How Popular Is Native Advertising?
Native advertising is a rapidly growing segment of online ad spending, projected to reach $3.2 billion in 2017, gaining traction across diverse consumer and B2B websites, performing comparably to editorial content and helping publishers raise CPMs, yet as of mid-2014, only about 10% of sites feature native ads, indicating a significant opportunity for early adoption.
Over the last year, the hype surrounding native advertising has continued to grow louder. eMarketer recently predicted native ad spending to grow to $3.2 billion in 2017, up from $2.3 billion in 2014. While this is just a fraction of online ad spending (IAB calculated total U.S. online ad revenues at $42.8 billion in 2013), it is a quickly growing segment.
Native advertising is not just for large consumer websites like Forbes and Buzzfeed. We’re finding native popping up on consumer and b-to-b sites of all sizes and categories, from Complex and Automobile to BioTechniques and Engine Builder.
Many publishers have had success in offering native ads to advertisers. In fact, in many cases, native content performs as well as regular editorial content, making native buys attractive to advertisers.
What I am consistently seeing and hearing within the industry is that native is very important and becoming an effective tool to raise CPMs for publishers. Despite this increasingly popular sentiment, our July 2014 research indicates that only about 10% of sites currently feature native ads.
The takeaway? There is an opportunity for publishers to get ahead of the curve and be early adopters in selling native advertising.
Related
B2B Native Advertising is Still Growing
MediaRadar research reveals that B2B native advertising experienced a remarkable 50% year-over-year growth from 2018 to 2019—outpacing mobile, video, and display ads—highlighting its rising value as a dynamic, content-driven ad format that effectively engages target audiences and offers significant opportunities for brands and B2B publications.
9 Fast Facts about Native Advertising
Native advertising, a leading digital engagement method with significant spending but a plateauing market where only 11% of online advertisers use it and brands run native ads on just 10% of sites, requires media firms to differentiate through audience, brand safety, and creative execution rather than price, innovate with features like shoppable content as Meredith Corporation has, and face challenges in measuring campaign performance and sustainability, with an average two-month renewal rate of 40%.
3 Native Advertising Trends in B2B Media to Keep Your Eyes On This Year
In 2023, B2B advertisers significantly increased native advertising spending—nearly $171 million in the first half alone—while diversifying their media strategies by combining native ads with other formats like digital display and events to effectively engage complex, multi-decision-maker buying journeys.
Nike's Native Ad Campaign with Colin Kaepernick
In September 2018, Nike launched a controversial yet highly impactful native ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick with the slogan “Believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything,” which sparked public protests but ultimately boosted Nike’s online sales by 31%, garnered 26.7 million YouTube views, increased social media engagement, and exemplified the benefits and challenges of long-term native advertising campaigns.
Marketers in Many Verticals Are Choosing Native
Recent research from mid-2014 reveals that native advertising is widely adopted across diverse verticals—including technology, media, travel, finance, and retail—with over 1,040 brands sponsoring editorial content on 100 digital publisher sites, highlighting a broad industry trend beyond just viral news and large consumer brands.
B2B Publication Ad Portfolio Tips: Ways to Expand Your Market Share
The article advises B2B publications to expand their ad portfolios beyond traditional print by embracing digital, mobile, social, and native advertising strategies to better reach diverse decision-maker audiences who consume content across various platforms, including major digital publications, thereby increasing market share in a competitive landscape where advertisers prefer targeted, personalized approaches over cross-platform buys.