Ins and Outs of Native Ads: A Guide to Native Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising has given new life to native ads in recent years, as advertisers realize that they can reach consumers in new ways.

Definition: Native Advertising is a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed (source).

As consumers increasingly get their information from smartphones and tablets, it’s more important than ever for advertisers to rethink their strategies. Whether they deploy native ads as videos or content to matches the flow of a mobile app, native ads must be designed to capture the attention spans of today’s mobile users. This guide will help explain the ins and outs of native advertising on mobile platforms.

The Benefits for App Developers

App developers are always looking for ways to monetize their apps. Whether a team is being paid by local entrepreneurs to turn their visions into reality or they’re building apps on their own, they immediately create a way to offset the cost and possibly even make money off of an app when they set up advertising space within the interface.

With native advertising, content is designed specifically to blend in with the user’s experience. On a website this might be an ad built to look like a blog post, while in traditional print advertising it could take the form of a magazine article marked “paid advertising.” For app developers, it may be a video or game that either matches or enhances the user experience. When done correctly, it can lead customers to make in-app purchases or learn more about an interesting product. Most importantly, when app developers monetize their products, they turn an app into a revenue generator without increasing download prices.

“With native advertising, content is specifically designed to blend with the user’s experience.”

In-App Advertising

In-app advertising is probably what comes to mind for most people when they think native advertising. When done right, it’s seamless and adds value to the user’s experience. The use of in-app advertising depends on the purpose of the app. First, there are your typical in-feed apps that draw from the social aspect of the user’s experience. Take a look at platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and you’ll see ads that are blended with the user’s newsfeed and look very similar to other posts in that same feed.

They take shape as suggested posts on Facebook and on Twitter as promoted tweets. However, the idea is the same: to raise brand awareness while blending in with the usability of the app. In-product ads function in a similar way on sites like eBay and Amazon with the objective being to drive sales.

On the other hand, promoted articles and videos are effective in-app engagement tools. Sites like Buzzfeed use this type of native advertising to leverage sponsored content in a way that fits the surrounding stories and articles.

If used correctly, these ads are such a natural extension of the overall experience that customers pay attention to them without seeing them as ads.

“A native ad is such a natural extension of the overall experience that customers pay attention to it without seeing it as an ad.”

Native Game Advertising

Native ads give developers an opportunity to create a revenue stream that also improves the overall game experience for users. It could even be argued that the potential for payoff is greater as users often interact with the game numerous times after the initial download.

Ads that fit both the context and layout of the game are the best bet for publishers. Rewarded ads, especially in the interactive, mobile-friendly video format, tap into the rule of reciprocity and value exchange. By that we mean users are offered an immediate and tangible reward in exchange for viewing a short ad. At their best, these ads feature a narrative design and natural timing (arriving at just the right moment for a break).

No matter the form native advertising takes, it always includes a user-friendly element. While traditional ads are often intrusive and disruptive, native ads keep things relevant and useful.

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This article was originally published on the Appodeal Blog. 
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Appodeal is a programmatic ad mediation solution for mobile app publishers. We increase revenue for publishers by engaging ad networks in real-time auction-based competition for every ad impression.