Native Advertising

Native advertising is a form of advertising that integrates high-quality content into the organic experience of a given platform. Native ad units conform to the design and feel of the sites on which they display, preserving the immersive user-experience while producing click-through rates like that of editorial content.

Native ads look like they are an inherent part of the page they are found on because they are non-disruptive. Native ads align with the content that a reader is already engaging with, and so a user is more likely to pay attention to them. 

Native advertising may sound like a catch-all that’s applied to anything that isn’t a banner ad. In reality, it’s much more. Native is an ad channel and format that is highly scalable and can be utilized to acquire and convert new customers.

Programmatic native advertising and our audience development capabilities allow clients to deliver highly customizable content in an ad format to precise audiences at scale.

The Big Clic ad operations team accesses multiple demand side buying platforms: TheTradeDesk, Simpli.fi, StackAdapt and has access to over 30+ native advertising integrations from a total of over 40+ supply partners, which grants our clients the highest level of exposure across native platforms.

Big Clic ad operations also has access to multiple leading native exchanges we work with directly (please see Direct Native Ad Networks on page 16)

Additional programmatic benefits include:

• Programmatic audience development and targeting: geo-fencing; 1st party data onboarding; retargeting; intent based; engagement; look-alike based on engagement audiences
• Dynamic retargeting - retarget user with custom native ads based the exact content that captured their attention, or move them further along the sales funnel with native ad content that expands on key brand elements
• Track time on site - and only pay for visitors who are engaging with your content and spending at least 15 seconds on site with cost per engagement (CPE)
• Optimize through insights - understand and optimize based on knowing who engaged with which ads, time spend viewing, conversions, and costs

According to eMarketer, native advertising spend in the US jumped 37% in 2021, and is expected to reach $98.59 billion in 2023. The popularity of this ad format will continue to rise. In 2022, native video advertising is forecast to comprise 84.1% of all video ad spend in the US, an increase of almost 2% compared to 2021.

Native ads are consumed in the same way people digest editorial content:

• consumers interact with native ads 53% more frequently vs display ads
• native ads register higher lift in purchase intent at 18%, and brand affinity at 8% compared to display ads
• consumers spend almost as long browsing native ads (1.0 seconds) as they do on editorial content (1.2 seconds)

According to eMarketer, native advertising spend in the US jumped 37% in 2021, and is expected to reach $98.59 billion in 2023. The popularity of this ad format will continue to rise. In 2022, native video advertising is forecast to comprise 84.1% of all video ad spend in the US, an increase of almost 2% compared to 2021.

Native Ads Compared to Display Ads

• 33% More Often Seen
• 168% More Time Spent
• 68% Faster Noticed
• 133% Higher Click-Through

Source

Study after study has shown that native advertising is more effective than traditional digital marketing methods. Some statistics from the Content Marketing Institute on how marketers perceive native advertising are:

• 53% say it is extremely or very effective.
• 90% agree that it can be used to build audiences.
• 88% agree that it can be used to drive an action.
• 85% agree that it offers valuable content to the reader and can be used to promote content

Images and video are responsible for making an invaluable first impression and are used to attract your intended audience. Determining images that your intended audience can relate to is paramount to them seeing your native content and understanding it addresses their content interests. 

Make a lasting impression by incorporating these concepts into your creative: 

• Understand the image is not an advertisement - it appears within the site content so needs to have an editorial feel.
• Simplicity is key, so be sure your image does not appear cluttered 
• Use high-resolution images (The creative must be a minimum of 72 pixels per inch and is recommended to be 144 pixels per inch)
• Eliminate any and all text overlay 
• Feature people when possible and consider light, composition, and colors of the image.

Ensure your headline and body copy speaks to the needs of your intended audiences. Steer clear of phrases that suggest click bait (i.e, “You’ll never guess what happened next...”) which tends to yield high bounce rates. Provide some valuable insight while being mindful that your goal is to engage your readers, not sell to them.

Here’s an example of good copy:

Headline (up to 55 characters): The Rogers Centre Like You’ve Never Seen It Before Body (up to 120 characters): Visiting Toronto? Here are ten events during the Blue Jays 2024 season that you don’t want to miss!

Have a landing page that delivers on your ad promise.

Once users visit your landing page, you need to deliver on the content your native ad promised. Don’t surprise your consumer with anything unexpected like a homepage or sign up form, which can evoke feelings of deception, causing the user to leave as quickly as they arrived. Build credibility and gain trust by aligning your ad with the landing page as closely as possible.

• In-Feed/In-App Native Advertising
• Content Recommendation Widgets
• Native Video
• Outstream (Native video) Video
• In-Ad
• Mobile In-App

Pioneered by social platforms, in-feed native ads are the most common form of native advertising. In-feed native ads have been so widely adopted as they allow brands to drive users to their properties and are optimized for mobile.

The primary reason for its wide adoption is its “mobile-first” approach and ability to drive users to advertisers’ owned media properties. It includes promoted listings and paid results.

An in-feed native ad fits seamlessly into the browsing experience, as it’s served in the same style as the rest of a website’s content. The ad will look like a natural part of the site, creating a less disruptive—and ultimately more effective—ad.

By incorporating the RTB element into your native ads, you’ll be able to amplify your content to the right audience.

Content recommendation widgets—sometimes referred to as content discovery widgets — are usually found at the bottom of an article. Largely seen as a publisher solution to drive traffic, some advertisers see value in using widgets to reach a large audience in a cost-effective manner.

A Native Video ad is placed between or at the end of the paragraphs of an article that includes a headline and body text. Depending on the publisher, these units may auto-start, with sound muted/unmuted. Big Clic accesses multiple high-viewability Native video providers, including TripleLift and Sharethrough.

A Native Outstream Video often referred to as an “in-article” or “in-text” ad, starts playing once the player is 50% in-view on a page, and stops playing once the user scrolls past the video. These units usually play with sound muted, and may play audio when the user hovers over the video or clicks to unmute. Big Clic accesses multiple high-viewability Native Outstream video providers, including TripleLift and Sharethrough.

This format uses the elements of a native ad, including image, headline, body and brand logo. In-ad native ads occur within display inventory of a given page. Advertisers can achieve greater reach while still using the elements that make native ads so engaging, when native inventory is limited.

In-Ad units use the scale of display inventory for serving ad units that combine image, ad copy, and brand’s name, thus bringing the general look of a native ad unit.

As mobile usage continues to increase, it has come to equal and, in some regions of the world, exceed that of desktop.

Mobile in-app inventory allows you to tap into tremendous scale while delivering strong awareness performance.

There are four ways native ad inventory can be purchased, and Big Clic will recommend the best approach based on client objectives, and budgets.

Big Clic ad operations utilize leading DSPs to purchase native ads programmatically.

Many of the largest native ad networks have their inventory integrated into leading DSPs and can be purchased programmatically. Networks can be selected based on publishers they represent, or audience attributes.

The ads are served on an impression-by-impression level and leverage real-time data and decision making to ensure that the most relevant ad is placed on each site, creating a unique user experience.

Audience development and targeting utilize the same tactics available for all forms of programmatic advertising.

Native ad networks can also be accessed independently based on the publishers they represent, or audience attributes.

Big Clic can advise on the ad networks based on intended target audiences, but generally suggest beginning with programmatic native advertising through their DSPs, and track response to identify before undertaking a native ad network strategy.

Big Clic can also run A/B testing using programmatic native vs one direct native ad network to determine if a particular ad network outperforms.

Working directly with a native ad network can at times be restrictive based on minimum budgets.

• Taboola
• Outbrain / Teads
• Nativo
• RevContent
• Sharethrough
• Adyoulike
• Triplelift
• Liveintent (email)
• Adsterra
• MoPub
• Engageya
• Adblade
• Yahoo Gemini
• MGID
• Paved

Brands can also work directly with publishers to produce high-quality, engaging content. Sponsored content is hosted on a publisher’s website. The content is usually accompanied by a landing page hosted on the publisher site.

This form of native advertising works well for B2B, or regional audiences, but generally comes at a premium price and has very limited audience reach, targeting.

Other forms of sponsored content could include a sponsored video on YouTube that matches the style of creators aligned with your brand - and that reside on their channels.

Ever evolving and diverse ad formats continue to come online and are driven by the client budget and objectives.

Big Clic’s media department can develop a custom media plan that includes sponsored content recommendations, and management.

Native social media ads are generally located ‘in-feed’ and labelled as ‘sponsored’. Native ads match the style and format of an organic post.

One of the main goals of native advertising is to be present where your target group is hanging out. Native ads take advantage of an existing audience by publishing content on an established platform. Which platform that should be is going to depend largely on your target audience. It doesn’t take a marketing genius to realize that a sponsored LinkedIn post is probably not going to connect with Gen Z any more than an In-Feed Ad on TikTok is likely to grab the attention of c-level execs. 

That is why defining your target group will lead you to the best social media platform for you to reach them with your native advertising. Your choice of social media for native advertising will depend on your business and the goal of your campaign, but chances are that one of the places your target group hangs out is on social media.

Due to higher response rates and lower creative costs, native ads are used by clients to acquire leads, and customers.

Programmatic display ads on the other hand are primarily used for top funnel awareness.

Big Clic has developed a strong strategy around native advertising called Lead Convert.

Learn more - https://bigclic.com/products/lead-nurture/