form of native advertising, and only publish native content in 10% of the media in which they advertise.
Instead of talking about native advertising, many advertisers are turning to consider the concept of personalized content or custom content . As its name suggests, it is content tailored to a specific advertiser, arising from a very close collaboration between the medium and the brand.
In custom content, the medium takes more prominence and the focus is on the quality of the content, which can be very elaborate. For example, Forbes launched a multimedia campaign focused on artificial intelligence that included more than 50 pieces of personalized content and that was the result of a creation process of four and a half months. Another good example is the branded content department of the Aging Media Network, which consists of three people and takes eight weeks to produce an .
Personalized content is a name change with respect to native advertising and has some differences, such as the main role of the media and the level of demand in production. But at its core, it is a natural evolution of native advertising. We continue to bet on a less intrusive scheme focused on adding value to the user.
Whether we are talking about native advertising or custom content, the same principles and good practices still apply, so in closing, take good note of these tips !
As with any marketing action, success depends on being very clear about what we want to achieve. Typically, native advertising and personalized content look for the long term and focus on attracting users who are still in the early stages of the conversion funnel .
Native and personalized ads seek to integrate seamlessly into the medium in which they are published, so that the user does not experience them in a disruptive way. If we want this to work, we have to bet on media that truly represent the values of the brand and in whose editorial quality we trust 100%.
Remember that these types of formats are precisely intended to break with traditional advertising and become a positive experience for the user. Although the content must always be related to the brand, the first priority is to be useful and not to sell.
