Native advertising works — but quality matters

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By Maggie Sieger | Fitch Ink Senior Editor

As every communications person knows, getting a journalist to read an email is virtually impossible — and when’s the last time a journalist picked up your call?

While the industry has changed over the past decade, the need to tell your brand or client’s stories hasn’t. That’s why native advertising is so important. Native advertising, also called sponsored content, is a paid placement that looks, feels and sounds like the surrounding content. 

Native advertising outperforms

Typically, sponsored content significantly outperforms industry benchmarks in a number of critical key performance indicators (KPIs). A study released earlier this year found that native advertising resulted in an increase in brand favorability that was four times higher than the industry average. Retention and association of a company’s messaging were eight times higher than the industry average. 

There’s even evidence that certain types of high-quality content can overcome consumers’ natural skepticism about advertising — even though it’s clearly labeled as a paid placement. Despite the advertising label, a reader may initially assume the piece is nonpaid editorial content. That’s because, unlike advertorials, native ads are not obvious selling tools pitching a particular company or its products. 

Instead, native advertising comes across as authentic, positioning you as a thought leader. It’s more sophisticated and therefore, significantly more powerful. It gets your message heard and amplified — to a highly targeted audience — while also building awareness, credibility and favorability. Plus, you get full control of the content, so your story can align seamlessly with your values, products and services. You also can be assured your brand won’t bump up against unfortunate content, a serious concern when it comes to broad advertisements on platforms like Google, Facebook and Reddit. A recent study found nearly two-thirds of consumers will abandon a brand whose advertising appears next to mis- or disinformation.

Quality is key

Done right, native advertising can spark meaningful discussions or debates around a favored topic, sometimes even beyond the intended audience. Then there’s the planned amplification that can be coordinated and, again, targeted. Publications that offer native advertising, like The Wall Street Journal or The Economist, have large departments dedicated to ensuring the content reaches the right audience in the right places at the right times. They’ll synchronize launch and amplification efforts with your own communications team, and, they have artificial intelligence-backed tech to generate insights and feedback to show you just how well your content is received. 

But, as with almost everything, quality matters, perhaps more than ever when it comes to sponsored content. The Journal of Advertising Research found that the numerous benefits of sponsored content only accrued to companies that placed high-quality content. Those who used poor-quality content were actually penalized, with noticeable decreases in brand favorability and credibility.

The initial cost of native ads can be a deterrent — high prestige publications can charge significant fees and producing high-quality content isn’t cheap. However, the proven return on investment justifies the expense for many businesses. Exposure to the vast readership of these publications, along with the boost to brand reputation and public perception, can have a profound impact. Targeting specific audiences and engaging them through high-quality content also allows you to foster lasting connections that traditional advertising can struggle to achieve.