Publishers Clamoring Aboard Native Ads Bandwagon

Cxense Survey Shows Industry Will See Significantly More Native Ads over Next 12 Months

OSLO, Norway – A Cxense “Extraordinary Insight” survey of more than 260 publishing executives reveals escalating interest in native ads and their perceived value, but shows the market remains largely untapped, with just 20% of respondents running native ads today.

“Getting to the point of offering meaningful native ad content, however, means using an ad server that can serve native ads in the format that matches the site, truly understanding the interests and context of each user and then delivering to them the content they desire.”

The Cxense survey, sent out in conjunction with Editor & Publisher magazine, revealed that just 20% of publishers run native ads on their sites today, but around 25% plan to introduce them over the next 12 months. Those growing numbers also mean more native ads within sites already running them: for example, the Huffington Post saw an increase of native advertising revenue of 347% from Q2 2013 to Q2 2014, according to a September article in AdExchanger.

Targeting Key to Success

One key to native ad success, the Cxense survey respondents agreed, is targeting. Two in three survey participants say ensuring the user is interested in the content being promoted is important, and 26% note targeting is actually more important for native ads than other types of ads.

“When done correctly, native ad content can be a boon to publishers. It lets them do a better job of targeting paid, relevant content to readers – keeping them engaged and on sites longer,” said Raman Bhatnagar, CEO of Cxense. “Getting to the point of offering meaningful native ad content, however, means using an ad server that can serve native ads in the format that matches the site, truly understanding the interests and context of each user and then delivering to them the content they desire.”

Native Ads for Dummies

The survey also illuminates confusion in the market around native advertising. An astounding 40% of respondents admitted that they are still not totally sure they understand the concept of native ads. In addition, 24% believe traditional ad servers can be used effectively for native ads, while nearly two in three respondents confessed that they simply didn’t know. Cxense is helping to eliminate the confusion by launching a “Native Ads for Dummies” page and a white paper on native advertising.

Because native ads are paid placements that mimic the form and function of the site on which they appear, they look more like content than advertisements. Publishers remain somewhat divided on their thoughts around native ads. The survey shows that 45% of publishers now believe native ads offer “great value to publishers, advertisers and consumers,” while 30% say native ads “cheapen journalism by blurring the lines between advertising and editorial.”

Additional Key Survey Statistics:

  • Partnerships: About 75% said since native ads can be shared in the same way as other digital ads and content, they might be interested in partnering with other publishers to create content/ad networks – rather than have no network or working with third parties like Google.
  • Some native ad challenges: Convincing the organization that native ads are not a horrible thing (22%), finding advertisers who want to buy them (21%) and finding people to write native ads (12%).

Click here to get the complete results of the 13-question survey.

About Cxense

Cxense (OSE: CXENSE) helps businesses succeed in a digital world. Using audience data and advanced real-time analytics, Cxense creates hyper-relevant content recommendations, targeted advertising and predictive search that help increase digital revenue for publishers, and provide users with a better experience. By capitalizing on Big Data to match user preferences and create unprecedented personalization online, publishers gain more engaged and loyal readers, higher advertising revenue and increased digital subscribership. Cxense is a global company headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices worldwide. Customers include Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, Polaris Media, Tamedia, AEON, Rakuten, Globo, Yomiuri and many more. For more information: www.cxense.com; Twitter: @Cxense.