Native Ad

How Native Advertising Works

Native advertising works by creating customized ads that are similar in design, color, and patterns of page content that displays them. Typically, these ads resemble the platform that they are displayed on, such that consumers believe they belong on the platform.

Native ads are hard to notice and can drive brand affinity by up to 9%, as opposed to traditional banner ads. Moreover, anecdotal accounts from consumers indicate that they watch native ads 53% more, compared to display ads.

Native Ads Examples

Not all advertisements that seem to mimic the design and looks of the underlying media platform are considered native. Besides the native ad example mentioned above, here are other ones to put into better perspective.

• Social media in-feed ads on platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram;
• Paid ads trending on TikTok;
• Twitter hashtags that push display and standard banner ads;
• Custom playlists on Spotify;
• Sponsored article spots that appear in reader feeds.

Native Ads Features

Although it can be pretty daunting to differentiate a native ad from a display ad, the latter usually has some features that qualify them as native. These features include:

• Native ads are educational and don’t aim to convince the target audience;
• They mimic the website design and looks of native ad platforms;
• Aligns with the expectations of your consumer segment;
• Compliments intuitive content consumption;
• Compliments organic content.

Native Ads vs. Display Ads

While native ads organically blend with the media platform in question, display ads are technically superimposed on the platform’s content. For this reason, native advertising can guarantee a higher CTR of up to 0.2%, while display advertising offers a lower CTR, sometimes as low as 0.05%.

Another huge difference in these types of advertisements is how they look. While native ads feel and look like editorial content of the display page, display ads stand out as paid campaigns because they tend to persuade buyers.