“How do we transport the audience into the story?” asks Annie Granatstein, head of the Washington Post’s brand studio – the in-house native advertising team that creates thoughtful branded experiences within the Washington Post. It sounds almost exactly the same as what you’d hear from a reporter seeking to compellingly explain a complex issue. At SXSW Interactive,panelists Melissa Rosenthal, Annie Granatstein, Stephanie Losee and Melanie Deziel – experts in branded content partnerships with roles ranging from Head of Content at VISA to Head, WP Brand Studio – weighed in on the latest developments and trends in native ads.
Here’s what I learned: as branded content has grown, publishers have expanded their technological and storytelling sophistication, moving from listicles to deep, rich experiences like the New York Times’ partnership with Netflix around Orange is the New Black, “Women Inmates: Why the Male Model Doesn’t Work” that was the #2 piece of content on the NYT site in 2014, or a partnership between VISA and Quartz that resulted in a series of articles promoting tourism in China (using a VISA card), “China’s new “it” city charms travelers year-round.”
At the same time, brands’ expectations have expanded. Melissa Rosenthal of Cheddar explained that many are looking for highly unique native ads: ones where the content couldn’t just be rebranded by anyone else. As a result, publishers’ brand studios have almost become “creative agencies” themselves, working with brands to brainstorm ideas and develop unique creative expressions of a brand’s message that yet reflect the journalistic standards of the publication.
Four top insights for native ad planning
- Come in with the takeaway. Annie Granatstein suggests that brands and agencies meeting with publishers should come in to the first meeting knowing what the audience should be feeling and doing as a result of the content. Many show up thinking about the technology – “we want a VR experience” when the emotional impact is what will stick with people.
- Define your KPIs up front. A content piece intended for social engagement is going to be different than one driving deep engagement with a web story, and should be a part of planning from the beginning.
- One-off activations are penny-wise and pound-foolish. When you do a one-off branded content piece, you’ve effectively launched a startup, says Stephanie Losee. You’ve put together an entire staff for a 6-7 figure project. Made and measured a beautiful thing. Then if you don’t do it again, your startup has folded and those partnerships and expertise have been lost. Think about partnerships that can be extended if successful.
- Live events are possible but challenging. Publishers are interested in working with brands on live activations. But live can be risky: there’s no chance to go back and forth on approvals or to correct for on-air (or on-Facebook Live) gaffes. Preparation helps, as does having legal representatives in the room – but the risk is unavoidable and inherent in the activation.
And two value-adds to consider
- License and share. Many publishers will either give brands ownership of their native ads or enable them to license it to re-share. So once it has been created, it can then be reshared on other publishers’ sites.
- Paid media is essential for visibility. It’s not enough to have rich creative content. Just as publishers now have strategies for sharing and promoting their editorial content organically and in sponsored posts on Facebook, Instagram and other channels, branded content similarly needs a boost.
What do you see as the next steps in native advertising?