Why are Brands Moving to Native Advertising?


In this market, where we see 10 new brands coming up every hour, it is difficult to grab the attention of the consumer and keep them associated with the company and its products. A company needs to advertise its product in order to ensure sales.

Product advertisements −

  • Create awareness among consumers about the existence of the product.

  • Helps consumers make their purchase decisions.

  • Helps the company acquire new consumers.

  • Advertising ensures brand familiarity, among other things.

Sales, or revenue, is the only thing that will keep the company running. No matter how excellent the product is, it will not sell if it is not advertised in today’s world.

Advertising is a paid form of communication done by the company to address a mass audience. The various types of advertising are −

  • Print advertising − Here we see that the companies are advertising their products in newspapers, magazines, and others. These are also known as the traditional channels of advertising.

  • Outdoor advertising − Every day, we see massive billboards and posters advertising companies' products hanging on the streets and highways. This is known as outdoor advertising.

  • Social media advertising − companies now advertise their products and services on various social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and others.

  • Broadcast advertising − The company advertises through channels such as radio and television. We see pop-up advertisements coming up in between our favorite shows. Music or commentary. It is a risky form of advertisement, as we generally see people skipping to other channels or stations, but the reach is large.

  • Search Engine Advertising − Companies pay Google, Safari, and other websites to promote their products or company by bidding on keywords. This is a very trending form of advertisement. This ensures that the particular company stays at the top of the search engine results for the particular keywords. Google ads are one famous example.

  • Native advertising − It implies that the company tailors its advertising to the community and society.

Concept of Native Advertising

Native advertising, in simple terms, means companies mold their advertisements on the basis of geographical locations, caste, community beliefs, demographics, cultural beliefs, and others. This type of advertisement has been common in the past because of the limited coverage of companies and non-liberal government policies.

Native advertising shows the consumers that people like them in terms of looks, living standards, beliefs, and thought processes are using the product. It is a form of creating an organic, paid form of communication. This makes the company local in spite of being an international brand and helps the company with sales.

Let us understand the benefits of native advertising or why companies would want to switch to native advertising.

  • It grabs the consumer’s attention of people − On social media generally looks out for relatable content. Native advertising seems like organic content to consumers and hence grabs their attention. People in Asia would not stop to see a white kid enjoying a burger but would generally check out a family place where they could have burgers with their family members.

  • It sets the product and company apart − Native advertising helps the brand distinguish itself from the 50 other ads popping up on the consumer's screen. The organic content of native advertising seems more like communication than an advertisement selling the product or service to people.

  • It makes the company more reliable and trustworthy − With native advertising, companies can become household names for consumers even after becoming multinationals. A very famous example could be HUL (Hindustan Unilever); this brand has its origin in England but is available to consumers in every nook and cranny. If you even ask, most consumers will generally assume it to be an Indian brand because of its name and widespread distribution channel. Native advertising makes the companies more reliable for the consumers, as they can connect with the brand and its products.

  • Consumers can connect more − Word of mouth is the most effective form of advertising for businesses. Consumers can connect more because someone they know has used the product and benefited from it. The concept of "native advertising" is also the same, as in the advertisements, the users are from the same ethnicity and community as the consumer will be. It is a more personalized form of communication.

  • It is less costly − Getting some space in local channels or papers is less costly as compared to getting a space in national newspapers and entertainment channels. The return on investment (ROI) from native advertising is higher than from national advertising.

Native Advertising Channels

Not all channels will work for all types of products or services. Companies must understand their consumers, their screen time, their habits, and their preferences before deciding on the channel for native advertisements. We can generally classify the channels into two departments:

  • Traditional channels for advertising − this will include newspapers, magazines, radio, television sets, and others. This channel is used generally for consumers who were born in 1990 or 1980. Consumers are now in their forties and managing households.

  • Digital channels for advertising − This will include social media, YouTube, web page advertisements, and others. It is very effective and relevant for Gen Z. The consumers are generally in the age range of 10 to mid-twenties.

We will dive deeper into the digital channel for native advertising to keep ourselves abreast of the environment.

Here, the channels can be further divided into three broad categories −

  • Paid social media advertising − We frequently see sponsored or promoted advertisements on our social feed. This can be in the form of posts or stories. This type of advertisement runs on the basis of algorithms and is most visible to users who would be interested in that type of content. For example, if you search for vacation on your phone, advertisements will begin to appear in your feed the very next moment. It is all interconnected.

  • Paid advertisements through the search page − Whenever we search for certain keywords, different results pop up. If you take a clear look, you will see that the first two results are mostly advertisements by the companies. Companies bid on keywords. This is a very effective form of advertising because most consumers will only look through the first page of a web search and no further.

  • Advertising is a type of content recommendation. Companies advertise their products or services by recommending them to consumers with hyperlinks to the related product. You can easily find them on YouTube, Flipkart, or different shopping sites.

Native advertising is 27% more effective than mass advertising. It can easily be done through digital infrastructure and a vast internet connection. Companies should not only move but run towards native advertising to ensure that their products have a strong hold on their consumers.

Updated on: 19-Jan-2023

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