Top (Best and Worst) Native Advertising Examples
Even though you haven’t recognized it yet, but certainly, you have come across the native advertising content. During these days, due to smart work, it becomes hard to find out the traces of native advertising, but one thing is pretty much sure that native advertising is omnipresent.
Here, we will find out what native ad means, why it is so controversial, and some of the best and worst native advertising paradigms.
Native advertising- what does it mean?
In a nutshell, any form of paid content, whether video, audio, text, or infographics, is a native advertisement that appears like an absolute genuine content or journalistic work. Native advertising or advertorial combine paid advertisements with journalistic news editorial.
The controversy behind the use
Despite all criticism and taint on credibility, native advertising has been a top favorite among the publishers and brands. Eric Goeres, the director of innovation at Time magazine, once said that “the glutton of quick bucks earning could lead to big trouble for the publishing houses if they don’t drop the idea of native advertising.”
However, an advertorial is probably the best way to get higher CTR (click-through rates) and more robust engagement. Organizations like the American Society of Magazine editors have already raised the voice for more Native advertising transparency.
Best Examples of Native Advertising
Netflix with the Wall Street Journal
Digital entertainment platform Netflix once collaborated with the Wall Street Journal to promote their show called Narcos. They created an exciting portal with interesting maps, articles, timelines, and quizzes to explore the international history of Colombia’s drug trade. It is still probably the best native advertisement example of generating high interest and fun among the fans.
When the New York Times and Airbnb collaborated
We all know the Airbnb is all about hospitality and services, but they have created a new promotion method during these publications. They collaborated with the New York Times and T Brand studio to recite the anecdote of immigrants and Ellis Island in New York through archive photos, old stories of families, and maps. The sole focus of that ad was on the experience of home building and hospitality in New York and how Airbnb is there for you.
The Worst Examples of Native Ads
The Atlantic-David Miscavige leads Scientology to milestone year.
Perhaps, it was one of the best illustrations of how not to do a native advertisement or publish an advertorial. The Atlantic collaborated with the Church of Scientology and issued paid content in the form of articles. The magazine had faced significant criticism from the readers even though after following guidelines. They had to remove the content from their magazine in the end after such a colossal resilience.
Reasons
- The magazine has an excellent reputation and credibility for their literary and accountable work, but they still went for paid propaganda.
- The sole tone of the article was self-accomplishment and congratulatory.
- It had no value and information for the Atlantic’s readers.
So, this brings us to the conclusion that the native ad strategy needs meticulous planning for success; otherwise, they can be a big fiasco.