Ad Formats

Did Those Ads Fool You?

3 Minute Read |

Jane Handel

Jane Handel
Product Marketing Manager

Native ads can play good tricks on our eyes. They blend in with surrounding content, and deliver better UX and strong engagement for better eCPMs.

This April Fool’s, we’re taking a look at Native Ad Formats, which are ads that can (in the nicest way) fool viewers by blending into a publisher’s content. Because they are designed to mimic organic content, Native ad formats deliver advertising messages without intruding on the user’s experience.

Marketers love native ads because they tend to yield stronger engagement metrics, and publishers enjoy delivering positive user experiences why generating better eCPMs.

There are a few different types of Native Ad Formats. These different ad formats give publishers and marketers a lot of flexibility. How do you choose the right one for your website, app, or OTT content? It’s simple. The type of Native Ad chosen should be the one that most closely aligns with the surrounding content. The most common types of Native Ads are:

Native Banner Ads, or Native Image Ads

Native image ads are simply image ads that are designed to match the surrounding look/feel of publisher content. They are image ads with a title, description, and CTA, so that users can engage with them, but they do not obstruct or interrupt a user experience. Common native images might be included in a carousel, within a newsfeed or content stream, or in a content wall or app wall.

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Native Video Ads

Like outstream video, Native video ads play outside of a default video player; they’re embedded throughout page content. The difference is that Native Video Ads include a title, description, and logo, as well as a call to action. They’re just like native image ads, but they play video content. These can be highly engaging, and are especially useful on pages that include other video content. This way, they match the environment, making them less intrusive and more likely that a user will interact with them.

Native Rich Media Ads

One of the newer iterations of Native Ads, native rich media units use HTML, JavaScript, or MRAID elements, rather than static images. As a result, Native Rich Media ads have more creative flexibility and can help grab user attention through their eye-catching nature.

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Native CTV Ads

Native CTV is a big topic for 2022 and 2023. Why? Because Native CTV can help turn TV advertising from a passive experience to an active, engaging one. For Native CTV, video ads play within a smaller portion of the screen, and the rest of the ad is a branded skin with a QR code, that lets viewers actively engage with advertiser content, whether to shop a look in the ad, visit a website, or download an app.

As you can see, Native Advertising can deliver better user experiences, stronger engagement, and, as a result, higher eCPMs.

Don’t be a fool! Work in native ads to your monetization strategy!

To learn all about Native Advertising options, and to improve your monetization strategy with Native Ad formats, check out our recent blog post, What is Native Advertising and Why Do Publishers and Marketers Need It?

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