The term “native advertising” is getting considerable traction in the online advertising community, but its definition has been confusing until now. Native advertising is not advertorial. Instead, it contributes value to any page it graces by improving user experience and adding value for consumers. Recent data confirms that publishers, agencies, marketers, and investors believe that native advertising is the fastest growing segment in the online advertising business. We created this infographic to take a deeper look into this growing segment:

1. NATIVE
ADVERTISING
IN CONTEXT
THE INTERNET looks better today
than ever before. Parallel with the
rise in design standards, users
and publishers have also come to
recognize the vital importance
of user experience. Traditionally,
online advertising has compromised
both. When publishers invest in
native advertising, however, users
are more engaged and everything
on screen remains beautiful
and relevant.
NATIVE ADVERTISING refers to a
specific mode of monetization that
aims to augment user experience by
providing value through relevant
content delivered in-stream.
Native advertising
integrates high-quality
content into the organic
experience of a given
platform.
As a form of content,
native advertising does
not interrupt flow and
is equal with user
interaction.
Automation does not
ensure the essence of
the content remains
true to that of the
brand content.
Some of the most notable examples of native advertising in practice today,
these are just the beginning.
WHAT IT IS
CHALLENGES
CONTENT
RENAMED ADVERTORIAL
AD STANDARDS
No set standards
or performance
benchmarks yet
exist for most
forms of this new
advertising
category.
PRODUCT
EFFICIENCY
Unlike display ads,
native advertising
often requires
creative
management to
tailor content to
best serve the user.
USER TRUST
Publishers can
maintain user
trust by creating
content that adds
value and by
refraining from
disguising ads.
BRAND
INTEGRITY
Preserving brand
integrity may mean
turning down easy
money gained in
the short term
through brand
partnerships.
DELIVERED IN-STREAM
AD BOXES
SELECTIVE
AUTOMATED
WHAT IT IS NOT
IN 2013:
EXAMPLES
LONGER FORM
VIDEO
WEB
FILMS
PHOTO
STREAMS
INTERACTIVE
GRAPHICS
“SPONSORED
BY…”
PROMOTED TWEETS SPONSORED STORIES PAID DISCOVERY
2012
.2%
TRADITIONAL DISPLAY
ADVERTISING such as banners,
prerolls, and pop-ups continues
to perform poorly due in no
small part to vastly low public
appeal.
In a poll of more than 200 media
buyers, the average increase in
expected native ad spending in 2013
compared to 2012 is 12.6%.
99.8% of banner ads are ignored,
and the preroll skip rate are rapidly
increasing.
57% of venture capitalists, private
equity firms, and angel donors say
they are likely or very likely to invest in
companies that sell native advertising.
70% of agency creatives say user
experience is most important in
native advertising.
BANNER AD CLICK THROUGH RATE
34% of publishers say they are likely
or very likely to add a native
advertising option to their menus.
Sources: AdExchanger | The Awl | Forbes | Dan Greenberg,
CEO, Sharethrough | Mashable | PandoDaily | TechCrunch
STRATEGY
ENGAGE communications
teams to establish
long-term content
strategies.
AUGMENT content
creation efforts by
bringing in new talent
(journalists, designers,
etc.).
CONTRACT with outside
companies (creative
agencies, content
marketers, etc.).
While some people caution against fully abandoning
display advertising, native advertising remains the
only viable form of advertisement for many publishers
who chiefly value user experience.
NOBODY READS ADVERTISING
PEOPLE READ WHAT THEY WANT TO READ, AND SOMETIMES IT’S AN AD.
-Howard Luck Gossage, Advertising Pioneer, 1969
2000
9%
34%
57%
NATIVE ADVERTISING ADOPTION
70%