How to ensure native advertising remains effective
We’re in danger of repeating past mistakes when it comes to native ads, writes Martin Ash, senior consultant at FreshMinds.
In its truest form native advertising should be just that – native to the page it sits on. Its tonality, quality and values should seamlessly integrate with the editorial content it sits alongside (but be clearly labelled that a commercial agreement with an advertiser is in place, and distinguished from editorial content).
The key to doing this successfully is by gaining a thorough understanding of the consumers you are talking to. Bauer Media’s initiative The Debrief is surely a leading light of the native revolution – 100% advertiser-funded content which is built with a detailed view of the ‘Millennial Girl’ they are talking to.
The content is built with a deep understanding of the audience’s lifestyle, values and aspirations. Delivering authentic, relevant and engaging content ensures the audience is receptive to the content and advertisers are offered a unique way to get close to the Millennial Girl. This is a model which treats the consumer with respect and respect is probably the key word in ensuring native remains successful.
Native advertising more broadly relies on symbiotic relationships in order to be effective – the strength of trust consumers have in their favourite publisher brands is leveraged by advertisers to deliver brand messages that are received as trustworthy and believable.
The industry won’t be able to resist a merging of the two biggest trends – programmatic buying and native ads – and we’ll tread down a familiar path…”
As long as these messages aren’t delivered as a ‘hard sell’ and the content is engaging and perceived to be of value then consumers – for the moment at least – accept, and are willingly engaging with, advertiser-funded content.
Brands themselves must respect the consumer in all phases of their content journey – native content should not be used as a gateway to drive the consumer to the checkout pages of their websites. Brands should be prepared to support native content with engaging content on their own branded channels to continue to deepen consumer engagement, and continue to deliver value. Let the consumer engage with the brand as deeply as possible, and they’ll find their own journey to purchase – online or otherwise.
As an industry, we have not always treated the consumer with respect, and as a result have lost out; click-throughs plummet, ad-blindness ensues and consumers switch off to branded communication under a barrage and clutter of digital ads shouting at them. As we move through this year, the temptation to scale native, and the questions of reach versus quality engagement will come to the fore.
Already we see the other end of the native spectrum growing apace. In-feed and native ad-drivers – directing the consumer to all manner of ‘interesting’ or ‘relevant’ advertiser-funded content are springing up all over the place – from Facebook feeds, to news apps. The industry won’t be able to resist a merging of the two biggest trends – programmatic buying and native ads – and we’ll tread down a familiar path; optimising our buying towards high-click-through formats which, for the moment at least, are native.
The quality and relevance of the content native-ad drivers and content distributors directs us to varies considerably and undeniably some of these are being deployed as a quick-win for attaining traffic to brands own online assets which do not offer the valuable content consumers are seeking. If we as an industry allow this to grow unchecked we risk repeating the same old story – consumers grow weary of clicking, and the overall effectiveness of our spend goes down.
As advertisers, we’re aware of, and rightfully cautious of, wear-out. We’re used to campaign impact degrading over time and in this way we know the effectiveness of new digital formats can also quickly wane. There is no easy way to predict how long consumers will continue to click on native-ad drivers, or if their tolerance would hold up in a torrent of advertiser-funded content.
However, by treating consumers with respect and holding firm on the native principles of authenticity, relevance and value, we can ensure native remains an effective channel long into the future.