There has been no shortage of discussion surrounding native ad formats. The idea of improving the design of display media is appealing to many digital media execs, marketers and publishers
alike. Done correctly, it will also be embraced by consumers.
While general consensus and industry definitions continue to evolve about what constitutes “native,” it makes sense
to keep our collective eyes on the ball: delivering a better user experience. This will ultimately pave the way for increased consumer media consumption, brand engagement, and
e-commerce.
The notion of “beautifying” the Web might sound altruistic, but it makes sense. It is largely accepted that today’s consumers ignore messaging while
employing a “banner blindness” approach to surfing the Web.
Who can blame them?
Consider the following:
- Display banners are disruptive and ignore
the construct of a page. Fonts, colors, and even context are largely ignored when pairing display ads with a publisher’s content. Atypical Web page will have anywhere
from three to five advertisements, each designed without consideration of the publisher’s layout. Clashing color schemes are a faux pas in fashion, home décor, and other creative
circles -- why not in our industry?
- In addition to creating havoc from an aesthetics standpoint, several ads on a page compete with one another and decrease likelihood of
engagement. How about one or perhaps two ad units using an intelligent, “native” design? The thought here is that publishers can actually increase rates and yield with
fewer ads, while adding more from a brand engagement standpoint.
The responsive web is *somewhat* already here, as far as the ability to seamlessly render content across an
array of consumer devices (minus the luxury auto brand I attempted to visit using my iPhone 5C -- perhaps only 5S owners are welcome? I guess it’s all about status these days).
Understanding how to deliver advertising while taking publisher design into consideration is a logical next step for the industry, and will pay dividends for brands, publishers, and
consumers.
My vote is to ditch native in favor of responsive. This seems more intuitive, as it can apply to consumer device, publisher layout/design, and even page
context.
What do you think?