Native advertising as a trend in the online advertising market

Not so long ago, "good" advertising had to fulfill one criterion above all: stand out. It was essential to stand out from the competition - no idea seemed too shallow or too stupid. This was clearly reflected in the advertisements, which were increasingly perceived by many people as annoying or even irritating. This focus on conspicuousness also tested the patience of many Internet users: When websites cluttered with ads paralyzed other functions while loading, moving ads interfered with reading content or obtrusive pop-up windows were difficult to click away, it's no wonder that most computers today have ad blockers that put a stop to the colorful flood of ads. Users also like to take advantage of the option offered by some browsers to automatically delete cookies - much to the annoyance of advertisers. The fact that end customers are becoming increasingly difficult to reach via conventional channels poses serious problems for advertisers. New ways of addressing customers, some of which have already proved successful, can provide a remedy. However, the basis for this is a general rethink on the part of advertisers.The customer takes center stageA paradigm shift is clearly emerging: brands, products and services are currently taking a back seat - instead, the focus is now on the end customer. Ads should offer them real added value. They are therefore visually designed in such a way that they are no longer recognizable as ads at first glance - perfectly embedded in the page layout. To ensure that this new form of advertising still reaches the end customer, the content is used instead of eye-catching visuals: storytelling is used to make advertising "tangible" for the user. A pleasant side effect is that this increases customer loyalty, as social networks such as Facebook show: Stories (and the emotions associated with them) are in demand, told in a protected area "among friends". This can also be transferred to advertisements, better known as "native advertising". For example, advertisers are using blog marketing and native stories for their own purposes. The good old advertorial is also gaining importance again in this context - and new formats are constantly being added.More credibility through cooperationAn important requirement for the new advertising content is credibility, which can be achieved, for example, through cooperation with bloggers. The number of organized blogger networks is constantly increasing and with it the variety of topics they cover. If the content is suitable, many bloggers are happy to take content and images and write a post about it, which they publish on their blog as a sponsored post. The readership of these bloggers trust their content, so there is a good chance that the advertising message will reach them, but blog advertising also requires a certain amount of trust on the part of the advertisers, as advertisers do not have 100% control over the content of the blog post despite paying for it. On the other hand, such a post can also achieve a high level of credibility and emotionalize the end customer with the product, which leads to stronger customer loyalty. Such "native stories" can be used to address topics that the end customer associates with the product. As a first step, blog advertising can therefore be seen as a branding measure. As the direct recommendation of a blogger has a high level of credibility in their community, such measures also influence sales in the long term, which makes them a promising marketing measure.Native stories - "secret" advertising that worksThe project of a fundraising organization for child sponsorships, carried out by the agency Goldbach Interactive (Germany) AG, shows that the advertising message of Native Stories is well received. At Christmas 2015, a campaign was launched in cooperation with various bloggers, who published articles and images about the work of the aid organization on their websites. "This cooperation was a complete success," explains Anna Lena Schell, Head of Display Advertising at Goldbach Interactive, "as evidenced by the very positive user feedback in the comments and from the bloggers themselves." Subsequently, this also led to an image boost and an increased willingness to donate.Native stories can also be published in cooperation with publishers, such as the online portals of daily newspapers. Here too, the credibility of newspapers and the trust of their readership can be used to convey advertising messages. The fact that this form of advertising not only manages without an aggressive appearance, but also offers added value for the end customer and the cooperation partner, is a positive development, and there are virtually no limits to the creativity of advertisers in finding new forms of advertising. In the coming weeks and months, there will certainly be a few more that also follow the new paradigm: The focus is not on the brand, the product or the service, but on the end customer.