What Is Native Advertising? (&Its Methods)

Digital marketing strategies keep on improving with various new methods, and they become more and more effective. While there are numerous reasons for this, all-around better advertising approaches and strategies are the most prominent ones. Native advertising is one of these advertising strategies that elevated digital marketing to a whole other level. Today, many digital marketing strategies apply to native advertising methods. It is possible to find them anywhere on the internet, from social media platforms to promoted listings and more. 

Native advertising is about creating ads that are cohesive with the page content. They are so well intact with the design and feel like an integral part of the relevant page by seamlessly fitting into the user experience. In its essence, native advertising is a concept that offers a different approach to the way users perceive ads. 

Native Advertising Methods

There are three main types of native advertising methods, which are:

• Content suggestion ads: This type of native ads are displayed along with editorial content. They most often located at the end of an article or blog post, featuring content that is somehow related to the main editorial piece. 
• Branded native ads: Branded native content ads are viewed as a unique content piece in the publisher’s website or platform. They usually don’t contain any features that might give away the intent or have exaggerated displays.
• In feed or content ads: In feed or content native ads are mostly used in social media feeds, newspapers, and e-commerce sites. They blend in with the original content to capture the attention of the user.

It is important to note that there are also other native advertising methods that don’t fit in any of these types, as native advertising can also take place in the real world.

In this article, we covered why native advertising works and included some of the best examples of these above-listed native advertising types.

Why Native Advertising Works?

There are a couple of reasons why native advertising methods are most often successful. We listed some of the most prominent ones below:

• Customers become more resistant and aware of conventional ad formats. In contrast to this, native advertisement complies with customer behavior. They are placed as editorial content, and users are much likely to click on them. So creating ads that are placed in flow with the content of a website by not distracting the audience can generate higher views, shares, and attention.
• Most native advertising examples contain entertaining or informative elements. Viewers can have a fun time while reading or watching the ad. So this will ultimately improve brand awareness in return.
• Native advertising increases sales higher than traditional methods. The main reason for this is that consumers view brands that run native ads as high quality with increased levels of trust. 

Native Advertising Examples

Native advertising is engaging, intriguing, and effective when applied properly. There are many successful native advertising examples we can see in today’s digital marketing strategies. We listed some of them below:

Allbirds

Allbirds, which is a shoe company, launched a native ad in the New York Times in the content native ad format. The ad was published along with a tag to notify users that it is a “paid post by Allbirds.” Besides this, the ad was posted in compliance with the New York Times article design format with additionally remarkable bird images and sound effects. The native ad was a total success. It was calling attention to climate change by displaying endangered birds. At the same time, the ad was pointing to the sustainability aspect of Allbirds’ shoes. 

Home Depot

Home Depot launched a native advertisement campaign in the branded native ad format in Apartment Therapy, which is a home upgrade website, in 2019. The ad displayed on the first page of the website while featuring recommended products, showcase videos, and offering useful tips from Home Depot for homes. User interaction and engaging features of the ad brought a great return of investment rates for the brand.

New York Lottery

New York Lottery company created a native advertising campaign that brought them great success in 2016. The company hired 211 drummers to play drums in various parts of New York City for more than twelve hours. So that the lottery can garner more attention from the public as well as more media coverage. As a result, they get a million dollars worth of media coverage and increased their sales tremendously. 

Esport Federation

Esport Federation, joined with Gamers Without Borders, run a native ad campaign on the Wall Street Journal. The ad was created in the native content ad format as an article. The main goal was to raise funds for charities that support the global Covid-19 effort. The article featured all sides of the fundraising and got a considerable number of engagement, higher than usual WSJ and esport articles.

Adidas

Adidas created one of the smartest native advertising campaigns ever. The brand partnered with the International Space Station to test Adidas products on different gravity levels. They sent soccer balls to space to test their behavior in zero gravity environments. In the near future, they are also planning to send shoes and clothing to space. This campaign is highly different than usual native marketing methods, mostly thanks to its remarkable content.

Native Advertising as a Summary

Native advertisement is a result of digital marketing strategies that keep on improving in the last decade. These ads offer more engaging methods than traditional marketing strategies and have higher conversion rates. So in today’s digital advertisement environment, native ads are becoming more and more relevant. In this article, we covered their main types and significance while providing successful examples.