Native advertisingNow & next

Dan Watt Performance Marketing Director

Rob MacNeill Creative Director

The new kid on the block?In truth, it moved in 80 years ago. Defined as a type of advertising that matches the form and function of the platform upon which it appears, native is no different to the advertorials that have been around almost as long as advertising itself.

The only thing that has changed is the medium:

from ink on paper

to pixels on our screens

The power behind the growthNew or old can be debated, but native advertising’s huge rate of growth is unequivocal.

According to Yahoo!, native ads will represent the bulk of digital display spend in Europe within 5 years: €13.2 billion by 2020, more than half of which – €8.8 billion – will be delivered via mobile devices.

€13.2 billion spend by 2020

Versus display

Powering this growth is the comparison with display advertising.

Users are 52% more likely to notice native advertising and 68% more likely to share it with their friends and family. Add to this the fact that display is threatened by ad-blocker usage growing at an exponential rate – especially so amongst those under 30 – and you have the environment in which native can flourish.

The freedom to experience moreWhile the modern incarnation of native has its heart in the same place as its predecessor, its appearance and potential have undergone revolutionary change.

The rapid growth of digital platforms and networks presents the modern native marketer with a wide array of communication tools and approaches. Where we once had the advertorial existing within the restrictions of the printed word and image, we now have the freedom to deliver multifaceted and immersive experiences:

Video (short form, long form

and 360)

Animation Infographics

Self-navigational storytelling

Geo-fenced content

Exclusive premium content

No rules. Almost.The possibilities are limitless. But there are just a few rules.

Advertisers must be fully transparent in labelling native content as sponsored. ‘Advertisement Feature’ has several modern incarnations as advertisers experiment with how best to label native content. ‘Paid Content’, ’Brought to You By’, ’Powered By’…over time the ASA will determine which labels are sufficiently clear for consumers and acceptable in the eyes of the advertising code.

If in doubt, make labelling as clear as possible.

Where to start?With so many options available it can be difficult to know where to start. Consider the different approaches to native over the next few pages when it comes to deciding what’s right for your brand…

Keep reading to find out about these five approaches.

1. Engaging, in-depth editorialIf you have a great story to tell and the appetite to create a rich, immersive experience through the application of a multi-media piece of content, consider an in-depth editorial approach.

For fantastic examples of this look no further than the ‘Orange is the New Black’ and ‘Narcos’ examples produced by Netflix in partnership with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal respectively. Both capitalise upon real-life stories that resonate with the product to such an extent that it feels very natural for the brand to be present in each case.

Links:

http://paidpost.nytimes.com/netflix/women-inmates-separate-but-not-equal.html

http://www.wsj.com/ad/cocainenomics

What’s needed?• Good story telling• Journalistic rigour• Rich, immersive use of media• Good brand / product synergy• Transparent labelling• Budget

• Robust tracking

2. Paid articles and content curationWhere there’s a requirement for a more functional and direct approach, content that seeks to answer consumers’ questions about your product or brand territory can be very effective.

Here, the application of similar strategies utilised in content marketing for organic search can be followed for native. Content can be re-versioned to enable publication across several platforms and formats.

Aviva producing content on driver safety and the Philips Living Health hub are both great examples of this approach.

Links:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/road-safety/five-driving-mistakes/

http://paidpost.nytimes.com/philips/living-health.html

What’s needed?• Accessibility / immediacy• Answer a question• Supporting activity• Content chunking• Good brand / product synergy• Transparent labelling• Robust tracking

3. Personalisation and gamificationThe marriage of digital and data creates the potential for personalised native content. By changing a handful of elements of an otherwise fixed format based upon a given individual’s taste or preferences, you can massively increase engagement levels. Toyota did this to good effect with their RAV4 Hybrid Facebook video campaign.

Additionally, you can encourage users to generate data about their relationship with your brand via the gamification of native content. Inviting users to classify themselves, respond to scenarios or provide feedback within a mini-game or competition can achieve cut-through and greater reach through sharing.

BuzzFeed routinely partners with brands to utilise this approach, with ‘Game of Thrones’ being a particularly successful example.

Links:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/hbogameofthrones/how-would-you-die-in-game-of-thrones

What’s needed?• Fun• Immediacy• Shareability• Visual language consideration• Brand alignment• Transparent labelling• Robust tracking

4. Exploitation of the mediumNative advertising by its very nature reflects the medium. Some particularly successful campaigns exploit the medium.

• Quit utilised Vine’s six second looping videos to highlight the World Health Organisation’s revelation that a person dies every six seconds due to tobacco.

• Eat encouraged viewers to not skip breakfast via the playful addition of the word ‘Don’t’ above the ‘Skip’ option within the YouTube pre-roll ad unit.

• Old Spice delivered a ‘choose your own comic book adventure’ experience through the piecing together of Instagram photos.

• Brands such as L’Occitane and Carnival have delivered content that makes use of smartphone accelerometers, enabling users to navigate their way through Facebook image carousels.

Links:

www.awardentries.org/custom/every6seconds/index.html

www.vimeo.com/117896779

www.instagram.com/p/5xNE_MNNXH/?taken-by=oldspice&hl=en

What’s needed?• Strong ideas• Craft• Originality• Bravery• Brand alignment• Transparent labelling• Robust tracking

5. Direct responseFor acquisition-hungry brands, native provides ad units geared towards generating a direct response.

All social networks provide native advertising options that are geared towards specific goals such as driving purchases, generating leads or downloading applications. The hesitation around investing in social native advertising campaigns has evaporated in recent years as the platforms are providing ever more seamless and flexible ad products to facilitate acquisition.

This approach is an ideal first port of call for any brand that has yet to test native formats. If it’s thoughtfully constructed and skillfully delivered, direct response native advertising will quickly secure a perennial place on your marketing plan.

The ideal first port of call

Links:

https://www.brayleinoyucca.co.uk/blog/blackfish-twitter-engagement

What’s needed?• Clearly defined goals• Segmentation• Tailored creative• Strong call to action• A/B testing• CPA-led optimisation• Robust tracking

If you want to discuss native advertising

further or have a business challenge,

then give us a call:

Alan Thorpe

Digital and Data Director

Email: athorpe@brayleino.co.uk

Twitter: @brayleinoyucca

Phone: +44 (0)7710 404 382

Get in touch