With an exciting influx of available channels, brands have far more opportunities to build creative marketing strategies today than ever before. A particularly unique placement is the native ad, which lets brands create content that matches the media source in question. Done correctly, native advertising provides a natural insertion into a potential customer’s digital experience that attracts serious attention. For all the potential of this format, some brands are hesitant to take advantage without more information on what makes these ads work well. Here are the most common questions surrounding native ads, and how your brand can get started on your own today.

The Most Common FAQs on Native Ads

Native ads can become a cornerstone of your digital marketing strategy, balancing against other paid media like social, digital banners, SEO, and more — but leveraging a more organic angle to really capture consumer attention.

1. What are the benefits of using native ads?

Native ads often function similarly to banner or social ads, but benefit from the creativity of design and placement. These ads tend to catch people off guard, and brands with bigger budgets in particular can take advantage of industry sophistication and customizable elements that make native ads more visually appealing.

Beyond that, most people familiar with the medium tend to think of native as the ads that come after a news article. Leveraging certain headlines or articles to your benefit helps add contextual pop to your messaging — whether you’re attempting to ride the coattails of a major news story or undercut a competitor. A great example is when the shoe brand Allbirds built a New York Times paid takeover page, reflecting the thought leadership of the newspaper to emphasize the retailer’s commitment to sustainability values.

2. What are the most interesting/effective ways to deploy native ads?

Because of their nuanced design elements, native ads usually work best on “higher” end apps, quality news websites, and placements that are more integrated into the website’s look. But by understanding the ways certain sites are structured, you can capitalize on unique wireframes or digital infrastructure to make something even more visually compelling than static or video banners.

Native ads typically work well regardless of their exact placement, as they often blend into the website or app. But these ads can pop up in unique and unexpected places within that context, making it look like the ad almost snuck up on you. At the same time, this medium allows you to insert these ads in places outside of the bounds of traditional digital advertising — for instance, imagery or video popping up with content-relevant advertising mid-scroll.

3. How should brands work with marketing partners on native ads?

Native ads are slightly more expensive and resource-intensive than similar media like static banners, social, or SEO buys. But if your marketing partner has the creative acumen to really wow you with a splashy idea, these materials are worth the investment.

Native ads can be a highly effective creative channel, so when considering a marketing partner, be sure they understand the ingredients that make up the ideal native ad. They should be equipped to help you gather the correct elements for a successful ad — eye-catching images or video, good headlines and descriptions to capitalize on, and an interesting timing or placement for when the ad pops into a user’s view.

Power Marketing and Your Native Ad Strategy

Power Marketing boasts over 25 years as a marketing partner for brands across numerous industries, helping develop campaigns with diverse media placements from broadcast TV to native ads and beyond. With us in your corner, we can help you strategize creative ideas for your next big campaign or product launch, using tactical native ad placements to generate significant interest and high ROI for your brand.

If you’re interested in seeing how Power Marketing can take your brand to the next level, reach out today.