The Future of the Native Ad Business
July 18, 2016
Native ads, or ads that are made to look like the content that surrounds them, are a growing business. Discussions surrounding native ads have increased as well, with publishers, readers, and content creators alike weighing in on the pros and cons. No matter where you fall on the debate surrounding native ads, the numbers prove that this business is beginning to boom.
According to new BI Intelligence estimates, native ads will drive 74% of all ad revenue by 2021.
It’s noted that native video ads will be the main driver of this growth. Given that social media platforms gain most of their revenue from native ads, social native ads will most likely account for the largest chunk of this revenue.
Native Ads and Programmatic Buying
An interesting addition to the native ad trend is its combination with programmatic buying. These two remained somewhat independent of one another until Google added programmatic support to native ads in mobile apps back in November of 2015. Jonathan Bellack, director of product management who oversees DoubleClick for Publishers and the DoubleClick Ad Exchange explained:
“Native has been a huge focus of ours for a while now, and there are several pieces that have to come together to make this work at scale programmatically.”
Sponsored content done manually is just one part of native advertising. Other types of ad content such as content recommendation, search, and promoted listings will do well with automation.
What’s going to be important in the combination of native ads and programmatic buying is adding automation that allows native ads to become a more scaleable business, and many technology companies are noting this opportunity.
Why It’s Important to Follow Native Ad Trends
Customers thus far have a positive attitude towards native ad content. This positive attitude will only continue if advertisers and publishers ensure that content is relevant, trustworthy, and timely to the consumer. Since native ads are performing better than traditional display ads, especially on mobile, the ability to fit the customer’s’ needs becomes even more important.
If you haven’t thought about a native ad strategy already, this will be an important addition to advertising campaigns in 2016.
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