As I was flying back from one of my rare trips back East, I ran across an article in The Washington Post that really caught my attention.
Its headline: “Native ads” on Web can blur line between news and advertising.
It turns out that the newest wave in online marketing are “native ads” that mimic the look and feel of a website’s editorial content.
Take for example this screen shot from BuzzFeed.com, the politics-and-pop-culture site.
(Note how the headline and photo of the baby in the sink make this ad look like a regular article.)
Note the photo of the baby in a sink and the “ad” headlined: 14 People Making the Best of Situations. Looks like any of the other editorial articles, such as 19 of the Most Fashionable Kids You’ve Ever Seen.
But this article is actually ad by Volkswagen which ties to its marketing message, “Get in, Get happy.” The ad shows photos of people overcoming everyday obstacles. The only tipoff to its funding and intent is Volkswagen’s logo and a small notation under the headline, indentifying the car maker as a BuzzFeed “featured partner.”
This got me thinking…hmmmm, how can I make my promotions look more editorial and less like advertising?
For direct mail, can I make a magalog or slim jim cover look more like a magazine, a “white paper” or a special report than a sales piece? Can I make a letter look more like an actual letter than a sales pieces (remember the old courier type font)?
For online promotions, can I find websites than will be more creative in developing banner ads so they look more like “news”? Or how can I write landing pages that look like important, life-saving (or wealth-building) information than a sales piece?
How can you make your ads stand out of a crowd? Make them look like an article. “Native” ads like the one above generate far higher viewing rates and engagement than banner ads, but a premium price.
