Future of Native Advertising
With a staggering 70% of users expressing dislike for display ads and nearly 45% employing ad-blockers, the traditional advertising model is facing a significant crisis. This growing ad-aversion has spurred a shift towards more organic and less intrusive advertising formats.
Native advertising has emerged as a more palatable alternative, seamlessly integrating ads into content to deliver a better user experience. This format's effectiveness is reflected in its skyrocketing market value, projected to surge from $94 billion in 2021 to a staggering $650 billion by 2032.
At Push, we’ve seen multiple examples of where native traffic far outperforms display and programmatic buying on Google & Microsoft and in many cases actually outperformance even search and meta campaigns in terms of performance.
Two recent developments have sent shockwaves through the industry: Outbrain's potential acquisition of Teads and Taboola's strategic partnership with Apple. Let's delve into the implications of these moves and explore how they could reshape the native advertising space.
Outbrain and Teads: A Match Made in (Potential) Heaven?
Outbrain, a pioneer in content recommendation, has been facing challenges in recent times. The company's share price has plummeted, and it's increasingly associated with the controversial "chumbox" model.
A merger with Teads, a video-focused SSP, could be a strategic move to diversify revenue streams and elevate Outbrain's brand.
- Diversification
Teads' video advertising expertise could complement Outbrain's content recommendation capabilities, offering advertisers a more comprehensive solution.
- Overcoming the "Chumbox" Stigma
By expanding into video and potentially other ad formats, Outbrain can distance itself from its clickbait-heavy reputation.
Taboola Taps into Apple's Ecosystem
Taboola, Outbrain's main competitor, has made a significant stride by partnering with Apple to power native advertising within Apple News and Apple Stock both publishers being long lusted after by Marketers.
This collaboration grants Taboola access to a premium audience and positions the company as a trusted partner for high-quality native traffic.
- Premium Audience
Apple users are generally considered more affluent and engaged, making them a highly desirable target for advertisers.
- Brand Validation
Partnering with Apple can significantly enhance Taboola's reputation and credibility around “Click-baity”
- Control Over Advertisers
Taboola's claim of strict control over advertisers on Apple's platforms is crucial for maintaining the platform's integrity and user experience.
What Does This Mean for Marketers?
The two mergers highlight a space that’s absolutely going to grow in the coming years and become more robust in the types of ads served. Marketeers already running display ads or that sell products/services to a wide audience should:
- Stop Relying on Display Advertising
Display advertising is a dying medium to target upper funnel consumers, business should consider higher engagement and value-generating channels like Native, video and audio marketing. - Diversify Your Native Advertising Partners
Relying on a single native advertising platform can be limiting, consider working with multiple partners to get access to premium publishers across both channels. - Focus on High-Quality Content
As platforms, like Apple prioritise premium content, creating engaging and valuable content, will become increasingly important for you to target premium users. - Leverage Video Advertising
Video advertising is gaining traction. Incorporating video into your native advertising and paid social campaigns can help you connect with audiences more effectively and generate brand awareness.
Conclusion
The Outbrain-Teads and Taboola-Apple deals signify a pivotal moment in the native space. Native has always been a great place to expand for businesses that need to generate demand and target the mass market however its been held back by targeting options and a fight over the top placements.
Both of these are only going to improve further however so marketers should definitely look if there is an opportunity for their vertical to work in this space and be an early adopter following the big changes.
For any questions or help on how and when to use native ad platforms please dont hesitate to reach out for help.
Source: https://gitnux.org/ads-statistics/
