Hearst UK kicks native advertising up a notch

In a move to integrate native advertising more seamlessly, Hearst UK has introduced a new digital advertising product which will allow commercial partners to ‘inhabit’ the same spaces as editorial content.

Designed to give consumers a ‘positive experience’ across devices, Shared Spaces – powered by Hearst’s propriety tech platform MediaOS – provides commercial partners with ad formats which are positioned in the page with the highest user engagement, while providing editorial teams with up-to-the-minute audience data.

The product first launched in the US in January 2014 and has been attributed as a ‘key driver’ of revenue growth, with page views across MediaOS sites up 42% year-on-year.

Hearts UK CEO, Anna Jones, said the move into the UK will help help “cut-through” an already cluttered market.

“We are really excited about the opportunities that the launch of Shared Spaces and the continued roll out of MediaOS bring to us and our clients,” Jones said.

“They will allow our talented editors and our commercial partners to get even closer to their consumers with engaging and memorable content. This, combined with our powerful and trusted brands, will bring much needed cut-through to a cluttered market.”

Hearst UK publishes 19 magazine brands and five pureplay digital brands, with top-selling titles including Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar.

In addition to the launch of Shared Spaces, Hearts has also created a new content studio which will produce ‘engaging content’ for native advertising campaigns and give commercial partners access to its editorial teams.